The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that the U.S. Federal Reserve policy-makers stated their recent half-point rate cut aimed to support a balanced economy with inflation moving toward the Fed's target rate and unemployment stabilizing. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that three reserve-bank presidents supported the rate cut, acknowledging that current policy is putting too much pressure on the economy and that a more "neutral" interest rate would be appropriate. Both inflation and unemployment levels are close to the Fed's goals. However, rates are currently the highest they have been in decades. It seems reasonable to maintain these rates when aiming to cool the economy, but not when the goal is to sustain the current economic conditions, said Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on Monday. He added: "I am comfortable with a starting move like this -- the 50-basis-point cut in the federal funds rate announced last Wednesday -- as a demarcation that we are back to thinking more about both sides of the mandate. If we want a soft landing, we can't be behind the curve." The dual mandate refers to the Fed's goals of maintaining the lowest level of unemployment consistent with stable prices.