Officials from the three major central banks signaled on Friday that they would firmly lower or continue to lower interest rates in the coming months, marking the beginning of the end of an era of high borrowing costs as the global economy shrugs off post-pandemic inflation controls. "The time has come for a policy shift," Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell said at the Jackson Hole meeting. He all but promised the Fed would cut rates at its September meeting. Setting a start date for rate cuts, and many of the world's big central banks working in the same direction, removed some of the anxiety among investors. Following a landmark rate cut in June, several members of the European Central Bank - Finnish central bank governor Rehn, Latvian central bank governor Kazax, Croatian central bank governor Vujcic and Portuguese central bank governor Centeno - all said they would support another rate cut next month. In prepared remarks, Bank of England governor Bailey said the risk of persistent inflation was diminishing, suggesting openness to further rate cuts. However, neither Powell nor other Fed officials offered much guidance on how quickly they intend to continue cutting rates in the coming months. "It's all about options and adjusting how they'go down the hill '," said KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk. " This speech makes it clear that the labor market is now their top priority. " (Jin Ten)