US Fed starts tapering: 10 must-know facts

The US central bank on Wednesday said it will reduce its $85 billion a month in bond purchases by $10 billion starting in January 2014. For a change, markets rallied after the Fed announcement and the Dow Jones Average ended at a record high, registering its best day in two months.
 

Here are 10 things to know about the QE taper:
 

The Fed has decided to reduce the quantum of bond buying per month from the next year. So, it would reduce its monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to total $75 billion. Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed will take "similar moderate steps" throughout next year to reduce the purchases further if the economy shows continued improvement.

Read more: Profit.NDTV.com, 19 December 2013