Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is known for providing clear signals about the central bank’s next interest rate move in order to avoid roiling markets. But Wall Street was mostly clueless this week when it came to predicting how big a rate cut the Fed would deliver on Wednesday.

The Fed cut its short term interest rate by 0.50%. How will this affect mortgage rates, auto loans, and credit cards? Does the cut indicate a problem with the economy?

A Federal Reserve official predicted quarter point rate cuts if data looked ‘fine’. But he also set out a scenario for a pause — or faster reductions.