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Mar 16, 2020 12:59 AM -

U.S. Fed slashes benchmark rate by 1%

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The U.S. Federal Reserve is taking emergency action and slashing its benchmark interest rate by a full percentage point to nearly zero.

It's also purchasing more Treasury securities to encourage lending in a bid to offset the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Ottawa has made 10-billion-dollars available to businesses through a credit facility program.

The Bank of Canada earlier cut its trend-setting interest rate by half-a-percentage point to three-quarters of a per cent.

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