I have long thought of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program (QE) as a bit like a drip keeping a patient in a coma alive until it can be brought out of the coma and survive on its own. The patient was the US economy post the GFC and the Fed was administering the drip. Quantitative easing involved the Fed using printed money to pump cash into the struggling US economy by buying up government bonds and mortgage backed securities. The first two rounds of QE ended prematurely in 2010 and 2011 before the US economy was ready to be taken off life support. However, having learned its lesson the phasing down of the latest round – commonly called QE3 – was made contingent on the economy strengthening. The Fed has concluded that this has happened so has been “tapering” its bond purchases all year and is now bringing them to an end.
But has QE worked? Was it worth the costs? What next? What does it mean for investment markets?
