David Jane: Has the 'everything bubble' burst?

Many years ago we characterised quantitative easing (QE) as "battlefield medicine" - quite necessary at the time but with a real danger of addiction if not exited early. A decade after its introduction, attempts to exit QE are proving more problematic for the US than policymakers may have expected. Despite a strong financial backdrop, US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's attempts to tighten policy rates and Europe's exit of QE appear to have stumbled against the barrier of rapid stockmarket falls and declining economic expectations. The message from markets seems clear - withou...