The Fed

The United States Federal Reserve has delivered on market expectations by raising its benchmark interest rate by another quarter percentage point to 4.25 per cent and signalling more to come.

However, a change in wording in the statement - the removal of the description of policy being 'accommodative' in favour of 'some further measured policy firming is likely" - was taken as a signal that the end of the cycle is nigh. Bond yields fell slightly in response, the US dollar lost some modest ground and equity markets rallied.