Spanish index drops sharply after poll but shares elsewhere gain ground * Prime minister Rajoy wins election but no overall majority 9.36am GMT The European Central Bank DISAPPOINTED THE MARKET EARLIER THIS MONTH WHEN ITS LATEST STIMULUS PROGRAMME WAS DEEMED INSUFFICIENT TO BOOST THE REGION’S FLAGGING ECONOMY. The ECB had been tipped to unveil a major expansion of its €60bn-a-month quantitative easing (QE) programme. In the event it sanctioned just a six month extension to the end date and announced a small cut in the deposit rate. “It (the ECB) will pursue an accommodative monetary policy for as long as is necessary. Without giving a date, this timescale is fairly long,” Peter Praet, who is also a member of the bank’s executive board, told La Libre Belgique. “Additional risks have arisen from the slowdown in the emerging countries, risks that are pretty significant for the euro area. There are also downward pressures on prices in the manufacturing sector as a result of surplus output and the very high unemployment level.” 9.22am GMT Of course, Greece’s former finance minister cannot resist a comment on the Spanish election, which saw anti-austerity party Podemos gain ground: Bravo Podemos! A small step that may turn into a large faultline shattering the Eurozone's crisis-denial & austerian contempt for democracy. Continue reading...
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