题图来源：盖蒂图片社
The US central bank has lowered interest rates for the first time in more than four years with a bigger than usual cut.
美国央行四年多来首次降息，降息幅度比平时更大。
The Federal Reserve reduced the target for its key lending rate by 0.5 percentage points, to the range of 4.75%-5%.
美联储将其关键贷款利率的目标下调了 0.5 个百分点，至 4.75%-5% 的区间。
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Jerome Powell, the head of the bank, said the move was “strong” but that it was needed as price rises ease and job market concerns grow.
行长杰罗姆·鲍威尔 （Jerome Powell） 表示，此举“强硬”，但随着物价上涨缓解和对就业市场的担忧加剧，此举是必要的。
It will be a relief to US borrowers, who have been dealing with the highest interest rates in more than two decades.
这将让美国借款人松一口气，他们一直在应对二十多年来最高的利率。
The move by the Fed follows cuts by other central banks, including those in Europe, the UK, and Canada and a reduction was widely expected.
美联储的这一举措是在包括欧洲、英国和加拿大在内的其他央行降息之后采取的，人们普遍预期会降息。
But ahead of the meeting there was unusual uncertainty about how large a cut officials would approve.
但在会议之前，官员们会批准多大的减税幅度存在不同寻常的不确定性。
“Despite there being no significant economic woes on the radar, policy makers have decided to get ahead of the curve,” said Isaac Stell, investment manager at Wealth Club, a UK investment service.
“尽管没有出现重大的经济困境，但政策制定者已经决定走在前面，”英国投资服务公司财富俱乐部（Wealth Club）的投资经理艾萨克·斯特尔（Isaac Stell）说。
“Many may be left wondering what the Fed sees on the horizon to prompt such a bold move.”
“许多人可能想知道美联储会看到什么来促使如此大胆的举措。”
The Fed raised interest rates sharply starting in 2022, aiming to cool the economy and stabilise prices, which were then surging at the fastest pace since the 1980s.
美联储从 2022 年开始大幅加息，旨在为经济降温并稳定物价，当时物价以 1980 年代以来最快的速度飙升。
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The moves, which rippled out to the public in form of more expensive mortgages, car loans and other debt, were intended to ease price pressures by reducing spending.
这些举措以更昂贵的抵押贷款、汽车贷款和其他债务的形式波及公众，旨在通过减少支出来缓解价格压力。
But as inflation, the rate at which prices rise, has subsided, officials have become more concerned about risks to the wider economy from high rates.
但随着通货膨胀（物价上涨的速度）已经消退，官员们越来越担心高利率对更广泛经济构成的风险。
The unemployment rate in the US has climbed to 4.2% from 3.7% at the start of the year as hiring slowed.
随着招聘放缓，美国的失业率已从年初的 3.7% 攀升至 4.2%。
Projections released after the meeting showed officials now see inflation falling faster and unemployment rising higher than they did in June, with the jobless rate expected to hit 4.4% by the end of the 2024.
会后发布的预测显示，官员们现在认为通胀下降得更快，失业率上升得比 6 月份更高，预计到 2024 年底失业率将达到 4.4%。
Mr Powell said the job market had been too hot last year, and he welcomed some cooling, but he denied that the Fed was worried about the start of a serious slowdown.
鲍威尔表示，去年就业市场过热，他对一些降温表示欢迎，但他否认美联储担心开始出现严重放缓。
“I do not see anything in the economy right now that suggests that the likelihood… of a downturn is elevated,” he said.
“我现在在经济中没有看到任何迹象表明……的衰退被抬高了，“他说。
Over the three months to June, the US economy grew at an annual rate of 3%, the most recent Commerce Department figures show. Retail spending has also remained resilient.
美国商务部的最新数据显示，在截至 6 月的三个月里，美国经济以 3% 的年增长率增长。零售支出也保持弹性。
Inflation, meanwhile, dropped to 2.5% in August, moving closer to the Fed’s 2% target for the fifth month in a row.
与此同时，通胀率在 8 月份降至 2.5%，连续第五个月接近美联储 2% 的目标。
One Fed governor – Michelle Bowman – voted against the move in the first such dissent since 2005.
一位美联储理事米歇尔·鲍曼 （Michelle Bowman） 投票反对此举，这是自 2005 年以来的首次此类异议。
Historically the bank has announced interest rate cuts of 0.5 percentage points at moments of crisis such as the onset of the coronavirus pandemic or the 2008 financial crash.
从历史上看，该银行在危机时刻宣布降息 0.5 个百分点，例如冠状病毒大流行或 2008 年金融危机。
But economist Randall Kroszner, a professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a former governor of the Fed, said Wednesday’s announcement was significant not because of the size of the cut but because it will kick off a new period of lower borrowing costs.
但芝加哥大学布斯商学院（University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business）教授、前美联储理事经济学家兰德尔·克罗兹纳（Randall Kroszner）表示，周三的宣布意义重大，不是因为降息的规模，而是因为它将开启一个新的借贷成本降低时期。
“One quarter of a percentage point one way or another – that’s not going to break the US economy,” he said.
“不管怎样，四分之一个百分点——这不会破坏美国经济，”他说。
“It’s really where they are headed both for the rest of the year, as well as in the intermediate and longer run.”
“这确实是他们在今年剩余时间以及中期和长期的发展方向。”
The Fed had held its key rate – which it charges banks to borrow – steady since July 2023.
自 2023 年 7 月以来，美联储一直保持其关键利率（它向银行收取借款费用）保持稳定。
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Forecasts released by the Fed showed officials expect its key lending rate to drop to about 4.4% by the end of the year and 3.4% by the end of 2025. That is significantly lower than many were predicting as recently as June.
美联储发布的预测显示，官员们预计其关键贷款利率将在今年年底前降至 4.4% 左右，到 2025 年底将降至 3.4%。这明显低于许多人最近在 6 月份的预测。
‘It’s a big deal’ “这是一件大事”
餐厅老板詹妮弗·希斯利 （Jennifer Heasley） 表示，她的月供“大幅”上涨
Jennifer Heasley, the owner of Sweet Mama’s Mambo Sauce in Pennsylvania, said she had been waiting anxiously for the Fed to act, after using credit cards to help pay for the expansion of business making barbecue-like sauce two years ago.
宾夕法尼亚州 Sweet Mama’s Mambo Sauce 的老板詹妮弗·希斯利 （Jennifer Heasley） 表示，两年前，她使用信用卡帮助支付了制作类似烧烤酱汁的扩张业务，她一直在焦急地等待美联储采取行动。
“My interest rates have gone up, so my monthly payments have increased tremendously,” she said, noting that one card is now charging her 21%.
“我的利率上升了，所以我的每月还款额大大增加，”她说，并指出一张卡现在向她收取 21% 的费用。
“If you’re buying a piece of equipment for $1,500 and you’re putting that on a credit card – if you’re not paying that off, you’re accruing quite a bit of interest,” she said.
“如果你以 1,500 美元的价格购买一件设备，并将其存入信用卡——如果你不还清，你就会积累相当多的利息，”她说。
“For me, it is a big deal for them to start to come down.”
“对我来说，利息开始下降是一件大事。”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq jumped after the initial announcement but ended the day modestly lower.
道琼斯工业平均指数、标准普尔 500 指数和纳斯达克指数在最初宣布后上涨，但当天收盘小幅走低。
来源：BBC
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