Full Moons & Bad Moods

Jürgen Stark, who resigned last year from the European Central Bank’s executive board, told Thursday’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the quality of the ECB’s balance sheet was “shocking”. Mr Stark is a former Bundesbank vice-president.

“The balance sheet of the ECB is not only of gigantic dimensions, it is also of shocking quality,” the FAZ quoted Mr Stark as saying.

Shocking!! I say shocking!!

Never saw the like in the old Bundesbank days.

Add in 2+% inflation forecasts ….. could be a tetchy old ECB meeting today.

Opening Quotes

Target 2? Get used to it.

More precisely:

 FT: ‘Southern discomfort fuels German unease’

“Perhaps above all, Mr Weidmann’s complaints to Mr Draghi are borne of fears that the ECB’s “non-standard” measures to fight the crisis – such as this week’s longer-term refinancing operation, facilitated by the looser collateral standards – may not be the “game changers” greeted by the markets but crutches for eurozone banks and political leaders to avoid tough decisions.”

“The Bundesbank agrees that central banks are meant to provide banks with liquidity. But it worries that the ECB is straying beyond being a lender of last resort into a long-term prop for failing banks – without appropriate security for the increasing risks it is taking.”

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/04726188-63c7-11e1-8762-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1nZeGGZJa