With Janet Yellen's term ending in February 2018, the sweepstakes for Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair is heating up. Media stories about who is favored are appearing with increasing frequency and attracting a lot of attention. Potential candidates are trying to raise their profiles and thereby increase their chances.

Short-Term Mispricing of Fed's Intentions Unlikely to Be As Serious, This Time, Western Asset Predicts

The meeting between President Trump and President Xi in April removes a cloud hanging over the equity market. This comes at a time when fears over debt levels have been well discounted, while growth appears to have stabilised nicely at a relatively high level. Furthermore, corporate earnings are starting to surprise positively.

According to Richard Turnill, BlackRock's Global Chief Investment Strategist, if we look at the earnings yield of U.S. equities — the implied yield in earnings estimates that makes potential returns comparable to bond yields. U.S. equities look expensive on this basis. But compared with historically low bond yields, U.S. equities still look cheap.

According to Mark Burgess, CIO EMEA and Global Head of Equities, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, an unwinding of QE could cause increased volatility in the markets and a fight for remaining liquidity, as the supply of government bonds starts to disappear.