Former Fed official reveals QE's true colours, while Fisher says tapering means just less accommodation

While some experts are trying to predict a possible date, when the Fed will start scaling back its unprecedented QE programme, others are weighing whether the massive bond-buying scheme was worth the cost. Andrew Huszar, former Fed official, believes that "very quickly into QE, it started becoming obvious that it wasn't working in the way that it was supposed to." Moreover, he said that in fact the bond-buying programme is just "the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time". Huszar also emphasized that QE was supposed to increase credit availability to consumers and businesses, but it failed to do so. Instead, QE's de facto support of the stock market excluded a considerable portion of people it was supposed to help. 

Meanwhile Richard Fisher, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said that markets should understand that the Fed stimulus cannot continue forever. "The balance sheet is $4 trillion and there are limits to what the Federal Reserve can do." However, he stressed out that the Fed will have to slow down the pace of monthly purchases, but it does not mean that the U.S. central bank will stop  QE programme altogether. There will be just less accommodation compared to the current $85 billion a month. The Fed has been criticized for not being clear enough with its forward guidance and misleading investors as to when tapering will begin and how long the interest rates are likely to remain low.