Bond Purchases: Time and Balance Sheets

bond purchases: The last time, of course, was the 2008 global financial crisis, according to Market Watch. Unlike then, today's underlying economic data remain strong, suggesting that a looming recession could come and go before we have even had time to measure it. But, given the market gyrations in recent months, they would do well to keep an eye on what really is different from the last time the business cycle turned. But that won't help investors looking to assess the potential risks and rewards of the next cycle, which will likely be shaped by unpredictable shifts in liquidity, politics, and technology. The major central banks have essentially stopped providing massive liquidity injections through bond purchases, and are now unwinding their balance sheets, albeit at varying rates. While academics convene conferences to analyze the legacy of quantitative easing QE by central banks over the past decade, investors want to know what the policy's reversal will mean for future financial conditions. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.