010119 Tyson CEO Delighted With Fed Rate Cut

New York - The Federal Reserve's surprise move to cut key interest rates this week couldn't have come at a better time for Tyson Foods Inc., which is borrowing money to finance a $3 billion acquisition of IBP Inc.

“For a guy who's borrowing $1.5 billion, it is wonderful,” said Chairman and Chief Executive John Tyson.

The unexpected action by the Fed, which cut the fed funds interest rate by a half percentage point on Wednesday, came just two days after the poultry giant clinched a deal to buy beef processor IBP for about $3 billion in cash and stock. The Fed move means it will cost less for Tyson to borrow money to fund the deal.

Tyson said he agreed with experts who viewed the move as necessary to energize the slowing economy. Tyson and other Arkansas-based companies have seen evidence of a slowdown over the past few months, he said.

But like others on Main Street and Wall Street, Tyson also thinks more rate cuts are needed to keep the economy growing.

“This is enough at this point to keep the economy from coming to a stop. It's not enough if you want to put some more energy into it,” he said.

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