For the first time in nine months, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates. It might not be the cure to painfully high borrowing costs that many Americans have been waiting for.
Policymakers voted at their September meeting to lower their key benchmark borrowing rate by a quarter of a percentage point. The move takes their key federal funds rate to a new target range of 4 to 4.25 percent.
Interest rate cuts like these usually ripple through nearly every corner of the economy, giving households more breathing room in their budgets by lowering borrowing costs.
This month’s move, however, will probably not be big enough to get noticed by most Americans. It only takes borrowing costs back to levels last…