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Europe’s Bank Takes Aggressive Steps

He is cutting interest rates to the bone. He is charging banks even more to park their money. And he is using the central bank’s financial muscle to spur lending.

But the question is whether the new actions, announced on Thursday, will be enough to fix Europe’s problems. If they don’t, Mr. Draghi doesn’t have many options left.

Mr. Draghi’s aggressive moves reflect the gloomy, if familiar, state of the European economy. Low inflation and stagnant growth feed on each other in a vicious cycle, making existing debt burdens more onerous and making adjustments between the more prosperous Northern European nations and weaker southern ones more painful. The situation has confounded policy makers and politicians who are now grappling with how to prevent another full-on recession.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/business/international/ecb-cuts-interest-rate-further-paving-way-for-more-drastic-measures.html?_r=0