In the previous ECB meeting President Draghi touted the soothing effects on the market of the LTRO loans. While it certainly helped to stem the credit crunch that was facing the European banking system and helped to ease yields on Spanish and Italian debt what it mainly did was give time for governments to re-balance their economies and repair their balance sheets. The focus this time around might be on putting pressure on governments to make sure that they use the respite from the crisis wisely in pursuing these goals. Because of strong disagreements on the ECB Governing Council, led by Germany’s central bank ... (full story)