|
WASHINGTON (AP) - A painful credit crunch is taking its worst toll on the already ailing housing market, while its impact on the rest of the economy so far seems limited, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.
Both Wall Street and Main Street have anxiously awaited the Fed's survey of business conditions for clues about what the central bank will do regarding interest rates on Sept. 18, its next regularly scheduled meeting.
Economists increasingly believe the Fed at that meeting will lower a key interest rate, now at 5.25 percent, by at least one-quarter percentage point to protect the economy from the credit crisis. The Fed has not lowered this rate in four years.
|