Draghi Hunts for QE Assets in ‘Dead’ Market

Mario Draghi’s asset-purchase plan to ward off deflation may be lacking one key element: enough assets to buy.

Since the European Central Bank President buoyed investors last week by saying policy makers backed quantitative easing as a way to boost prices if needed, officials including Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny have signaled any purchases may center on asset-backed securities. While that makes sense in an economy funded mostly by bank loans, it’s also a market Draghi once described as “dead.”