ECB must lower key interest rate

According to the business paper Diário Económico, the EU rescue package will achieve little unless the European Central Bank (ECB) considerably lowers the key interest rate on Thursday: "The banks are simply the tip of a system which is based on the consumption of consumers. Without consumption companies can't be successful and there can be no investments and no loans. ... The rescue packages of the respective governments are simply oxygen balloons; their success depends on the revival of economic activities. ... The ECB must convince consumers and companies to consume and invest once more. In the wake of the financial crisis the ECB surely doesn't need to be reminded of this. The speeches of [EU Commission President José Manuel] Durão Barroso should therefore be aimed at persuading the governments of the EU states to take a break from their bank rescue initiatives and dedicate their efforts to saving the economy."

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe
All available articles from » Pedro Marques Pereira

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, December 3, 2008