Irving, Texas 03/18/2008 (Finditt News) The Federal Reserve on Tuesday slashed its key interest rate to a three-year low and signaled more reductions are likely, unloading heavy artillery in its effort to keep the credit crunch from triggering a prolonged recession.

The three-quarter-percentage-point rate cut, though extremely aggressive by any historical measure, was still seen as a pulled punch by Wall Street analysts who believe it will take a full percentage point cut.  This is another sign of the severity of a situation that has already claimed Bear Stearns and forced Fed officials to use Depression-era tools.

In the wake of the Fed's decision, Wall Street brokers are cheering and smaller businesses hold their collective breath.  The move's consequence for small and medium-sized business owners is still unclear.

Justin Downey, Owner of JDM, a small, full-service, dallas-based marketing firm, remarked, "Lowered interest rates mean it's easier to borrow, but it doesn't influence spending.  Consumer spending is still down even as stock prices are rising.  We'll just have to hold our breath and wait and see."