The European Central Bank this week, for the first time, published details of its former bond-buying initiative, known as the Securities Markets Program. The timing of the release, on the eve of Italy’s Feb. 24-25 elections, is as interesting as the data. The bank used to publish weekly information on the total amount of bonds it purchased under the program, until August last year when ECB President Mario Draghi replaced it with a new one called Outright Monetary Transactions. At times during the financial crisis, this indicator was watched more closely than any other, as analysts feverishly guessed at what movements ... (full story)