ECB chief says will ramp up asset purchases 'without delay' | ||
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Frankfurt (AFP) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Friday that the ECB is ready to ramp up its contested asset purchases "without any undue delay." "We will use all means available to us, within our mandate, to return inflation towards our objective -– and without any undue delay," Draghi told a banking congress. "We would step up the pressure and broaden even more the channels through which we intervene, by altering accordingly the size, pace and composition of our purchases."
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Draghi Just Deliberately Tanked The Euro | ||
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European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi is speaking today at a banking conference in Frankfurt, and he has one central message: we have to bring inflation back up, now. It's one of Draghi's most forthright speeches, with one exceptional snippet: "It is essential to bring back inflation to target and without delay." Draghi added: "We have to be very watchful that low inflation does not start percolating through the economy in ways that further worsen the economic situation." You can take a look at the full text of the speech here. The whole thing is heavy on discussion of the eurozone's low inflation, as Twitter's Lorcan Roche Kelly notes: Here's the euro plunging against the dollar as Draghi's speech was released: Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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European Countries Are Going To War With Each Other Over Their Budgets | ||
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The European Commission is gearing up to sign off on the state budgets of eurozone member states after gaining the power to regulate budgets last year. Previously, it was left up to the national governments. Because of weakening economies across Europe, the spending grab has never been more pronounced as the EU body checks over draft budgets submitted by eurozone countries, before making an official decision next week. Two stories in the Financial Times Friday morning illustrate this perfectly. First, there's an interview with Italian finance minister Pier Carlo Padoan, who accuses Brussels of using a "shaky analytical apparatus" to work out how much Rome should spend, suggesting that Italy could use more room to boost its struggling economy. The second is a head-to-head between the eurozone's two biggest economies, Germany and France. Gunther Oettinger, Germany's EU Commissioner, slammed the French government in a piece for the FT, criticising Paris for a lack of budget cuts and reform ambition. Here's a snippet:
This is a bit of schaudenfreude from Germany, which is heading for its first balanced budget in 45 years. But with such meagre economic growth, most governments are now fighting for table scraps from the European Commission, taking any fiscal giveaways on offer. The official decisions on Europe's budgets are released next week, so keep an eye out. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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