Rate cuts won't fix crisis in the short term

WASHINGTON — Will U.S. consumers benefit from the interest rate cuts announced Wednesday by the Federal Reserve and several other countries' central banks?

For most people, probably not much, at least for a while. But people with strong credit could see lower credit card rates soon, and the move could eventually help point the economy in the right direction.

Here are some questions and answers about the interest rate cuts.

Q: Will the rate cuts help fix the financial crisis?

A: Not in the short term, most economists say. The cuts don't directly address the main problem behind the financial meltdown: the reluctance of banks to lend money.

But the coordinated rate cuts might deliver a psychological boost to the financial markets. That's because the cuts mean that once banks do start lending again, many borrowers will be able to get loans at lower rates. That,

in turn, could help counter fears that the global economy is on the verge of a steep recession.

The U.S. stock markets weren't immediately encouraged. The Dow fell 189 points Wednesday, or 2 percent, to 9,258, and the S&P 500 dropped 11.3 points, or 1.1 percent, to 984.9.

Q: Why won't the rate cuts have a more immediate effect?

A: Because right now, banks aren't making very many loans at any rate. In today's economic climate, they're worried about borrowers' ability to pay them back. They're also hoarding cash because they lost money on bad mortgages and mortgage-linked investments.

"People who couldn't get loans yesterday ... can't get a loan today," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist for High Frequency Economics, a consulting firm.

Q: What exactly is this rate that was cut?

A: The Fed cut the federal funds rate, which banks charge each other for overnight loans. Cutting it is the Fed's main tool for energizing a sluggish economy. In normal times, a cut in the rate is supposed to ripple through the credit markets, lowering rates for mortgages and auto and other loans. But the effect is likely to be more limited this time, because of banks' reluctance to lend money at all.

Q: So if rate cuts won't quickly turn the credit crisis around, what can?

A: Economists hope the new $700 billion bailout package will encourage banks to offer more loans by removing bad mortgage-related assets from their balance sheets and providing more capital for them to lend.