The decision could raise heckles in Germany, where the rule is seen as ensuring that the ECB's purchases do not monetise national debt.The ECB is breaking more of its own rules. It is expanding the range of assets it will buy.The new scheme will cover Greek sovereign bonds; they had previously been deemed ineligible because of their low credit rating.
这一决定可能会在德国引起争议,因为该规定被视为确保ECB(欧洲央行)的购买不会将国家债务货币化。ECB正在打破更多自己的规则。它正在扩大它将购买的资产范围。新计划将覆盖希腊主权债券;此前主权债券被认为是不合格的,因为他们的低信用评级。
And the ECB will start to buy assets with maturities of less than a year. That has a happy interaction with recent fiscal easing.On March 23rd the German government said that it would borrow 156bn euro in order to support its economy.Much of Germany's borrowing will take the form of short-term bills, says Frederik Ducrozet of Pictet, an asset manager.
Even with all this flexibility, there is still a question of whether the stimulus is sufficient.The extent of the economic damage done by the virus is slowly becoming clear.
即使有这些灵活性,刺激措施是否充分仍然是一个问题。这种病毒造成的经济损失的程度正慢慢变得清晰起来。
On March 24th, a survey of purchasing managers indicated the steepest drop in activity in its 22-year history.Investors' medium-term inflation expectations, as measured by the five-year forward swap rate, have fallen to 0.8%,well below the bank's target of inflation close to, but below 2%.That suggests that investors think more easing is needed to ensure a healthy expansion after the epidemic ends.
One reason for investors' gloom may be that governments are still doing too little.Even after Germany's splurge, new spending across the euro zone amounts to only 2% of GDP.Economists at Citibank estimate that something nearer 5% is warranted.
Leaders were set to consider whether to make cheap credit lines available to governments through the zone's bail-out fund after The Economist went to press.Such talks tend to become mired in arguments over what type of strings should be attached to the cash.The pandemic means that a deal looks likelier than ever.
But central bankers are also well aware of another, less happy, link between monetary and coordinated fiscal policy.The more the ECB does, the less governments feel they need to take action.
但各国央行也很清楚,货币政策与协调的财政政策之间还有另一种不那么愉快的联系。ECB做得越多,各国政府越觉得不需要采取行动。
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词汇积累
1.ineligible 不合格的Until the matter is resolved the athletes will be ineligible to compete除非这个问题得以解决,否则这些运动员没有资格参加比赛。 2.maturity 到期日Customers are told what their policies will be worth on maturity...客户被告知保险单到期时的价值。 3.stimulus 刺激The new tax laws should act as a stimulus to exports.新税法应该能促进出口。 4.fiscal policy 财政政策Fiscal policy uses budget deficits or surpluses to promote economic stability and growth.财政政策利用预算赤字或剩余来促进经济的稳定和发展。