The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate from its 23-year high, with consequences for debt, savings, auto loans, mortgages and other forms of borrowing by consumers and businesses.

The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point. What does it mean for you?

The Federal Open Market Committee trimmed its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.75%-5.0% on Wednesday in its first rate cut in more than four years.

The central bank is expected to reduce its benchmark rate on Wednesday, which stands at its highest point in 23 years.

Having all but tamed inflation, the Federal Reserve is poised to do something Wednesday it hasn’t done in more than four years: Cut its benchmark interest rate, a step that should lead to lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses just weeks before the presidential election.