Ferdinando Giugliano, Columnist

Christine Lagarde and the Case for More QE

Many economists expect the ECB to announce more bond purchases next week, but wouldn’t it be better to wait for Mario Draghi’s replacement first?

To ease, or not to ease?

Photographer: JOHN THYS/AFP
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Mario Draghi is on his final stretch, and it’s not an easy road to travel.

The European Central Bank president will chair a decisive governing council meeting next week, barely a month and a half before he hands over the reins to Christine Lagarde, the current chief of the International Monetary Fund. The ECB will almost certainly announce a hefty stimulus package on Thursday, including rate cuts, to try to lift dwindling inflation back toward the central bank’s target of just below 2%.