The Federal Reserve’s tapering is underway. The central bank’s quantitative easing (QE) program that generated record levels of monetary liquidity in recent years is on track to fade into history by the end of the year. The approaching demise of QE lays the groundwork for what’s widely expected to be the first interest rate hike sometime next year, probably around mid-2015, based on the consensus projection. The details and timing still depend on the incoming economic data, of course, as Fed Chair Janet Yellen reminded last week. But barring a run of weak numbers, which looks unlikely at this point, it appears that the tapering will roll on.
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