ECB Finally Lowers Interest Rates Slightly

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Today’s economic news from Europe:

As was widely expected, the ECB’s governing council voted to cut the main refinancing rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.50%. The rate, which determines the cost of more than €850 billion in ECB loans outstanding, had stood at 0.75% since last July.

Unemployment in the euro area is 12.1 percent, and the ECB has finally seen fit to reduce policy rates to 0.5 percent. What’s it going to take for them to go lower? 13 percent unemployment? 14 percent? 20 percent?

It is all just mind boggling.

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