The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates again next week. But could the Fed soon go where it has never gone before and bring them below 1%?

The Fed lowered its federal funds rate, the benchmark overnight lending rate at which banks lend to one another, by a half-percentage point to 1.5% in an emergency announcement Oct. 8.

Many investors believe the central bank will cut rates by at least another half-percentage point following the end of a two-day meeting on Oct. 29.

In fact, the fed funds futures on the Chicago Board of Trade are now pricing in a 26% chance that the Fed will cut rates by three-quarters of a percentage point to 0.75% by that meeting.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said in recent weeks that economic weakness is likely to continue into next year, despite rate cuts and other recent moves taken by the Fed and Treasury Department to try and fix the credit crisis.

Rate cuts have been a key tool the central bank has used in the past to boost a weak economy. A variety of lending rates, including credit cards and home equity lines, as well as the prime rate used to set many business loan rates, are pegged to the fed funds rate.

So lower rates usually lead to cheaper credit, thus spurring businesses and consumers to spend money more freely.

But in the current credit crisis, with banks afraid to make loans due to worries about their firms’ own need for cash in the near term, already relatively low short-term rates have done little to get credit flowing. (The Fed cut rates seven times between September 2007 and April before holding them at 2% for several months.)

Some economists argue that another rate cut may be the least important step the Fed can take in its effort to solve the crisis.

But I thought all the bailouts and cash thrown at Wall Street were suppose to stop the problems in their tracks.  But I guess more is needed.  Damn!  You people are so gullible!