NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Investors are grappling with how an unwind of the Federal Reserve’s easy money policies could affect asset prices, after the central bank signaled that a taper of its bond-buying program was closer than ever and suggested it may raise rates at a faster-than-expected pace. In what some described as a hawkish tilt, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cleared the way to begin reducing its monthly bond purchases as soon as November, and nine of 18 U.S. central bank policymakers projected borrowing costs will need to rise in 2022. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank could conclude its tapering process around the middle of next year, as long as the recovery remains on track. The focus on rate increases comes as investors gauge how markets will respond to an unwind of the central bank’s $120 billion per month bond-buying program, which has helped the S&P 500 double from its March 2020 lows. Though many had expected the central bank to begin its unwind before the year was up, some investors said the projection for rate increases may spur worries over whether the Fed risks tightening monetary policy at a time when the economy could be significantly weaker than it is today, potentially undercutting the case for stocks and other comparatively risky assets. “With this hawkish move, the Fed risks tightening policy into a slow-growth backdrop,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. Stocks held onto their gains after the Fed’s statement, with the S&P 500 closing up nearly 1%. In Treasury markets, the gap between five-year notes and 30-year bonds fell below 100 basis points after the Fed policy statement to the lowest level since July 2020. A narrower gap could indicate factors like economic uncertainty, easing inflation concerns and anticipation of tighter monetary policy. Nick Bit: The Fed is whistling past the grave yard. Reality is with Fed Funds rates between 0.0% to 0.25% its as low as they can go. Inflation is raging out of control by any gauge you care to use. I posted a reco to liquidate all Treasuries….. Tbonds, Tnotes and Tbills. Rates are NOT going any lower for now. And by what ever time line you care to believe reality is rates are going higher. I predict a 300 to 450 bases point up move. And we will rebuy our treasuries and beloved Zeroes because after they raise rates and taper the economy will go into a death plunge and we will end up with double digit negative interest rates… But lets not get to far ahead of ourselves here….. “The rates market interpreted Fed communications as hawkish,” analysts at BoFA Global Research said in a note. “The more hawkish Fed is a key ingredient for our higher rates view into year-end.” The Fed funds market fully priced in a rate hike by January 2023 after the statement, moving projected rate increases forward by a month. Analysts at TD Securities expect the central bank to reduce its asset purchases by $15 billion a month starting in November, helping push up yields and strengthen the dollar, they said in a report. “Once the dust settles it seems that there are enough hawkish signals to keep the dollar biased higher, as the market pencils in a sooner-than-expected rate hike,” said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions. “Powell clarified repeatedly … that the criteria for tapering is very different than criteria for raising rates, which is much higher” and will have more of a market impact, he said. Nick Note: The Fed and major market players are in severe denial. Thier is no choice the FED W I L L raise rates and end its stimulus program… And it will be a disaster and everyone knows it. The economy is on death row. And no matter how many stays of execution their will be a lethal injection…