The European Central Bank announced dramatic expansion of its monetary stimulus plan to purchase asset-backed securities and bonds through September 2016 for a total of at least €1 trillion On the surface, the move has similarities to US stimulus measures in play since late 2008, with the US Federal Reserve purchasing billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities, bank debt and treasury notes. Europe’s plan will cover private-sector and public bonds, with about 20 percent of the additional asset purchases to be subjected to risk-sharing. Success could depend on how assets are targeted. Economist Joergen Oerstroem Moeller reviews the European Union’s ambitious 2020 strategy on employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate/energy, which emphasizes resource efficiency as a tool of competition: “the European Union is the only government attempting to reconfigure the economic model put in place by industrialized countries expecting high growth to continue despite 21st century challenges such as lower growth, less favorable demographics and aging populations, climate change, and the increasingly demanding theme of sustainability.” – YaleGlobal
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/european-union-tries-rebooting-economy
