INSTANT VIEW: Fed cuts rates by another half point

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by a half-percentage point on Wednesday as part of an aggressive effort to halt a sharp slowdown in an economy hit by a housing slump and a credit crunch.

KEY POINTS: * The Fed's action takes the federal funds rate target to 3 percent, the lowest since June 2005. * The cut comes just eight days after it slashed rates by a bold three-quarters of a point. * The cumulative 1.25 percentage point reduction in the benchmark overnight rate in less than two weeks ranks among the most abrupt rate-cutting sprees in the modern history of the U.S. central bank.

COMMENTS:

AMO SAHOTA, PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF GLOBAL RESEARCH, HIFX,

SAN FRANCISCO:

"This move is really designed to help financial markets even if it allows inflation pressures to pick up later on down the line.

"The big challenge is going to be with euro/dollar and whether it has enough momentum to push up through its high and make headway into the 1.50s. The market may want to wait for the ECB and what it does with its policy decision."

BILL O'NEILL, MANAGING PARTNER, LOGIC ADVISORS, UPPER

SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY:

"This is certainly constructive. It weakens the dollar and it tends to be inflationary, so this is a plus for gold. And I think it will help continue the upward trend that we've been seeing in gold. This is going to help all the precious metals and should help the copper market as well."

"I think the gains in copper are probably exaggerated. But certainly we are going to have more stimulative activity. And the Fed left open the possibility of further rate cuts. That was very significant."

IAN SHEPHERDSON, CHIEF U.S. ECONOMIST, HIGH FREQUENCY

ECONOMICS, VALHALLA, NEW YORK:

"The Fed's statement does not say, but we expect to see in the minutes, that the Fed's new forecasts are much gloomier than in October. The statement repeats that there is downside risk to growth but drops 'appreciable' and says in addition that the policy action so far 'should promote moderate growth over time.' They are still ready to 'act in a timely manner as needed' but the hint here is that they think further easing will be much slower - markets permitting."

DAVID GREENWALD, PARTNER, SCALENE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT,

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: