The soundness of the euro is essentially based on the strength of the area’s economy (the largest trading bloc in the world) and on price stability which safeguards the euro’s internal value, given that its external value inevitably fluctuates on account of differentials in growth and interest rates, particularly vis-à-vis the US.
In stating that asset purchases will continue, subject to caveats pertaining to efficacy and costs, until there has been a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market, the FOMC established a criterion that differs in three important respects from the forward guidance for the federal funds rate: (1) It is qualitative, not quantitative; (2) it refers to an improvement in the outlook for the labor market rather than an improvement in actual labor market conditions; and (3) it requires the Committee not only to consider progress toward its employment goal, but also to evaluate the efficacy and costs of asset purchases on an ongoing basis.