The FOMC minutes depicted a Federal Reserve that appeared to be not quite ready to take fresh initiatives, whether it is yield curve control or changing the composition or quantities of its bond purchases. This unleashed profit-taking on some of the large moves in equities, the dollar, and gold. The move has carried into today. Most bourses in the Asia Pacific region were off at least 1%, and Taiwan and Korea markets were off more than 3%. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 is off around 1.0% near midday in Europe, and the S&P 500 is poised to gap lower at the opening today. Bond markets are on the sidelines, though ... (full story)