ECB's QE - another challenge for Europe

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: How effective will the European Central Bank's quantitative easing be in boosting the eurozone economy? What will be the impact, if any, for Singapore business?

William Knottenbelt

Senior Managing Director, International

CME Group

The question running through everyone's mind is whether the newly announced asset purchases by the European Central Bank (ECB) will do much to help growth. And that growth question is not just one for the eurozone as a whole, but also for individual regions. Rather than the ECB buying government bonds and other assets directly, it will instead give its member central banks funds with which to buy their own countries' bonds.

This mechanism will limit the exposure of each country to another country's debt, so the world will be watching if the whole of Europe benefits as well as or in cont…