William Poole: "It was good policy" to cut 50 basis points

It was good policy to get out ahead and stabilize the market.

If we did 25, then we would have had the market expectation of 25 at the next meeting. So it was better to do 50 at once and have the market settle down.

~ William Poole, president, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, October 19, 2007 interview

Source: "Wall Street Wants 50, Fed May Give Zip for Now," Bloomberg.com, October 25, 2007

(At the Sept. 18 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, Fed officials voted to cut their target for the overnight lending rate by 50 basis points, to 4.75 percent.)