Time for ECB to put money where its mouth is

The European Central Bank will eclipse all else in economic terms this week, following heavy hints that monetary policy will be loosened in a variety of ways. Financial markets have been buoyed by the prospect of cheaper money in the euro zone and would react sharply if the central bank does not deliver on Thursday. A clutch of senior sources told Reuters earlier this month that the ECB was preparing a package of policy options for its June 5 meeting, including cuts in all its interest rates and targeted measures aimed at boosting lending to small- and mid-sized firms (SMEs). Action being readied includes taking the ECB's deposit rate negative for the first time - effectively charging banks to park money at the central bank in the hope they will lend it out instead.

via Business News - Yahoo Finance http://ift.tt/1nF1wGq