The ECB left its key lending rates at record low levels, and the four-week moving average for initial claims is at an eight-year low. That sounds like a pretty good setup for a stock market that worries about earnings prospects tied to a stronger dollar, loves the thought of central bank policy rates holding near the zero bound, and is anxious to see evidence the U.S. economy is gaining momentum.
Despite the setup, it has been a swing and a miss so far for the stock market, which has once again been greeted with steady, and broad-based, selling pressure.
ECB President Mario Draghi is getting a lot of blame for the disappointing price action based on reports that his presentation regarding the ECB's asset-backed securities purchase program was lacking and the impression from today's press conference that the ECB's ability to change the economic dynamic in the eurozone is also lacking.
There is some merit to the latter claim given the seeming lack of urgency to implement structural r
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