Some analysts are again projecting that the age of higher interest rates has finally arrived. The Fed is tapering and the US economy is expanding moderately, despite a first-quarter setback. David Kotok last week wrote that the central bank’s tapering has now passed the tipping point and reflects a “tightening” of monetary policy. Recent inflation readings have perked up as well. The consumer price index jumped 2.1 percent through May on an annual basis, the most in more than two years. But last year’s mild rise in interest rates, measured by the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, has reversed course again and has trended lower so far in 2014. The great rise in rates has been delayed once more. What gives?
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