Thought Of The Week FED Meeting and US Equity Markets The US Federal Reserve met on Wednesday this week and came up with the decision to commence tapering bond purchases and to hold interest rates steady. The tapering decision was on the back of an anticipated stronger economy. In light of the Federal Reserve’s outlook, small cap stocks jumped strongly as per the previous time the Federal Reserve announced the commencement of tapering. Bond yields also correspondingly rose with the tapering decision, with longer dated treasuries being more sensitive. It was also notable that Powell clarified that the rate of taper could change after December and would not rule out either increasing or decreasing the rate of asset purchases. Despite the backdrop of higher inflation, Powell maintained that inflation was transitory and showed little urgency to raise interest rates. Powell also noted that progress was still needed to achieve...