Word: ecb
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...Europe, “two percent” means more than a healthy content of milk fat in morning cappuccinos. It is the target rate of yearly inflation mandated by the conservative European Central Bank (ECB). The Bank believes that this end justifies any means...
...powerful continental politicians like French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi disagree, and wish the unified monetary authority would pursue less stringent policies. They would rather have the ECB lower interest rates and increase monetary supply to sustain growth, especially in the wake of the ongoing global financial crisis. Although these politicians worry about short-term political costs, the policies of the ECB are necessary for continued price stability and long-term growth...
...security depends on economic performance are not thrilled about slowing exports that could easily translate into lower growth and higher unemployment. Because of this, Berlusconi promised yesterday that he would create a “Rome-Paris” axis with Sarkozy, a long-term critic of the ECB, to pressure the Bank into relaxing its strict monetary goals. According to some analysts, the administration of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Spain could also join the alliance in fear of its own housing bubble woes worsening employment prospects...
...Soon enough, three of Europe’s largest economies may be lobbying the ECB to effectively behave more like the American Federal Reserve. After all, since the beginning of the write-down debacle in Wall Street, renowned Great Depression scholar and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke ’75 has strongly favored loose economic policy (and a weaker dollar) to mitigate any economic downturn. Interest rate cuts have grabbed most headlines, but more money floating around will inevitably translate into higher inflation. It is only a matter of time...
French officials have gone so far to suggest they'd invoke an article of the treaty the euro was founded upon allowing national governments to impose policy regarding currency exchange on the ECB. True to form, ECB president - Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet - remains singularly unimpressed by the pressure from politicians. In an interview with the weekly Le Point Thursday, Trichet admitted being "worried by the excessive exchange rate movements". But he reiterated his inflation-fighting position that "we'll take the necessary decisions to insure price stability in the medium-term [which] is what our mandate is" - and not cave...