Perfect day for the European boggyman to drag out an ECB corpse

Nobody loves a fright in the economy more than Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at The Telegraph and for Halloween he got a genuine scare from the Eurozone inflation data.

The region is dangerously close to a Japan-style deflation trap, he said.
He tracked down a mystery ‘former ECB governor’ for his take:

A former ECB governor said the bank’s passive stance over the past few months was a “disaster” for Italy and Spain. The time-lag effects mean that serious damage has already been done.

“It is incredible that they have missed their 2pc target by so much. This risks driving the periphery into protracted depression and could destroy the eurozone. Credit conditions are far too tight. The ECB should cut rates to zero, extend thee-year financing for banks and relax collateral rules,” he told The Telegraph.

“What scares me is that the ECB seems to be formulating policy for Germany without any regard for everybody else. It has been captured by Germany. What is so bizarre is that the old Bundesbank would not have let this happen,” he said.
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