WASHINGTON (AP) — With its larger-than-usual half-point cut to its key interest rate last week, the Federal Reserve underscored its belief that it’s all but conquered inflation after three long years. The public at large? Not so much. Consumer surveys show that most Americans remain unhappy with the economy, still bruised by an inflation rate that hit a four-decade high two years ago as the economy rebounded from the pandemic recession. Yet in the view of some economists, the shift toward steadily lower borrowing rates could eventually boost consumer sentiment. Inflation has sunk for more than two years and is nearly back down to the Fed’s 2% target. Though that means overall prices are still rising, they’re doing so much more slowly.
