Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat’s commentary for the week of January 28, 2014?

Article Excerpt

Commentators are blaming last week’s sharp downturn on the after-effects of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board’s plan to cut back on its QE (Quantitative Easing) program. Under QE, the Federal Reserve has been buying U.S. Treasury bonds every month. To pay for these purchases, the Fed simply writes a cheque—creates new money out of thin air, you might say. (This is standard practice with central banks like the Fed.) This expands credit available to borrowers in the U.S. and world credit markets. It helps maintain recent low levels of interest rates. Now, however, the Federal Reserve plans to reduce that regular QE buying. This may cut into available credit and give interest rates at least a slight nudge upward. Fears about a QE cutback have been particularly hard on entities that are already finding it hard and/or expensive to borrow. This applies especially to emerging markets that face political and economic strife, notably Argentina, Turkey and South Africa. In coming weeks,…