Officials from three major central banks signaled on Friday that they will firmly lower or continue to lower interest rates in the coming months, marking the beginning of the end of an era of high borrowing costs as the global economy escapes the grip of post-pandemic inflation. "It's time for policy adjustments," Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at the Jackson Hole conference, all but promising that the Fed would cut rates at its September meeting. The date for the start of the rate cuts, and the fact that many of the world's major central banks are working in the same direction, have removed some of the anxiety of investors. After the landmark rate cut in June, several members of the European Central Bank - Bank of Finland Governor Rehn, Latvian Central Bank Governor Kazaks, Croatian Central Bank Governor Vujcic and Portuguese Central Bank Governor Centeno all said they would support another rate cut next month. In prepared remarks, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the risk of persistent inflation was waning, suggesting an openness to further rate cuts. However, neither Powell nor other Fed officials provided much guidance on how quickly they intend to continue cutting rates in the coming months. "It's all about optionality and adjusting how they get down the mountain," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. "This speech made it clear that the labor market is now their primary focus."