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(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve delivered a jumbo-sized rate cut this week in a move widely viewed as a declaration of victory over inflation and a signal of relief for borrowers.

Few areas of the economy welcomed the news more than the nation’s sluggish housing market, where high mortgage rates have largely shut out homebuyers.

Experts who spoke to ABC News cautioned that the rate cut would not deliver an immediate drop in mortgage rates or a loosening up of the housing market.

Mortgage rates had already dropped over recent months in anticipation of the rate cut, they said. They forecasted a gradual thaw in the market as homebuyers perk up and borrowing costs slowly decline.

“This is a harbinger of good times to come, but we’re not there yet,” Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, told ABC News.

Here’s what to know about what the Fed’s rate cut means for mortgage rates and the housing market.

What does the Fed’s rate cut mean for mortgage rates?

The interest rate cut likely will not have a significant impact on mortgage rates over the short term, experts said. That’s because mortgage rates had already moved due to an expectation of this rate decision.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.09%, according to Freddie Mac data released on Thursday.

That figure has plummeted more than a percentage point since May. The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage has dropped even further from a peak reached last October.

“Everybody has been talking about an expected drop in the Fed Funds rate,” Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, told ABC News. “The mortgage market heard that loud and clear.”

Initial evidence suggesting unchanged mortgage rates can be found in the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, experts said.

Mortgage rates closely track the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually. In the aftermath of the Fed’s rate cut on Wednesday, the yield on a 10-year Treasury bond ticked slightly upward, defying the nudge downward by the central bank.

“Ten-year rates are basically pricing in the effect of interest rates coming down,” Lu Liu, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News.

Still, experts added, mortgage rates may gradually decline over the remainder of 2024 and the duration of 2025.

The Federal Open Market Committee, a policymaking body at the Fed, on Wednesday forecasted further interest rate cuts.

By the end of 2024, interest rates will fall nearly another half of a percentage point from their current level of between 4.75% and 5%, according to FOMC projections. Interest rates will drop another percentage point over the course of 2025, the projections indicated.

If interest rates track those projections, then mortgage rates may see some decline as investors gain confidence that falling interest rates will not hit a snag, experts said.

“By the end of 2025, we can expect mortgage rates to be in the 5% range,” Wachter said.

Lautz offered a slightly less optimistic assessment, predicting mortgage rates next year in the high 5% range.

Uncertainty about the path of mortgage rates remains significant, said Liu. “It’s always a little bit of wait and see,” Liu said.

Experts agreed, however, that mortgage rates would not return to levels of between 2% and 3% enjoyed by homebuyers as recently as 2021. Those rates came in response to aggressive rate cuts at the Fed in response to COVID-19.

“That was a very unusual environment,” Lautz said. “It’s very unlikely to happen.”

What does the Fed’s rate cut mean for the housing market?

Experts expect the housing market to eventually heat up. But they do not expect the interest rate cut to deliver a sudden jolt.

The housing market remains sluggish. Existing-home sales declined 2.5% in August compared to the previous month, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. The slowdown took place despite a significant decline in mortgage rates over that period.

The housing market will loosen up as low mortgage rates trickle through to homebuyers, and as those consumers proceed through the monthslong process of purchasing a home, experts said. The lower mortgage rates will also entice prospective buyers who previously balked at higher borrowing costs, they added.

Still, the current drop in mortgage rates may not rekindle the housing market, experts said, citing a phenomenon known as the “lock-in effect.”

While mortgage rates have fallen, they remain well above the rates enjoyed by most current homeowners, who may be reluctant to put their homes on the market and risk a much higher rate on their next mortgage.

In turn, the market could continue to suffer from a lack of supply, making options limited and prices sticky. Over the coming months, however, the housing market could loosen up, experts said.

“Now with rates coming down, we may gradually see some people willing to give up lower rates, move and sell their houses,” Liu said. “Hopefully there will be a little more supply on the market, but prices aren’t likely to come down all that much.”

Lautz agreed, predicting better days ahead. “It’s a slow burn,” she said. “We should see a change in activity and more buyers able to afford the market.”

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(NEW YORK) — Instagram this week unveiled mandatory accounts for teens that bolster privacy protections, enable parental supervision, and restrict notifications during overnight hours.

New and existing users under the age of 18 will be automatically enrolled in what Instagram is calling “Teen Accounts,” the company said.

The move comes 16 months after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in an advisory that excessive social media could pose a “profound risk” to the mental health of children. Instagram also has faced pressure from some federal and state lawmakers seeking to regulate social media use among children and teens.

Experts who spoke to ABC News differed about whether Meta’s new restrictions for teen users would effectively mitigate the risks that young Instagram users face.

Some experts applauded the guardrails as a meaningful, though insufficient, step toward preventing teen harm. Others said the absence of robust age verification account measures would allow young users to circumvent the rules, rendering the new settings largely pointless.

In response to an ABC News request for comment, Meta said the company is expanding its efforts to verify the age of teen users.

“We’re requiring teens to verify their age in new ways. For example, if they attempt to create a new account with an adult birthday, we will require them to verify their age in order to use the account,” Meta spokesperson Dani Lever told ABC News.

“We also want to do more to proactively find accounts belonging to teens, even if the account lists an adult birthday. We’re building technology to proactively find these teens and place them in the same protections offered by Teen Account settings,” Lever added.

One expert said the restrictions also risk going too far, potentially limiting the free expression of teens and subjecting them to the control of parents with whom they may disagree about fundamental aspects of their identity.

“We need to be conscientious about the content that platforms are showing kids and how that can shape offline attitudes and behaviors,” Jon-Patrick Allem, a professor of public health at Rutgers University, told ABC News. 

Allem added that he is reserving judgment until the changes receive further examination.

The new Teen Accounts were announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a live interview Tuesday on ABC News’ Good Morning America.

“They’re an automatic set of protections for teens that try to proactively address the top concerns that we’ve heard from parents about teens online,” Mosseri told GMA. “Things like who can contact them, what content they see and how much time they spend on their device … all without requiring any involvement from the parent.”

New teen users will automatically be enrolled in Teen Accounts, while existing teen users will see their accounts switch to the new model within 60 days, Mosseri said on GMA.

The new accounts will place users under 18 years old into a private account by default, the company said, while users under age 16 will require parental permission to switch over to a public account. Under the private account setting, teens will need to specifically accept new followers, and only those followers will be able to see their content and interact with them.

With the new accounts, teens also will have the power to choose the age-appropriate topics they want to see more of on Instagram, like sports or art, and parents will also be able to see the topics their teens choose, according to Instagram.

Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University and author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, offered lukewarm praise for the restrictions in a post on X on Tuesday.

“I am cautiously optimistic about Meta’s new teen accounts,” Haidt said. “Most of the problems with social media will still plague teens on Instagram. But this is a good start, and I hope it is just the first of many steps from Meta.”

Paul Barrett, a professor at New York University Law School and deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, acknowledged that some of the Instagram changes would alleviate harm endured by teens on the platform. However, he added that the move would likely have little impact in the absence of better age verification measures to ensure that teens enroll in the Teen Accounts.

“This points in the right direction,” Barrett told ABC News. But, he added: “None of this is very meaningful until the company does something about age and identity verification. All of the other requirements become ineffective if kids just pretend that they’re adults.”

At least one expert said the changes risk causing some harm by putting too many restrictions on teen Instagram users. For instance, a child’s parents may have different views about fundamental questions of identity, such as whether one should believe in god, Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law who studies content moderation, told ABC News. The increased parental supervision in the new accounts could enable such parents to limit their child’s personal growth, he added.

“Parents might have norms about certain behavior for their children,” Goldman said. “This might take away self-expression and self-exploration.”

In general, some children would likely benefit from the changes, while others would suffer harm, he added.

“Groups of children have different needs,” Goldman said. “If it’s a one-size-fits-all solution, some children are likely to benefit and others are likely to be harmed,” though he added that Instagram has the right to make changes that it deems appropriate.

In response to such criticism, Meta said the company worked with relevant stakeholders to strike a balance between user experience and parental involvement.

“We consulted with parents, teens, and experts throughout the process of building Teen Accounts. With these changes, parents decide if teens under 16 can change the built-in settings,” said Lever, of Meta. “This allows teens to use social media to connect with friends, explore and discover, while giving parents peace of mind that their teens have the right protections in place.”

“If Instagram is adopting this because they think it’s the best for users, I support their freedom to set the policies and approach that is right for them,” Goldman said.

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(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate a half of a percentage point on Wednesday in a landmark decision that dials back its years-long fight against inflation and could deliver relief for borrowers saddled with high costs.

The central bank’s first rate cut since 2020 came after a recent stretch of data had established the key conditions for a rate cut: falling inflation and slowing job gains.

In theory, lower interest rates help stimulate economic activity and boost employment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 200 points in the immediate aftermath of the announcement on Wednesday afternoon.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also climbed following the news.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell described the rate decision as a shift in policy at the central bank.

“This recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market, and enable further progress on inflation,” Powell said.

“The U.S. economy is in good shape,” Powell added. “We want to keep it there.”

The Federal Open Market Committee, a policymaking body at the Fed, on Wednesday forecast further interest rate cuts.

By the end of 2024, interest rates will fall nearly another half of a percentage point from their current level of between 4.75% and 5%, according to FOMC projections. Interest rates will drop another percentage point over the course of 2025, the projections indicated.

Over time, rate cuts ease the burden on borrowers for everything from home mortgages to credit cards to cars, making it cheaper to get a loan or refinance one. The cuts also boost company valuations, potentially helping fuel returns for stockholders.

Earlier this year, mortgage rates reached their highest level in more than two decades; while the average rate for credit card holders topped anything on record at the Fed. Interest rates for car loans have soared to levels last seen at the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, Edmunds found.

Interest rate cuts will bring many of those payments down, delivering gains for borrowers.

However, borrowers should not expect immediate relief from the Fed’s initial rate cut, Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at NerdWallet, told ABC News in a statement prior to the decision.

“This initial rate cut will have little immediate impact,” Renter said. “I anticipate many consumers and business owners will take the beginning of this change in monetary policy as a sign of hope.”

Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, though it remains slightly higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.

Meanwhile, the job market has cooled. A weaker-than-expected jobs report in each of the last two months has stoked concern among some economists.

“We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability,” Powell said last month.

Prior to the decision, the chances of a rate cut were are all but certain, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

Market observers, however, had been divided over whether the Fed will impose its typical cut of a quarter of a percentage point, or opt for a larger half-point cut. The tool estimated the probability of a half-point cut at 65% and the odds of a quarter-point cut at 35%.

A half-point cut risked overstimulating the economy and rekindling elevated inflation, while a quarter-point cut threatened to delay the type of economic jumpstart that may be required to avert a recession, Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, told ABC News in a statement.

“Rarely have market expectations been so torn” on the eve of a rate decision, Shah added.

The rate cut on Wednesday went into effect less than 50 days before the November election.

The decision deviated from the policy approach taken by the Fed prior to many recent presidential elections, a Reuters analysis found. Policy rates were left unchanged for six to 12 months before the 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2000 U.S. presidential elections, according to Reuters.

To be sure, the Fed says it bases its decisions on economic conditions and operates as an independent government body.

When asked about the 2024 election at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in December, Powell said, “We don’t think about politics.”

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(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve is set to make a pivotal decision about its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday that could dial back its years-long fight against inflation.

Investors widely expect the Fed to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020, delivering long-sought relief for consumers saddled by high borrowing costs for everything from credit cards to mortgages.

“The time has come for policy to adjust,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last month at an annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “The direction of travel is clear.”

Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, though it remains slightly higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.

Meanwhile, the job market has cooled. A weaker-than-expected jobs report in each of the last two months has stoked concern among some economists.

In theory, lower interest rates help stimulate economic activity and boost employment; higher interest rates slow economic performance and ease inflation.

“We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability,” Powell said last month.

The chances of an interest rate cut at the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday are all but certain, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

Market observers are divided over whether the Fed will impose its typical cut of a quarter of a percentage point, or opt for a larger half-point cut. The tool estimates the probability of a half-point cut at 65% and the odds of a quarter-point cut at 35%.

A half-point cut risks overstimulating the economy and rekindling elevated inflation, while a quarter-point cut threatens to delay the type of economic jumpstart that may be required to avert a recession, Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management, told ABC News in a statement.

“Rarely have market expectations been so torn” on the eve of a rate decision, Shah added.

Regardless of the size of the rate cut, borrowers should not expect immediate relief, Elizabeth Renter, senior economist at NerdWallet, told ABC News in a statement.

“This initial rate cut will have little immediate impact,” Renter said. “I anticipate many consumers and business owners will take the beginning of this change in monetary policy as a sign of hope.”

The expected rate cut on Wednesday would go into effect less than 50 days before the November election.

The Fed says it bases its decisions on economic conditions and operates as an independent government body.

When asked about the 2024 election at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in December, Powell said, “We don’t think about politics.”

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(NEW YORK) — After once deriding cryptocurrency as a “scam,” former President Donald Trump on Monday formally threw his support behind World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture whose business model remains largely unclear but has already drawn scrutiny as a potential ethics headache for his administration if he returns to the White House in January.

Joined Monday by his two adult sons and others involved in the fledgling business, including billionaire donor Steve Witkoff, Trump declared in a livestream on X that “crypto is one of those things we have to do,” and suggested that he would work to limit regulation of the industry if elected.

“Right now, you have a very hostile [Security and Exchange Commission] … they’ve been very hostile toward crypto,” Trump said. “My attitude is different.”

Details about the venture, including Trump’s role and potential compensation, remain unclear. The company’s website, which bears an image of a backlit Trump speaking at a podium, suggests the platform will have its own crypto token, called $WL, and aspires to “empower our users to operate their finances … with no direct oversight of any government agencies or officials.”

Industry experts said the website provides few details about the company — including what it will offer, who will have access to its profits, and how the Trump family stands to make money from it. James Butterfill, the head of research at CoinShares, a digital asset management firm, told ABC News that the website contains little more than “buzzwords.”

Government ethics watchdogs consulted by ABC News were quick to point out potential conflicts of interest posed by a candidate for president launching or becoming otherwise involved with a new business within weeks of Election Day — particularly in an industry as polarizing and unregulated as crypto, in which users directly exchange digital currencies without the oversight of banks or the government.

Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, said a future Trump administration would have wide latitude to impact crypto policy — and Trump’s own personal stake in the industry could potentially rub up against the best interests of the country.

“We’re still in the Wild West with crypto. It’s clear there is going to be some kind of regulation, but to what extent and how friendly they are to the industry, we don’t yet know,” Libowitz said. “The president obviously appoints the people in charge of that.”

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, rejected any suggestion that Trump’s role in World Liberty Financial could pose an ethical dilemma if he’s reelected, calling Trump “the most ethical president in American history.”

“When President Trump first ran for office, he stepped away from his very successful and lucrative businesses because the job of saving America was the most important job he’d ever have,” Cheung said in a statement to ABC News. “Before he entered the White House, he ensured everything was done within the ethics guidelines set forth.”

In addition to Trump’s adult sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who have for months been promoting World Liberty Financial on social media, a so-called “white paper” first reported by CoinBase indicated that Trump’s youngest son, Barron, 18, would also play a role in the firm.

Witkoff, who appeared Monday on the X livestream, said he introduced the Trumps to two other partners in the venture, Zak Folkman and Chase Herro, both of whom have a colorful business history.

Herro, who previously called himself a “dirtbag of the internet” at a crypto conference in 2018, has said he has made millions from an ecommerce business after spending three years in jail for selling drugs when he was in high school. Folkman, who first joined forces with Herro in the ecommerce business more than a decade ago, has reportedly previously taught classes on “how to date hotter girls.”

On ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday, Witkoff — a longtime friend to Trump and one of his campaign’s biggest financial supporters — downplayed any potential conflict posed by Trump’s foray into crypto.

“If the president is elected, which I expect him to be, then everything that he — all of his of his ownership, his businesses, will be put in some sort of a trust.” Witkoff said. “His children, I would assume, will be involved in running it. And I doubt that, therefore, that there is any conflict.”

But Danielle Brian, the executive director of the Project On Government Oversight, said that would be nothing more than “window dressing.”

“A trust managed by family members will not eliminate the conflict of interest created by a sitting president owning any business,” Brian said.

Trump’s announcement on Monday marked his transition from a vocal skeptic of digital currencies to one of the industry’s most enthusiastic proponents. As president, he complained on Twitter that crypto markets were “highly volatile and based on thin air.” In 2021, shortly after leaving the White House, Trump called cryptocurrencies a “scam.”

But during his 2024 bid for the White House, Trump has cozied up to crypto interests.

In May, his campaign said it would begin accepting contributions in cryptocurrency. Trump has regularly hosted industry enthusiasts at his properties and, in July, at the annual Bitcoin Conference, he pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto super-power” of the world.

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(NEW YORK) — For the first time in its history, Instagram on Tuesday announced the launch of accounts designed specifically for teenage users with built-in privacy protections.

The new accounts, called “Teen Accounts,” will be automatic for all Instagram users under the age of 18, both for teens already using the app and for those signing up.

By default, Instagram users younger than 16 will need a parent’s permission to change their account settings.

The changes — expected to impact tens of millions of users — were announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a live interview on ABC News’ Good Morning America.

“They’re an automatic set of protections for teens that try to proactively address the top concerns that we’ve heard from parents about teens online,” Mosseri said on GMA. “Things like who can contact them, what content they see and how much time they spend on their device … all without requiring any involvement from the parent.”

Mosseri said the rollout of Teen Accounts starts Tuesday with new users signing up for the app, while existing teen users will see their accounts switch to the new Teen Accounts model within 60 days.

Among the changes put in place by Instagram include a new privacy setting that, by default, places all teen users in private accounts. In order to switch to a public account, teens under age 16 will need a parent’s permission.

Under the private account setting, teens will need to accept new followers and only people whom they accept as followers can see their content and interact with them.

In addition, teen users will now automatically only be able to message with people they follow, or are already connected to, and parents will have a new tool in their settings that allows them to see with whom their teen has recently been messaging.

With the new accounts, teens will have the power to choose the age-appropriate topics they want to see more of on Instagram, like sports or art, and parents will also be able to see the topics their teens choose.

In order to limit the amount of time spent on Instagram, all Teen Accounts will be placed in “sleep mode” between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., while parents can also adjust their child’s time settings — including limiting access completely overnight — in the parental supervision tool.

Another change for Teen Accounts is that they will automatically be placed in more restrictive content settings, which will limit the content they see in search functions like Reels or Explore from accounts they don’t follow, according to Instagram.

Antigone Davis, vice president and global head of safety for Meta, the parent company of Instagram, told GMA the company is also implementing new ways to verify users’ ages.

“We are building technology to try to identify if you’ve lied about your age and then move you into those stricter settings,” Davis said. “This is a challenging area for industry, which is why, on top of building that technology that will try to identify age liars and put them into those protective settings, we also will have moments where, if we get a strong signal, we will ask you to age verify.”

Davis said that parents will be able to monitor their teens’ account and adjust their settings from their own Instagram accounts.

“The idea is to really make it simpler, so they [parents] have their own center that they can go and look and see what the privacy setting is for their teen,” she said.

Changes spurred by parents and teens

The changes for teen Instagram users come amid mounting evidence showing the dangers of social media for young users.

Social media use is linked with symptoms of depression and anxiety, body image issues, and lower life satisfaction for some teens and adolescents, research shows. Heavy social media use around the time adolescents go through puberty is linked with lower life satisfaction one year later, one large study found.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who previously issued an advisory highlighting a crisis in youth mental health, has said he believes being on social media “does a disservice” to kids early in their teen years. Noting the crisis among kids, the American Psychological Association last year issued the first guidance of its kind to help teens use social media safely.

In January, while testifying at a Senate hearing, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, publicly apologized to parents, caregivers and loved ones of young people who they say were harmed due to social media use, telling them, “It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered.”

In his apology, Zuckerberg also emphasized Meta’s efforts on safety, adding, “This is why we invest so much and are going to continue doing industry-leading efforts to make sure that no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer.”

Davis said the newly-announced changes to Instagram for teen users came after conversations with parents and teenagers around the world.

She said the company focused on making it simpler for parents to know how, when, and with whom their teens are engaging on Instagram.

“We’ve had these incremental changes along the way as we’ve been working back and forth with parents and experts,” Davis said of previous safety changes for teen users. “What we’re really trying to do here is standardize a lot of this approach.”

She added of the new features, “There are these broad protections that we have in place, and if your teen wants to change them, and they’re under the age of 16, they have to come to you for permission, they’ve got to invite you in. It’s just a different way of thinking about things.”

Parents and caregivers as well as teens can learn more about Teen Accounts by visiting Instagram.com/teenaccounts.

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(NEW YORK) — As fast food chains continue to drop prices on popular menu items in hopes of enticing hungry customers, Popeyes is entering the arena with a new $5 deal.

The popular fried chicken chain announced new value offers on Monday, which includes an order of three pieces of its signature bone-in chicken for just $5.

The fast food franchise, which first started in New Orleans in 1972, timed the news in tandem with National Chicken Month.

“We first saw the ‘Value Wars’ taking off early in the summer, as consumers were looking for ways to indulge in their favorite foods, without the high price tag,” the company wrote in a blog post Monday. “This made our team think, how can we continue to serve our food, without compromising on the quality we are known for, but at a price our customers will be happy with?”

“This new promotion celebrates what Popeyes does best — Fried Chicken,” the company continued. “Each piece is expertly marinated in Popeyes signature blend of savory Louisiana herbs and seasonings, then battered in a crunchy southern coating and fried to golden brown perfection.”

According to Popeyes, the $5 deal is available at participating locations nationwide in restaurant, through the Popeyes app, or online.

“As consumers look for more ways to enjoy their favorite meals without breaking the bank, Popeyes is excited to join this conversation centered around guest satisfaction,” the company wrote.

The news comes on the heels of McDonald’s extending its $5 value meal and similar offers from competitors like Wendy’s, Burger King and even Chili’s.

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(NEW YORKI) — Lamborghini has sold adrenaline-inducing speed and spaceship-like designs for decades, to much success.

The brand’s executives are blunt, however, when it comes to their cramped cabins: “We’re not very famous for the interior.”

That’s about to change. The Italian marque’s latest sports car, the Temerario, was designed, it seems, with one type of customer in mind: lanky drivers.

“We increased the roominess in the car … tall people can sit comfortably,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told ABC News.

The Temerario, a plug-in hybrid that debuted in August, lives up to previous models: 10,000-rpm redline; top speed of 210 mph; 907 horsepower produced from the all-new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 powertrain; and an 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Yet it’s the added comfort that executives were eager to discuss.

Winkelmann said his team put a lot of emphasis and attention on storage space and headroom in the Temerario, partly to appease owners in the United States, the brand’s No. 1 market. The Temerario is being billed as more of a “weekend car,” with enough real estate to squeeze luggage behind the two front seats — unheard for the brand.

The storied carmaker is in the process of electrifying its lineup. In addition to the Temerario, Lamborghini showed off the Urus SE in April. The company’s first hybrid, the beastly 1,001 hp Reveulto (three electric motors assist the naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine), has a nearly three-year wait list. The flagship supercar went on sale last year.

“This is the best lineup we have,” Winkelmann said.

The Lamborghini exec spoke to ABC News about the company’s electrification strategy, industry challenges and what could put the brakes on the company’s upward sales trajectory.

The interview below has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: What’s been the early reaction by customers and enthusiasts to the Temerario, Lamborghini’s new hybrid sports car and successor to the Huracan?

A: It’s been very positive. We will see in the next weeks, months what the order collection is like. And I will be surprised if it’s negative.

Q: You made a point to underscore how comfortable this car is inside versus previous models as well as the added room for luggage. Is the company responding to customer feedback?

A: Everybody now wants everything. They want design, they want speed, they want a luggage compartment, they want space in the interior. We worked over the years on finding a way to create space without jeopardizing the design and the height of the car.

People are getting taller, especially in North America. We have a lot of tall, male customers. We worked on the performance of the car, the design and roominess, the handling. In a supercar, performance is more important than comfort. And design is more important than the luggage compartment. But now you have to try to get at least best in class in this type of segment so you work on everything.

Q: Could the Temerario have been built with a V10 engine?

A: We wanted to create something that sets apart the V12. The choice of the V8 … was something unique in our world — it’s also a matter of C02 emissions. We all agreed this was the choice. There was no way to continue with the V10.

Q: What will you miss most about the Huracan?

A: I was part of the team when we started to develop the car. These are memories I will never forget. The “baby Lamborghini” was a very important car for us and we really exploited what was possible to do.

The variant I love the most is the Sterrato. I wanted to do the Sterrato almost 10 years ago. Then I was away for some years [from the company] and I came back at the end of 2020. And they still hadn’t done the car. So I said, “We will do it.” And I think we did the right choice because it’s unique, and I really like it. It’s a lifestyle car but it’s also really fun to drive.

Q: Is there really a two-year wait for the Revuelto?

A: Even more. Two-and-a-half years at least in the U.S.

Q: You recently debuted the Urus SE, a hybrid SUV. What has reaction been like to this model?

A: We presented it in Beijing [in April]. The car is not on the road yet. The order bank is incredible and we’re happy.

Q: The first six months of 2024 show record results in terms of deliveries, revenues and operating income. What are you expecting for the second half of the year?

A: Things are going the right way. We don’t know who is going to be the next president of the U.S. … but we think it can be another very good year for Lamborghini if it goes like the first six months.

Q: Do U.S. presidents impact Lamborghini sales?

A: So far no. Kamala Harris, though, is an unknown variable.

Q: Have the recent stock market gyrations and recession chatter impacted the company?

A: Nobody knows the future. We look at the order bank and residual values. We look at the showroom traffic, the hesitation of people who may cancel orders. We go down to each and every dealer to see how they’re doing.

Q: The Revuelto is not your traditional plug-in hybrid — the electric motor is really there to add horsepower and boost performance. Will we see a true hybrid from Lamborghini — one that posts better fuel economy and record stats?

A: The mileage of the Temerario and Revuelto is, for sure, not the highest, but you have mileage in purely electric mode. The Urus has a much higher mileage of electric — 60 kilometers, so around 40 miles.

Q: Everyone loved the Lanzador concept last year. Is that still coming in 2028? Or will it be sooner?

A: Not sooner.

Q: When will we see a fully electric Lamborghini, if ever?

A: We are planning for the end of this decade. We stick to our plans.

Q: Are you surprised that enthusiasts are clinging to their V12s and V10s?

A: No, because we forecasted this. We said it’s far too early for supercars to go fully electric. But for the daily useable cars, in my opinion, this is a good opportunity.

Q: What is the biggest obstacle facing all automakers now?

A: I would say electrification is the biggest challenge globally. The other is the software development … cars are more and more connected. These are the two major challenges for the industry. For other brands, challenges are the cost of developing [electric] cars and the pricing of these cars. Then it has to be a fair competition around the globe, which is sometimes not the case.

Q: I appreciate that there are still buttons in Lamborghinis. Will that change over time?

A: A touchscreen is nice, but we also want to have the haptic [feel] and click of the buttons. Voice control will increase in cars, but to me, buttons are more luxurious than a touchscreen. We believe in buttons.

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(NEW YORK) — Borrowers have waited years for a sign of relief from high interest rates for everything from credit card loans to mortgages. The wait may come to an end this week.

Investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at a meeting on Wednesday. The move would dial back the central bank’s benchmark rate from a 23-year high, reversing some of the rate hikes initiated three years ago in an effort to fight inflation.

Questions, however, remain about the size of the rate cut, what it means for borrowers and how it may impact the 2024 presidential race.

Experts spoke to ABC News about what to know ahead of the potential interest rate cut.

Why is the Fed expected to cut interest rates?

In 2021, the Fed began aggressively raising interest rates in an effort to bring inflation under control. The policy has largely succeeded. Inflation has slowed dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, though it remains slightly higher than the Fed’s target of 2%.

Meanwhile, the job market has slowed. A weaker-than-expected jobs report in each of the last two months has stoked concern among some economists. The unemployment rate has ticked up this year from 3.7% to 4.2%.

Those trends have shifted the Fed’s focus away from controlling inflation and toward ensuring a healthy job market.

In theory, lower interest rates help stimulate economic activity and boost employment; higher interest rates slow economic performance and ease inflation.

“The Fed has been very much guided by data,” Anastassia Fedyk, a professor of finance at Haas Business School at the University of California Berkeley, told ABC News. “ Inflation numbers in the last few months have started looking good, and things are not looking so hot in terms of the jobs reports.”

What will the size of the rate cut be?

The chances of an interest rate cut at the Fed’s meeting next week are all but certain, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.

Market observers are divided nearly down the middle over whether the Fed will impose its typical cut of a quarter of a percentage point, or opt for a larger half-point cut. The tool estimates the probability of a quarter-point cut at 51% and the odds of a half-point cut at 49%.

“There is that much uncertainty because it seems not all Fed officials are of the same opinion,” Gregory Daco, chief economist at accounting firm EY, told ABC News.

Some Fed policymakers appear to prefer a gradual approach to rate cuts in light of easing inflation and a resilient, albeit weakened, labor market, Daco said. By contrast, others seem to favor a large initial cut that would help avert a more severe job market slowdown.

What would a rate cut mean for credit card fees, mortgage rates?

An interest rate cut would mark a major milestone as the Fed shifts toward a lowering of rates and an easing of costs for borrowers, experts said. Still, they added, the initial rate cut would not substantially lessen loan payments.

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s peanuts,” Daco said.

Nevertheless, some loan relief has already emerged in anticipation of a gradual lowering of interest rates over the coming months.

Mortgage rates fell last week to their lowest level since April 2023, Freddie Mac data showed. The 10-year treasury yield, which helps set the level of many consumer loans, has plummeted nearly a percentage point since July.

“This is a sign of a trend that’s going to start, but it’s going to take a lot longer and be milder than an immediate transition,” Fedyk said.

What would a rate cut mean for the November election?

Typically, lower interest rates make borrowing less expensive for businesses and consumers, propelling companies to invest in new projects and everyday people to stretch for bigger purchases. That all should help propel economic growth and buoy consumer optimism.

In turn, an economic surge could benefit the incumbent party, dispelling concern about a recession and improving the livelihoods of everyday people, some analysts previously told ABC News.

However, the benefits of a forthcoming rate cut could prove more limited, since rate moves take hold after a period of delay that can last months, analysts said.

The most recent Democratic presidential candidate who failed to win reelection, Jimmy Carter, lost his bid amid a historic series of rate hikes at the Fed.

A rate cut would deviate from the policy approach taken by the Fed prior to many recent presidential elections, a Reuters analysis found. Policy rates were left unchanged for six to 12 months before the 2020, 2016, 2012 and 2000 U.S. presidential elections, according to Reuters.

To be sure, the Fed says it bases its decisions on economic conditions and operates as an independent government body.

When asked about the 2024 election at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, “We don’t think about politics.”

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(NEW YORK) — Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, was convicted because of a “false narrative” told by federal prosecutors at a trial “tainted” by errors, his attorneys argued in a new court filing Friday to a federal appeals court.

“Fair trial principles were swept away in a ‘Sentence first-verdict afterwards’ tsunami, as everyone rushed to judgment following FTX’s collapse,” defense attorneys wrote in the appeal. “Sam Bankman-Fried was never presumed innocent. He was presumed guilty—before he was even charged.”

Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering last November after federal prosecutors in New York accused him of orchestrating a scheme that collapsed the crypto-exchange he founded, FTX, and stole $8 billion in customer funds.

He is serving a 25-year prison sentence, which his attorneys called “draconian.”

In Friday’s appeal, defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro attacked the trial judge, Lewis Kaplan, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, accusing them of lacking objectivity or even-handedness.

“He was presumed guilty by the media. He was presumed guilty by the FTX debtor estate and its lawyers. He was presumed guilty by federal prosecutors eager for quick headlines. And he was presumed guilty by the judge who presided over his trial,” the appeal said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment, but will submit a written reply brief.

The defense asked for a reversal of Bankman-Fried’s conviction and a new trial before a different judge.

Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend and a blockbuster witness for the prosecution, is set to be sentenced for her role in the fraud later this month.

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