The end of Q.E?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/bernanke-and-us-fed-change-course-on-interest-rate-policy-a-905242.html Investors have also been shocked at the speed at which prices have risen and then collapsed on markets in Europe and North America recently. The rapid changes were triggered by a man they sometimes call "Helicopter Ben" in the financial markets because he once flirted with the idea... [more]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/bernanke-and-us-fed-change-course-on-interest-rate-policy-a-905242.html Investors have also been shocked at the speed at which prices have risen and then collapsed on markets in Europe and North America recently. The rapid changes were triggered by a man they sometimes call "Helicopter Ben" in the financial markets because he once flirted with the idea of throwing money out of a helicopter to fight the crisis. While the Bank of Japan has just announced that it intends to pump even more money into the system, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants to slowly wean the economy off the cheap money that has intoxicated investors for years. That, at least, is what many investors believe. But the central bankers also cannot continue along the current trajectory. "The policy of cheap money inflates asset prices," says Felsenheimer. The later the normalization occurs, the more painful it will be. And because Bernanke also knows that, the Fed chief began a very gentle withdrawal process in May. "In the next few meetings, we could take a step down in our pace of purchase," Bernanke told the US Congress last month. [less]