In my experience, markets don’t deal well with several crises emerging at the one time. Give them just QE tapering and they may be able to adapt, but throw Syria and an Asian currency mess into the mix, and it can make for a wild ride. Underlying all of the recent volatility though is the first sign that investors are starting to doubt the omnipresent powers of central bankers. Ben Bernanke says there can be QE tapering without rising interest rates and bond markets revolt against that idea. Similarly, the new Bank of England chief Mark Carney says interest rates will remain low for the next three years and bond yields jump given better economic data and rising inflation.
