Deutsche Bank - "(...) we feel that the Fed should and probably will limit its actions next week to verbal easing. It would be better in our view, to hold further QE in reserve in case it is needed to deal with a major negative shock in the quarters ahead, for example, on either the euro or US fiscal front."

Capital Economics - "It now seems highly likely that the Fed will launch a third round of large-scale asset purchases (QE3) at this week's two-day FOMC meeting, which concludes on Thursday. We expect QE3 to be primarily focused on buying mortgage-backed securities, with purchases of longer-term Treasury securities playing a more minor role. Our best guess is that the Fed will pledge to buy at least $500bn of assets."