Prometheus bound

摘要

The decision of the European Central Bank to start buying government bonds follows a path trodden by the Federal Reserve in 2008 and 2009. Both entered politically charged territory to save the financial system at great risk to their reputations. For the Fed, one consequence is that the big financial-reform bill making its way through the Senate-a vote was expected after The Economist went to press-will leave it more powerful but more beholden to Washington, DC.