Mario Draghi suggests ECB could extend its QE programme in December, and suggests ECB might taper its asset-purchase scheme * Draghi: Committed to doing more if needed * Draghi: We didn’t discuss extending QE * Draghi: Not likely to abruptly end QE * Earlier: Eurozone interest rates and QE unchanged 5.54pm BST With nothing much in the European Central Bank latest deliberations to rock the boat, stock markets managed to end the day in positive territory, even as the euro was put under pressure. The banking sector was boosted by this week’s positive results from US financial businesses, with BNY Mellon being the latest to report better than expected figures. So the final scores showed: 5.10pm BST MEANWHILE OVER IN GREEC, MARIO DRAGHI’S STATEMENTS TODAY ARE NOT GOING DOWN WELL. Helena Smith reports from Athens: The ECB president’s assertion this afternoon that it is premature to contemplate Greece being included in the bank’s quantitative easing program before its debt is made sustainable has landed with the force of a lead balloon in Athens. “It effectively kills any prospect of debt forgiveness any time soon,” said one well-placed source in the governing Syriza party. “How, in God’s name, is the economy ever to recover after seven years of recession and internal deflation?” Both investors and government officials say inclusion in the program would be a mood changer for a country enduring its worst slump in modern times. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras, who has spent the day pushing for debt relief in meetings with top EU officials in Brussels, says inclusion in the program is essential if the debt-stricken nation is to return to capital markets and finally get some form of primary debt relief. Greece has been excluded from QE because of its low credit rating. Tsipras has called for a debt deal to be concluded by December when Athens hopes to have completed its second review of the economy with international inspectors representing the EU and IMF. The audit begins in earnest tomorrow when Tsipras will also be pressing the point in talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel. Continue reading...
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