The first quarter of 2019 saw a marked change in the equity and bond markets from the very difficult conditions we faced in the last quarter of 2018. Jerome Powell, head of the United States Federal Reserve ("the Fed"), and his team of central bankers almost singlehandedly caused the steep market losses through his/their hawkish comments of "quantitative tightening" (QT) in the summer and fall months.
However, since the beginning of 2019, Powell & Co. abruptly turned dovish - declaring an end to their QT policies of raising the Federal Funds rates and decreasing their