It seems the Fed is so scared about something (despite every long-only asset manager telling us day after day that the economy is recovering and the US doesn't need crisis support... oh and can withstand higher rates) that they have gone against consensus and decided that Tapering now is premature: *FED REFRAINS FROM QE TAPER, KEEPS MONTHLY BUYING AT $85 BLN *FED: RISE IN MORTGAGE RATES, FISCAL POLICY RESTRAIN GROWTH *FED: `TIGHTENING OF FINANCIAL CONDITIONS' COULD SLOW GROWTH *MOST FED OFFICIALS SEE FIRST INTEREST-RATE RISE IN 2015 Pre-FOMC: S&P Futs 1696, VIX , 10Y 2.865%, MTG Spread 72.5bps, USD 81.00, WTI ... (full story)