ECB top officials determined to stick with stimulus plan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Records of the March 5 European Central Bank meeting show top officials expressing determination to stick with the full 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) of their planned stimulus — even though the 19-countrye eurozone economy shows signs of finally picking up, the Associated Press reports.

Minutes to the bank's governing council in Nicosia, Cyprus released Thursday, April 2, showed that "all the members" agreed there was "no room for complacency."

Members stressed that the stimulus — 60 billion euros a month in government and corporate bond purchases with newly printed money through September 2016 — "had to be fully implemented and supported by appropriate communication." The purchases started March 9.

The ECB is trying to raise worrisome low inflation and stimulate growth to reduce high unemployment.