There was some interesting commentary on US interest rates from FOMC committee member William Dudley

There was some interesting commentary on US interest rates from FOMC committee member William Dudley. The market expectations are that the Federal Reserve will start to raise short-term interest rates around the middle of 2015. That sounds to me like a reasonable forecast, but forecasts often go astray, so I wouldn't put too much weight on that particular set of forecasts. The timing of interest rate moves is considered as one of the biggest factors likely to influence the direction of equity markets in the near term. David Allingham from Eley Griffiths Group says, our largest concern in the 2nd half of CY14 is the lead from offshore equity markets, most notably the US which is in its 5th year of rallying and may be vulnerable to a shift in interest rate expectations. The further out expectations are pushed investors have more impetus to keep pushing forward the current rally.