The Federal Reserve announced an over-the-top 50 basis point rate cut early Thursday morning, which Powell said was intended to signal policymakers' commitment to maintaining low unemployment after inflation eased. Bank of America was the only large brokerage to raise its forecast for the Fed to cut rates for the rest of 2024 after the Fed slashed rates. The Wall Street brokerage said it expected the Fed to cut rates by 75 basis points in the fourth quarter, after predicting the Fed would cut rates by 25 basis points at its November and December meetings. And according to Fed policymakers' own projections, the federal funds rate will fall by another 50 basis points by the end of 2024. After the deeper cuts, "we are sceptical that the Fed wants a hawkish surprise", Bank of America economists said. The brokerage expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by another 125 basis points in 2025, bringing the federal funds target rate from the current range of 4.75% -5.00% to the end point level of 2.75% -3.00%.