In Germany the ECB’s policy is heavily criticized. This will increase with the planned asset purchases. One concern is that the ECB takes risks on its own balance sheet which could at the end cause some problems for taxpayers again. Isn’t it a big risk that the support in Germany for the ECB could be get lost completely?
In our largest trading partner, households are undergoing a long process of balance-sheet repair. Partly as a consequence, American demand for Canadian exports is $ billion lower than normal. In Europe, a renewed crisis is underway. An increasing number of countries are being forced to pay unsustainable rates on their borrowings.