The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday and announce any changes to its already easy monetary policy. The meeting follows an ugly series of depressing economic reports. And amid broad evidence of slowing, it's become very clear that inflation is getting closer to zero. On Friday, we learned consumer prices in the 18-country eurozone climbed by just 0.3% in August, a slight tick down from 0.4% in July. Prices in Italy actually fell 0.2% year-over-year. This lack of inflation should provide the ECB with the flexibility to ease policy further. However, the consensus is for the ECB to make no change in its ... (full story)