The Federal Reserve did something it had not done since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The head of North America’s largest union of maritime workers threatened to “cripple” the economy by hitting the picket lines. Inflation had a resurgence, then faded, and then resurfaced. It was a busy 2024 for corporate America and the U.S. and world economies. What happened? Fed Cuts Interest Rates For the first time in more than four years, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, which were at their highest level in 23 years. At the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy meeting, the U.S. central bank launched its long-awaited easing cycle with a jumbo half-point rate cut. Officials followed it up with two more quarter-point cuts, finishing the year by lowering the benchmark federal funds rate by 1 percent to a range of 4.25 and 4.5 percent….