The European Central Bank (ECB) will announce today how successful the second round of its low-rate loan program to the euro zone's banks has been amid calls for the central bank to buy and lend more to help kick start the region's economy. The second allotment of the targeted long-term refinancing operation (TLTRO) is expected at 10:15 a.m. London time and will be closely watched after a less-than-promising uptake at the last auction. The LTROs are cheap loans provided to euro zone banks and have been implemented by the ECB alongside the purchases of covered bonds and asset backed securities. (full story)