European Central Bank to Buy Troubled Governments' Bonds

 SEVILLE — The European Central Bank has agreed to buy government bonds from debt-ridden Eurozone countries that request help, as part of an effort to relieve pressure from soaring borrowing costs. The much-awaited announcement in Frankfurt Thursday may benefit cash-strapped Italy and Spain, if they agree to the conditions.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi raised expectations of investors¹ and the governments of Spain and Italy, when he spoke² these words in July:

“The ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro," he said. "And believe me.  It will be enough.”

In recent months, the crisis-ridden countries of Europe have had to borrow at costs judged unsustainable, with Spanish 10-year bond interest rates hitting a record 7 percent in July.

So all eyes were on the European Central Bank Thursday to see what it would do to bring interest rates down to more acceptable levels and relieve pressure on cash-strapped governments.

The ECB president said the central bank will buy government bonds, with no set limit.

“We expect that the three-year longer-term refinancing operations will provide further support for the further stabilization³ in financial markets and in particular for lending activity in the euro area,” he said.

If Madrid or Rome want the bank to buy their bonds, they will have to request a bailout - and there will be strings⁴ attached and strict budgetary conditions imposed.

The International Monetary⁵ Fund will police the new loans.

Draghi said the six members of the ECB’s Executive Board and the governors of the 17 European area national central banks were all in favour of the plan, except for one: Germany.

The Bundesbank (German central bank) said that its chief, Jens Weidmann, "considers these acquisitions as effectively financing governments by printing money.”

The euro dropped in value, but European stocks were buoyed⁶ by the European Central Bank’s announcement. Madrid's main (IBEX-35) index closed up almost 5 percentage points.

German Chancellor⁷ Angela Merkel was visiting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid Thursday.

Angela Merkel only said that the European Central Bank had acted within its mandate⁸.

Mariano Rajoy said he wouldn’t comment on whether Spain would seek a bailout, since he hadn’t yet been able to study the details of the plan.

Earlier this week, the prime minister said he didn’t see the need for new conditions.

Rajoy said again Thursday Spain is committed to the euro and his government will continue doing what it can to keep its deficit⁹ in check, while trying to stimulate¹⁰ growth and create employment.

More than 38,000 Spaniards lost their jobs and began claiming benefits in August, the first increase in unemployment in five months.

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 Stabilization   

稳定化

参考例句：

• The position of barycentre on plane directly impacts the stabilization and manipulation of plane. 飞机重心位置直接影响飞机的稳定和操纵特性。
• With the higher olefins, stabilization of the energetic intermediates occurs more easily. 在较高的烯烃情况下，高能的中间物稳定作用更易出现。

4 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

5 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

8 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

9 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

10 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。