The big story of the week is the Federal Reserve. Everyone wants to know what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will indicate about "the taper" – the possible reduction of monthly bond purchases it's expected to make under its quantitative easing program later this year. At the moment, the Fed purchases $85 billion worth of bonds in an effort to drive interest rates lower and inject liquidity in the market. Fears that the Fed will pull back on these purchases have caused Treasury bond yields to rise, in turn causing all kinds of ructions in global markets. So why are people so concerned? To help explain, we've employed ... (full story)