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Philadelphia Fed cuts discount rate to 0.5 pct

Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:49pm EST

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Thursday it approved the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's action to cut the discount rate by three quarters of a percentage point, making it the ninth Fed bank to do so since Tuesday.

Bonds  |  Global Markets

Eventually, all 12 regional Fed banks are expected to cut their discount rates to 0.5 percent, in line with a Fed rate cut on Tuesday that also saw the benchmark federal funds rate slashed to a record low range of zero to 0.25 percent.

The discount rate is the rate at which banks can borrow directly from a Federal Reserve bank. (Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Gary Crosse)



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