In the past, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has said one of the biggest factors affecting whether or not the economy slides into a full-blown downturn is whether consumer confidence holds up during the slowdown. The Fed's previous cuts this year totaled 1.5 percentage points. The Fed on Wednesday also cut its mostly symbolic discount rate by a half point to 4 percent. The discount rate is the interest that the Fed charges to make direct loans to banks. The economy grew at an annual rate of just 1 percent in the final three months of 2000, the weakest performance in more than five years.
Many economists believe the economy continued to lose altitude in the recently ended first quarter.
Some analysts project that economic growth stalled during the January-March quarter and others say it may actually have slipped into reverse. The Fed's next scheduled is May 15. In the part of Wednesday's statement that reflects possible future action, the central bank maintained its position that the biggest threat to the economy is recession, not inflation. The Fed said its action followed a review of the economy's prospects in light of data that became available since its last meeting March 20.