Source: Financial Times, 16th March 2011

Some things in life you can rely on. The beneficence of the Federal Open Market Committee for investors, for example. Its latest billet doux affirms that the recovery is on a "firmer footing" while still promising that interest rates will stay virtually at zero for an "extended period". The power of patient easy money to provide a security blanket for asset prices cannot be overstated. Last summer's swoon for stocks coincided with speculation that the Fed was getting ready to exit and the long rally since August, barely interrupted by the shocking events of the last week, came as the Fed launched QE2 bond purchases.