Federal Reserve

Since Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke first raised the prospect of tapering on 22 May, bond funds have endured a torrid run, but some have coped much better than others.

The Federal Reserve saw jobs growth in the US as the trigger to begin tapering QE, and has raised its economic growth forecast, the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting reveal.

Janet Yellen has been voted in by the US Senate to become the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve.

Markets have rallied today following the Federal Reserve's move to scale back its quantitative easing programme as the US economy recovers.

The FTSE 100 climbed in early trading in line with other major equity markets as the US Federal Reserve moved to taper its bond buying programme.

US markets soared to new all-time highs on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve made a surprise early move to gradually scale back quantitative easing.

Investec Asset Management's John Stopford, manager of the Diversified Growth fund, outlines his five themes for investing for income in 2014, including a cheap dollar, inflation disappointment, and opportunities in EMD.

All bets are off on when the Federal Reserve may begin tapering, and investors should therefore prepare themselves for a taper as early as this week, said M&G's Anthony Doyle.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR

Japan's Nikkei fell for a second day overnight, while indices around the world also moved lower, as investors pull money out of the market on fears of imminent tapering by the US Fed.