Expectations have grown that European Central Bank officials will announce more monetary stimulus when they meet Thursday, including an interest rate cut and corporate bond purchases aimed at supporting business borrowing. The 25 billion size of the fund is only around 0.1 percent of the annual 18.8 trillion euro EU economy. The cabinet has discussed a package of measures including 3.1 billion euros in extra investment spending per year from 2021 to 2024. The European Central Bank, which didn’t join the Federal Reserve in an emergency rate cut on March 3, is now expected to change course at a meeting of its 25-member governing council on Thursday. The central bank could also issue more cheap, long-term credit to banks on the condition the money is loaned to businesses.-AP.

Source: The Standard March 11, 2020 09:11 UTC