the Fed lowers rates by 50 bps, to 3% second cut of the month

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 3 percent, the second cut in as many weeks, to prevent the U.S. economy from sinking into a recession.

``Today's policy action, combined with those taken earlier, should help to promote moderate growth over time and to mitigate the risks to economic activity,'' the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after meeting today in Washington. ``However, downside risks to growth remain.''

The move, coupled with the Jan. 22 emergency cut of three- quarters of a point, is the fastest easing of monetary policy since 1990. Hours before the decision was announced, the Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product grew 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, half the pace forecast by economists.

``Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households,'' the Fed said today. ``Recent information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets.''

Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and the Fed's Board of Governors also voted to cut the discount rate, the cost of direct loans from the central bank, to 3.5 percent from 4 percent.