After the break, here are the ECB previews:
The European Central
Bank Remains on Hold – PIIE
Draghi weighs up
measures and monetary policy – TradingFloor
Opinion is divided but the ECB might announce it is ending sterilisation
of the SMP programme, thus introducing quantitative easing through the kitchen
door, with Germany's blessings.
The Eurozone credit crunch – Coppola
Comment
ECB Thursday – Stick
or Twist? – WSJ
Unsterilised ECB? – Reuters
PREVIOUSLY
ON MORELIVER’S:
Deflation and the ECB – Coppola Comment
I argued for unwinding of the Euro. That is still my position. But the
Euro is what we currently have, and deflation is what we currently risk. The
ECB must act, and politicians in the Eurozone must allow it to do so. Treaties
be damned.
ECB preview: Action!
but not in the shape of a rate cut – TradingFloor
Mads Koefoed: Will the ECB cut or not? Tension is building ahead of the
March meeting of the governing council. I expect, however, that the council
will keep its rate ammo dry, and instead end sterilisation of the securities
markets programme.
ECB, BOE To Stick On
Policy. But Debate Heats Up – WSJ
What is the ECB to
Do?
– Marc to Market
ECB set to act
against low inflation, hold fire on bolder steps – Reuters
The ECB is expected to hold off on cutting interest rates on Thursday,
opting instead to loosen lending conditions to fight off the danger of
debilitating low inflation.
ECB May Repeat Japan Mistake That Triggered Lost Decade – BB
The concern now for economists is that Draghi risks making the same
mistake as the Bank of Japan - publicly playing down a deflation threat -- and
ultimately may have to introduce quantitative easing.
Nationalbanken
preview ahead of the ECB meeting – Danske Bank
What
Does the ECB’s ‘Sterilization’ Program Do? – WSJ
One option that has gained ground in recent weeks is for the ECB to suspend
its nearly four-year-old policy of draining funds from euro-zone banks on a
weekly basis, a process known as sterilization.
Euro
Area — “deflation” versus “lowflation” – iMFdirect
So far there is no sign of classic deflation, i.e., of widespread,
self-feeding, price declines. But even ultra low inflation can be problematic
for the euro area as a whole and for financially stressed countries, where it
implies higher real debt stocks and real interest rates, less relative price
adjustment, and greater unemployment. Along with Japan’s experience, which
saw deflation worm itself into the system, this argues for a more pre-emptive
approach by the ECB.
ECB Said to
Experiment With Governing Council Meeting Minutes – BB
The ECB has started to draft trial minutes of its Governing Council
meetings and will experiment with different formats in coming months, according
to two euro-region central-bank officials.
Euro Inflation
Research No 5: ECB will ease again... and again – Danske Bank
We have a strong conviction of additional easing from the ECB.
Why
the euro inflation number is worse than it looks – Money Supply / FT
Mr Alexandrovich’s chart shows that deflation is
becoming more broad based across the bloc, and in all but one of the eurozone’s
largest economies.
Sticking a finger
into the ECB’s air – alphaville / FT
On the QE front, while BNP remain, if not optimistic,
than resigned to it happening it is still hard to see how the barriers to it
will be overcome. It’s not that it’s illegal, it’s that reaching a consensus on
the practicalities of implementation seem more than difficult while at least a
few ECB governors seem to share Karlsruhe’s concerns. Perchance ½ per cent y/y
on inflation will do the trick…
The ECB’s French
Headache – WSJ
France’s deeper problems
are structural. There’s nothing the ECB can do about France’s excessively high
tax rates, overly large government, surfeit of interventionist policies and red
tape. But as long as the French economy remains weak, it will generate downward
pressure on euro-zone prices.
The ECB receives
another disinflationary warning – Sober Look
The German CPI rate came in below expectations. The disinflationary
pressures are no longer just about the Eurozone periphery.
Draghi Wins Over the
Dinosaurs on OMT – WSJ