We are a long way from Mario Draghi’s “whatever it takes” reassurances for the eurozone. While the fury of the region’s debt crisis has passed, the eurozone is beset by slowing growth prospects, Italy’s budget fight with Brussels and wounded leaders at the helm of Germany and France. Hardly helping matters is Albion, with Brexit and the risk of a badly managed UK exit in March, or perhaps even a no deal.
Last week marked the end of an era in monetary policy as the European Central Bank formally halted its €2.6tn bond-buying programme. While a historic moment, the fact that the ECB also tempered its outlook for growth and inflation for 2019 should be of greater interest to investors.
Almost four years have passed since the ECB announced its plan for quantitative easing in early 2015 and, when you look at where the economy and markets are today, the unavoidable question is what has really changed?
