ECB is helping markets, bailout fund will help Italy

The European Central Bank launched an emergency bond-buying program worth €750bn in an attempt to calm markets and help the economy cope with the coronavirus epidemic. It will buy public and private-sector securities. The ECB tries to stem the growth in government bond yields in Italy, which already has the euro zone’s second-biggest debt burden (135% of GDP) after Greece and is the worst-affected by the disease. The ECB is banned by law to finance governments and the EU might activate the euro zone’s bailout fund.

(bloomberg.com)