“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time since the Great Recession in 2008 to help stave off the possibility of an economic downturn.

“Policymakers led by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell voted 8-2 in favor of a small cut in the federal funds rate, and recommitted to their promise to “act as appropriate” to sustain the country’s longest economic expansion in history.

“Interest rates, which affect the cost of borrowing for credit cards and mortgages, are now set to hover between 2% and 2.25%.

“The rate cut follows months of pressure from President Donald Trump, who has broken with his predecessors’ practice of walling off the central bank from politics.”

Read more at CNN