Federal Funds Target Rate is the federal funds target rate until Dec. 15, 2008, and thereafter the upper limit of the federal funds target rate range. By The New York Times | Source: Federal Reserve WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the third time this year, reversing nearly all of 2018's rate increases as uncertainty from President Trump's trade war and slowing global growth continue to pose risks to the United States economy. The decision to cut rates by another quarter point despite rock-bottom unemployment and decent overall growth shows the extent to which Mr. Trump's hot-and-cold trade war, paired with a tenuous global outlook, has put the Fed on the defensive. While the central bank was on a steady march to raise rates just a year ago, it has spent the past several months trying to insulate the American economy against those threats and keep a record expansion humming. Based on the news above, answer the following two questions: 1. Is the decision of the Fed mentioned in the news expansionary or contractionary? 2. How can the Fed use open market operations to reach the goal (cutting interest rates)? Federal Funds Target Rate is the federal funds target rate until Dec. 15, 2008, and thereafter the upper limit of the federal funds target rate range. By The New York Times | Source: Federal Reserve WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the third time this year, reversing nearly all of 2018's rate increases as uncertainty from President Trump's trade war and slowing global growth continue to pose risks to the United States economy. The decision to cut rates by another quarter point despite rock-bottom unemployment and decent overall growth shows the extent to which Mr. Trump's hot-and-cold trade war, paired with a tenuous global outlook, has put the Fed on the defensive. While the central bank was on a steady march to raise rates just a year ago, it has spent the past several months trying to insulate the American economy against those threats and keep a record expansion humming. Based on the news above, answer the following two questions: 1. Is the decision of the Fed mentioned in the news expansionary or contractionary? 2. How can the Fed use open market operations to reach the goal (cutting interest rates)