Fed sets October date for end of QE

The US Federal Reserve has said it will end its purchases of government bonds in October, bringing to a close the quantitative easing experiment.

Since December, the Fed has been tapering purchases of $85bn per month by $10bn, down to $35bn last month. Plans outlined in the minutes from the June meeting show this continuing into August and September, with a $15bn reduction in October, as long as economic growth continues at its current pace. "If the economy progresses as the [Federal Reserve] expects, warranting reductions in the pace of purchases at each upcoming meeting, this final reduction would occur following the October meeting," the minutes read. US stocks rebounded on the news, reversing a two-day slide. The S&...