The Federal Reserve’s boardroom in Washington D.C. reverberated with the weight of global expectations on December 10, 2025, as Chair Jerome Powell unveiled a decisive 50-basis-point cut to the federal funds rate, lowering the target range to 3.50–3.75 percent. This aggressive easing move—the fourth consecutive reduction since July—marks a pivotal pivot in the U.S. central bank’s campaign to nurture economic recovery while keeping inflation’s embers in check.