Bonds from Spain and Italy and the European Central Bank

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The European Central Bank (ECB) has engaged in a form of monetary policy in which it buys bonds from the Spanish and Italian Governments. Monetary policy is a central bank’s changing of the money supply to influence interest rates and assist the economy in achieving price stability, full employment, and economic growth. There are two types of monetary policy; expansionary and contractionary. This article focuses on expansionary monetary policy. Expansionary monetary policy is Federal Reserve System action to increase the money supply, lower interest rates, and expand real GDP. The goal of this policy would be to bring down the interest rates on the Italian and Spanish bonds which might be able to reassure private investors that Italy and Spain would be able to pay them back and therefore reduce the upward pressure on interest rates in the Euro Zone. The European Central Bank is currently buying bonds and effectively increasing the money supply in Europe with the hope that more government and private sector spending will move the Euro Zone economy closer to the level of full employme...

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