Thomas Becket, chief investment officer, PSigma
We do not expect the next head of the Federal Reserve to be anything other than highly accommodative with regards to interest rates. Indeed, we expect them to be on hold across the major developed economies for the whole of 2014.
Neil Staines, head of trading and execution, ECU
While Janet Yellen currently retains her dovish reputation, this likely understates the likelihood that she will act more swiftly to normalise monetary policy once the recovery takes hold and inflation picks up than the broad consensus would suggest. While there may well be more room on the topside for US equity markets in the near term, when the need for policy normalisation does arise it is very possible that policy tightening is required at a pace that is quicker than even that priced in to the US yield curve.
