How & when did the Feds. lower the rates by 3/4 pts (think about it)??

The markets, banks and ALL federal offices were CLOSED yesterday for the Martin Luther Kin holiday, right?... so... with one week ahead of the Fed. Banking meetings... HOW WAS THE RATE CHOPPED BEFORE THE OPEN OF TUES. BUSINESS? How is that possible? and I%26#039;m ONLY asking, because the %26quot;world markets%26quot; yesterday were off as much as 4% and this move seemed a DIRECT strategy to ease the USA markets in reaction (it%26#039;s still down 1%+, but imagine if there was NO rate cut!!!)... So, WHO ARE THE 2-3 GUYS that phoned %26amp; made/influenced the DECISION to so this, and get it done so early -- as we KNOW that the Gov%26#039;t doesn%26#039;t WORK this fast... in fact, right? Is there a STORY HERE!!!???

P.S. -- When did the USA lose its media %26amp; reporting?

How %26amp; when did the Feds. lower the rates by 3/4 pts (think about it)??interest rate

Ben Bernanke (chairman of the Federal Reserve) and his colleagues, presumably the Fed board of governors and possibly district officials, met last night (Monday) via an emergency video conference in response to the shock on international exchanges. It was done, as you say, strategically to ease the market open after a very rough off-day. Interest rate cuts and increases are never announced or leaked in advance as this could create the potential for insider trading. Generally, rate cuts are expected and priced into the market; however, this was an emergency decision and therefore had a significant, immediate impact on the market. As you know, the Dow opened almost 450 points below its Friday close. This rate cut helped the market pare most of its opening losses.

As for the rest of your question, you seem pretty cynical vis a vis the government. Ben Bernanke is leading the Fed and it is his responsibility to handle emergencies like this. There are some extremely intelligent and prudent economists on the board of governors and they are allowed to take action without a lot a bureaucratic red tape. Also, the media is here, there and everywhere - they are simply never made aware of rate cuts before they are announced to the market by the Fed. I believe the media is beating the recession drum a little too loudly and is actually driving some of the public hysteria.