In emergency pandemic move, Fed cuts rates to zero and will purchase $700B in bonds

The Federal Reserve lowered its interest rate target to zero and announced large purchases of goverment bonds Sunday to protect the economy against the coronavirus pandemic.

“The effects of the coronavirus will weigh on economic activity in the near term and pose risks to the economic outlook,” the central bank’s monetary policy committee said in an unscheduled statement. The Fed will also purchase $700 billion in goverment-backed bonds in the “coming months,” a move it said was meant to ensure the functioning of financial markets.