Since 2008, the U.S. central bank has pumped nearly $4 trillion into the global economy.Besides boosting liquidity, quantitative easing, as the practice is known, also sent U.S. interest rates to record lows.But instead of causing a spike in inflation as many had feared, some of the money began flowing into countries where yields were higher.Catherine Mann is chief economist at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,“Emerging markets have been the beneficiaries of investors' search for yield,”Among the beneficiaries have been the BRIC countries ― Brazil, Russia India and China.But now, with U.S. interest rates set to rise next year,Brad McMillan at Commonwealth Financial Network said some of that money will start flowing back to the United States.“With U.S. rates starting to rise, the attractiveness of the U.S. as an investment destination continues to increase," he said."You’re going to see a lot of capital that went to emerging markets potentially come back.”That’s not necessarily a bad thing, said the OECD’s Mann.“Part of the reason why that’s the case is that tapering has happened along with a speed-up in the U.S. economy," she said."So emerging markets, even as capital was being reallocated, ended up doing better from the standpoint of exporting.”That’s because a stronger dollar makes foreign exports cheaper.On the other hand, it's also likely to produce increased volatility, the ups and down in financial markets.
