Industrial production has fallen each month for the last five months. The last time this happened was during the recession of 1990. Dozens of companies from Whirlpool to Microsoft warned that a slowing economy is hurting earnings and revenue growth. The Nasdaq Composite Index and the broader stock market indicators plunged into a bear market, depressing consumer sentiment and virtually closing the market to new public offerings. The most recent cut March 20 was an attempt to jumpstart the economy again.
Layoffs are mounting and consumer confidence is at a five-year low.
Since record numbers of Americans now own stock, experts worry that the powerful losses in the stock market recently could dramatically hurt consumer spending. You can read the FOMC's March 20 statement , which details its rationale for lowering rates. The move by the FOMC was designed to stem the possibility of a recession in the face of an economic slowdown and falling consumer confidence. However, the Fed's concern that consumer spending would dramatically fall hasn't yet played out. Consumer spending was higher than expected in January and February.