The Fed is finally about to cut interest rates. What took so long? [Video]

It’s a pivotal week for the U.S. economy, with the Federal Reserve expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. The move would mark a major milestone both for the central bank’s long fight with inflation and for Americans battling a higher cost of living for the past two years.But it’s also an expectation that is coming to fruition much later than the Fed and Wall Street expected in the beginning of the year.Fed officials and investors have long anticipated that borrowing costs would come down in 2024 — at some point — according to their economic forecasts. At the end of last year, the air was brimming with hope that the Fed would start cutting rates early in 2024, easing pressure not just for consumers, but also for businesses of all sizes hampered by higher costs. A spring rate cut seemed to be in the cards …