Where is 2014 mostly likely leading us?
Recent economic figures tend to point towards an improving economic environment and
macroeconomic expansion for most countries. Europe’s main economies are growing again, albeit at low speed. There is a clear distinction visible between the Anglo-Saxon countries (USA, UK) with better prospects for expansion and the continental European areas with a slower pace on the path of growth. On December 18, the US FED finally began the long discussed process or “tapering” by gradually reducing its monthly purchase of USD 85b in US Treasury and Mortgage securities while simultaneously signaling that “a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy will remain appropriate for a considerable time after asset-purchase program ends” and as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6.5% and inflation projections one to two years ahead are below 2.5%.
You can read the full version of the outlook in the document attached below.