Braced for tapering? Keep waiting

The US Federal Reserve is likely to be slower to start its tapering programme than many in the markets expect, and the process may also be more gradual than anticipated once it begins, says Mark Boyadjian, San Mateo, California-based senior vice president of the fixed income group. During a visit to Hong Kong last week, he said many investors in Asia (and worldwide) have made new allocations over the past year to floating-rate notes (FRNs) and leveraged loans. The inflows were oft…