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Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Reserve, Stocks, Economy, InvestingAlex Wong/Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke By Annalyn Kurtz and Hibah Yousuf Ever since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke noted last month that the central bank may start slowing its stimulus program in just a "few meetings," it's been a bumpy ride for financial markets. Stocks have had some wild swings and the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has ticked slightly higher. Much of the volatility is due to confusion about what exactly Bernanke meant by a "few." Other Fed officials have since discussed the issue further but have hardly cleared it up, so CNNMoney asked economists and investment strategists for their predictions about what the Fed will do next. Nearly two-thirds of the 39 people we surveyed said they don't think the Fed will slow its monthly asset purchases until at least December. Some even noted that the so-called "tapering" may not begin until 2014. "Tapering talk seems premature," said Dorsey Farr, partner with the investment firm French Wolf & Farr. Sponsored Links The rest of the economists and strategists thought the slowdown process would begin at either the September or October meetings. Nobody predicted that the Fed will make a change at its upcoming meeting, but Fed watchers are hoping for hints from Bernanke, who will speak at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "The markets don't like uncertainty," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist for Decision Economics. "The Federal Reserve should clarify the uncertainty as soon as possible -- which would be Wednesday." The central bank's controversial stimulus program, known as quantitative easing, currently entails purchasing $45 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities each month. The goal is to lower long-term interest rates, thereby making it cheaper for consumers and businesses to borrow money. It's hard to measure just how effective the program has been, but it seems low rates have helped the housing and stock markets over the past few years. On the other side of equation, low interest rates have also meant savers are getting measly returns on bonds and other conservative investments. The Fed has said it's looking for "substantial improvement" in the job market before it starts to wind down stimulus. But what does "substantial" mean? That's anyone's guess. The Fed has yet to lay out any specific goalposts for QE3. The unemployment rate is still relatively high, and it rose slightly to 7.6 percent in May. Meanwhile, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation is well below the central bank's goal, showing prices were up only 1.1 percent in the 12 months ending in April. "When we look at the data, we see a labor market that isn't really accelerating and an inflation picture that is showing greater signs of deflationary pressures than inflationary pressure," said Thomas Simons, money market economist for Jefferies & Co. "We don't see a fundamental justification for a change in policy." What's also unclear is just how gradually the Fed will curtail the program. Will it start winding down in $5 billion increments? $10 billion? $20 billion? Fed watchers surveyed by CNNMoney predict that when the Fed first starts to reduce its monthly purchases, it will be to $65 billion a month: $30 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $35 billion in Treasuries. The QE program is unlikely to come to a full stop until mid-2014, and actual tightening -- when the Fed starts to sell assets and raise short-term interest rates -- isn't expected until mid-2015. (The Fed has specifically said that it thinks rates should remain "exceptionally low" as long as the unemployment rate is above 6.5 percent.) By then, we're likely to have a new Federal Reserve chair. Nearly all (92 percent) of the Fed watchers surveyed by CNNMoney predict Bernanke won't serve a third stint as chairman. His current term ends in January. Instead, an overwhelming maj

Christine Lagarde, one of the most powerful women in the world as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, is facing acute embarrassment after a letter in which she urged former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to "use me" was found during a police raid on her Paris flat. An undated copy of the letter was found at Mrs Lagarde’s flat in Paris during a raid by police investigating a spiralling financial scandal surrounding payments to businessman Bernard Tapie. "I'm on your side to serve you and serve your projects for France," she said in the letter. "Use me during the time that suits you best and fits your action and your cast....If you decide to use me, I need you as guide and supporter: without guide, I might be ineffective, without support I might be implausible." She signed off: “With my immense admiration, Christine L.” She also claimed that she does not have "personal political ambitions" and remarked she does not want to become "an ambitious servant", referring to some members of Sarkozy's entourage. Critics described the letter as a pledge of allegiance and is reported to have been written during the 2007 French Presidential campaign, when she held a relatively minor post. The letter was leaked to French newspaper Le Monde, and its publication has caused acute embarrassment for the head of the IMF. Ms Lagarde was finance minister during Mr Sarkozy's term as President, before stepping down to become managing director of the Washington-based IMF in 2011. Her Paris flat was raided as part of an investigation into her handling of a 2008 compensation payment to a businessman supporter of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, her lawyer said. Police are investigating claims that Lagarde, when French Finance Minister under Sarkozy, acted illegally in approving the €285m arbitration payout to Bernard Tapie. Ms Lagarde denies any wrongdoing. Mr Tapie, a controversial business figure, went to prison for match-fixing during his time as president of French football club Olympique Marseille. Prosecutors working for the Court of Justice of the Republic suspect the arbitration was payback for supporting Mr Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election. The massive payout enabled Mr Tapie to clear his huge debts and tax liabilities, and reportedly left him with up to €40m. Ms Lagarde has insisted the arbitration was vital to close a costly dispute, and has always denied having acted under orders from Sarkozy Join the conversation about this story »

The motion picture event of the year has arrived. Paul Goldschmidt: The Movie, in theaters now. Available with eye-popping 3D technology to enhance the Paul Goldschmidt experience. See home runs fly directly at your face. Yes, if my life had taken a different turn, I could be marketing Hollywood films today. Check out these terrific poster taglines: This summer, fear isn't going to France on vacation. This time, he wants revenge. He hit the baseball, and it's not coming back. These fish are about to get fried. I'll take my check now, thank you. I'm Not Done Talking About Goldschmidt I keep a running list of scariest dudes in the world, and right now Goldschmidt ranks just below Abubakar Shekau, the head of the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram. I don't believe Goldschmidt has a $7 million bounty on his head, but I think he's earned it. The fetal position's principal evolutionary function is avoid watching Paul Goldschmidt bat. If Paul Goldschmidt were a nuclear weapon, he would be the Tsar Bomba. My point here is that one man should not have all that power. Eovaldi Returns, With a New Look Major League Baseball policy clearly forbids the use of controlled substances, but it contains no such clause banning the use of cybernetic arm implants. Nathan Eovaldi returned from the disabled list sporting a shining new Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Robo-Arm. You're probably thinking, "The machines are taking over. SkyNet will make its play soon." This is a fair point, and we certainly have cause for concern. I'll get back to you when I have a solution to Judgment Day. In the meantime, I'm much more interested in new half-cyborg Eovaldi, who was pumping 97 mile per hour heat in last night's game. Don't misunderstand me, he didn't just touch 97 -- Eovaldi was averaging 96.9 miles per hour on his fastball. For a point of reference, he averaged 94.1 miles per hour the past two seasons. Robo-arm apparently helped Eovaldi with his control too, because he only walked one batter. Here's visual proof of his excellence: via www.brooksbaseball.net Those blue dots mean that he was great, and the yellow right there signify dominance. Or something like that. I don't know. It's a chart with a lot of information, therefore it must be important. Yesterday's game rekindled my hope that Nathan Eovaldi can be a long-term part of a halfway decent Marlins rotation. Jose Fernandez seems to be on the path to stardom. Jacob Turner is drinking some kind of juice where he pitches terrible in Triple-A, but rocks the majors. It probably gives him awful indigestion. Whatever works, I suppose. Add Eovaldi to the mix, and you have three-fifths of a rotation. This would take some pressure off the farm system to deliver more than two quality starters. Right now, only Andrew Heaney and Justin Nicolino appear likely to develop into above-average starters. There are riskier projects like Matt Krook and Mason Hope, but they are years away. I end this piece with a final bit of salient advice: throw them fastballs hard, Nathan.

Portuguese boss demands Bale remains at White Hart Lane. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts Tottenham boss Andre Vilas-Boas is ready to commit his future to the club; but only if they assure him they will be keeping hold of Gareth Bale according to The Daily Mail. The Portuguese boss is currently being heavily courted by Qatari-backed Ligue 1 Champions PSG. The French club are ready to offer him a lucrative financial package as well as significant backing in the transfer market should he decide to join them in Paris. But AVB is ready to turn down their advances and continue with his project at Spurs, providing that he receives assurances that the club will be keeping hold of Gareth Bale. Bale enjoyed a scintillating campaign at White Hart Lane last season and went on to win both the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. Those performances did not go unnoticed with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United keen to secure the player’s services. But Tottenham are desperate to hold on to the Welsh star and are pulling out all the stops to persuade him his future is in North London. AVB is happy to use PSG’s interest to leverage Spurs chairman Daniel Levy into guaranteeing Bale will remain at the club as well as to secure funding for attacking reinforcements.

Northern Ireland has been teasing us for a while with reports of planned distilleries in Belfast and Derry. In early June, however, Echlinville Distillery on the Ards Peninsula comfortably beat its city rivals to production as the first spirit trickled off its still. It is only the second distillery in the North (the other being Bushmills) and the first to receive a licence to distil there in around 130 years. Shane Braniff is the guy behind it. He created the Feckin Irish Whiskey and Strangford Gold Irish Whiskey brands in the mid-noughties. Feckin has been doing very well. It is sold in France, Norway, England, Australia, Sweden and approximately 20 states of the US. The liquid was made by Cooley but Beam turned the taps off for independent labels when they took over. That brought forward Shane's existing plans to start a distillery and he already had the perfect location for it - the 18-acre Echlinville estate, just outside Kircubbin. The estate house is a listed building, "a large Italianate gentleman's residence, constructed in the 1850s around the fabric of an earlier, house of c. 1725, which in turn was built around a seventeenth century dwelling." Photo courtesy of Echlinville Distillery The stables, courtyard and campanile are also listed and these will be restored to accommodate a visitors centre, shop, restaurant, museum and staff quarters. The distillery itself will be housed in a new building. Photo courtesy of Echlinville Distillery Shane is taking advantage of his family's farming background and his own experience in cereal production to grow malting barley for the distillery's exclusive use. A hundred acres has already been planted. There is just the one still fired up at the moment, though more are on order. Maturing spirit will be warehoused locally, taking advantage of the "unique micro climate" of the Ards Peninsula which, they tell me, is ideally suited to ageing whiskey. Of course we'll have to wait some years to taste whiskey from Echlinville but they promise other products in the interim. What they will be, I don't know, but Echlinville's Jarlath Watson assures me that he'll keep me informed as they come off the still. Just as an aside, I have been taking more of an interest in apples these days as Irish cider makers start to experiment with making apple brandy. There is a cooking apple variety called Ecklinville that originated on the Echlinville estate at least as far back as 1800. I'm betting there will be a good whiskey and apple dessert on the distillery restaurant menu.

Italy midfielder praises PSG coach and backs him for Bernabeu hot seat. Check in to Transfer Window: Done Deal Alerts Juventus and Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo has backed his old manager Carlo Ancelotti to be a success if he takes the Real Madrid job this summer, according to Football Italia. The pair enjoyed great success together during their time at AC Milan, winning the Serie A title and the Champions League twice, before Ancelotti left the San Siro to take over at Premier League side Chelsea. Ancelotti has added yet another trophy to his collection with the French Ligue 1 title with PSG this season, and is now being chased by Real Madrid as their first choice to replace Jose Mourinho. Pirlo believes Ancelotti would be tempted by the chance to manage such a big club, and believes he has the quality to be a success in yet another country and league. "He's a great Coach who likes to play good football and his teams play with real style," said the 34-year-old. "Real Madrid is a great club and I'm sure that one of Carlo's dreams is to work there. "He's an amazing Coach, I was very happy playing under him and we'll just have to wait and see where the future takes him." Real Madrid have also been linked with Bayern Munich's treble-winning boss Juup Heynckes as an alternative to Ancelotti, as well as Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, who could also be a target for Ancelotti's replacement at PSG.

Milla Jovovich joined Olga Kurylenko on the red carpet for the ‘Liaisons Au Louvre III’ Charity Gala Dinner hosted by American International Friends of Le Louvre held at Cour Carree du Louvre in Paris, France on Tuesday evening. The actress/model didn’t have a great run during Cannes and while there’s something about this Saint Laurent Spring 2013 silver sequined dress I love (the sparkles), there’s also something about the look I can’t get on board with (the styling). Her Saint Laurent heavy shoes are the biggest offender here. Is there a prerequisite that states if you are loaned a Saint Laurent dress you have to wear their clunky shoes? I would’ve loved it had she worn this look sans cape. I wish Milla wasn’t a slave to the runway styling on that one, but I should be most grateful she didn’t go the whole hog and wear the hat too, like Rita Ora and Anna Dello Russo. A Saint Laurent ‘Betty’ clutch completed her look. You can buy Milla’s Saint Laurent clutch from farfetch.com. Credit: Style.com & Getty The post Milla Jovovich In Saint Laurent – ‘Liaisons Au Louvre III’ Charity Gala Dinner appeared first on Red Carpet Fashion Awards.

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Olga Kurylenko attended ‘Liaisons Au Louvre III’ Charity Gala Dinner hosted by American International Friends of Le Louvre held at Cour Carree du Louvre in Paris, France on Tuesday evening. The Ukrainian-born actress jumped on the barely-there makeup trend wearing a pink Azzedine Alaia fitted knit gown with a fishtail skirt. We have seen this style of dress in many guises, most notably from Naomi Campbell, and Alicia Keys – twice – at the Grammys and the Super Bowl. Olga’s gown differs as it has a v-neckline and body-contouring panels. She styled the look with a fire-engine-red contrasting clutch and a stunning statement necklace, which the dress probably didn’t need; however, it adds a touch of glamour to her look in the absence of makeup. Credit: Getty The post Olga Kurylenko In Azzedine Alaia – ‘Liaisons Au Louvre III’ Charity Gala Dinner appeared first on Red Carpet Fashion Awards.