Draghi tells the EU Parliament his relaxed policies are here to stay

The too slow or non existing pace of wage increases is the main reason for the non revival of inflation in Eurozone. This is what Mario Draghi told the Economic Committee of the European Parliament last Monday. He added that this is why the economic slack in the euro area may be larger than we […]

German political spillovers: ECB’s Draghi resists first attacks by AfD

Last Monday, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, speaking at the Economic Committee of the European Parliament had the opportunity to test the grounds and familiarize himself with the nature of political climate he may come across after the German elections. He had a heated exchange with the head of the AfD group […]

Germany caught with selfish double standards in euro area policy

Over the past three years the European Central Bank, guided by its President Mario Draghi, has been folowing a super relaxed monetary policy. It has been aiming at reviving uncertain economic growth and dying inflation, by handing out to banks, and through them to the economy, hundreds of billions of euro and at the same […]

ECB steadily continues monetary easing policy as EU economy gains momentum

European Central Bank – Press Conference Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB, Mario Draghi President of ECB and Christine Graeff, Director General Communications (from left to right). Location: Frankfurt . Date: 09/03/2017 © ECB, 2017 / Source: ECB – Audiovisual Service It was last Thursday when the president of the European Central Bank gave a […]

Why the ECB had to clarify it caters for the entire Eurozone not just Germany?

Last Thursday morning this newspaper concluded that the “only EU institution with true European motives and vision remains the European Central Bank of Mario Draghi”. Just some hours later in that Thursday afternoon the European Sting was confirmed one hundred percent by Mario Draghi, the President of ECB, who said that “We have a mandate […]

Draghi drafts a plan to donate more money to bankers, the era of ‘money for nothin’ is flourishing

The European Central Bank announced last week that under its extraordinary Asset Purchase Program (APP), it has injected  €712.3 billion into the euro area financial system until January this year. Out of that, €544.2bn are Eurozone government and public entities bonds, bought under the Public Sector Purchase Program (PSPP). This last plan was decided in […]

Is there a way out of the next financial crisis? Can more printed money or austerity save us all?

Every time Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, tries to fight very low inflation and indirectly support growth and job creation in Eurozone with monetary measures, the Germans stand in his way. Last Thursday 28 January, Jens Weidmann, the governor of the German central bank the Bundesbank, did it again. In an […]

ECB money bonanza not enough to revive euro area, Germany longs to rule with stagnation

During the days ahead of last Thursday’s 3 December meeting of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, financial markets and market oriented media had been pressing for a stronger monetary accommodation (easing), than what President Mario Draghi finally announced in the afternoon of that day. As a result, the euro appreciated markedly with the dollar […]

Draghi rehabs ECB into a tool to support growth and employment; a departure from Teutonic orthodoxy

On Thursday 22 October Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank delighted the world capital markets with his comment about the “factors that are currently slowing the return of inflation to levels below, but close to, 2% in the medium term” He added that “In this context, the degree of monetary policy accommodation […]

More billions needed to help Eurozone recover; ECB sidesteps German objections about QE

The Eurozone economy has been taking two steps forward and one step backward over the past few months. The minimal increase of the GDP growth rate to 0.4% during the first quarter of this year and the equally small increase of people in employment was accompanied by a fall of industrial production and a decrease […]

Draghi will not hesitate to zero ECB’s basic interest rate

Combining what Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank, said yesterday about low inflation projections and the Governing Council’s forward guidance of the economy, the conclusion one can draw is that, the ECB’s basic interest rate will remain at its present (0.25%) or lower levels for the next two years, at least well […]

Berlin cannot dictate anymore the terms for the enactment of the European Banking Union

Last Friday 8 November, the European Central Bank (ECB) published its opinion on the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) and Fund, fully supporting the European Commission’s position on their enactment, needed to accomplish the European Banking Union. The opinion is in direct contrast with the positions held by Germany, because it contains the following three essential […]

German heavy artillery against Brussels and Paris

In Eurozone the confrontation between ‘austerity lovers’ and ‘relaxationists’ presented a new and course changing sequel last week, with German heavy artillery fire towards Brussels and Paris. The German Federal Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, accused the Brussels Commission and personally the President Manuel Barroso for delaying the realisation of EU programmes to fight youth […]

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