The Federal Reserve kicked off its campaign to lower interest rates with a larger-than-typical half percentage-point cut, while the Bank of England decided against a second consecutive reduction.

The Federal Reserve has issued its first interest rate cut in four years, kicking off an easing cycle that is already making new mortgages more affordable. Fed policymakers announced the half-point rate cut on Wednesday,

The sole holdout in the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) 11-to-1 vote cementing a larger interest rate cut said Friday that the move 'could be interpreted as a premature declaration of victory.'

The Bank of England is likely to decide on Thursday against making back-to-back interest-rates cuts, maintaining a patient approach to reversing the most aggressive policy tightening in decades.