After IMF and ECB, next up is the Fed

OFFICIAL policymakers played a big part in last week's action: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with its inclusion of China's yuan as a reserve currency and the European Central Bank (ECB) when it disappointed markets with a smaller-than-expected monetary stimulus package on Thursday.

The next big market-moving policy event is the US Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meeting over Dec 15-16, arguably the most anticipated meeting of the year.

Some might describe it as "eagerly" anticipated, while others might prefer "dreaded", depending of course, on a variety of factors, among them whether a US rate hike would be good or bad for markets.