Stocks rally, euro falls after Europe unveils stimulus plan

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By MATTHEW CRAFT

NEW YORK (AP) — A plan to revive Europe's sagging economy rippled through the financial world on Thursday, setting off a rally in the stock market that wiped out its losses for the new year.

The pledge by the European Central Bank to spend 1.1 trillion euros on bonds knocked down government borrowing rates across Europe and drove the euro to its lowest level against the dollar in 11 years. For investors, the long wait for action in Europe was over.

"It's all about the ECB today," said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "This is a very positive development. They have a reputation of overpromising and under-delivering, and today they delivered."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 31.03 points, or 1.5 percent, to close at 2,063.15. That nudged it into positive territory for the year, up 0.2 percent.

FULL story at link.



FILE - This Oct. 2, 2014 file photo shows a Wall Street sign adjacent to the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. U.S. and European stocks are marching higher and the euro is falling Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, after Europe's central bank offered an aggressive plan to revive the region's economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150122/financial_markets-51e6343375.html

[jmowreader]

1. If this "aggressive plan" doesn't include abolishing austerity, it will fail

[SoCalMusicLover]

2. More Of The Same?

In the simplest terms, is this basically the ECB taking over where the Federal Reserve left off? Now that the U.S. has stopped it's program of flooding the market with Dollars, is the ECB essentially now flooding the market with Euros?

More can kicking down the road? Are Central Banks each going to take their turn flooding the market with money, thereby eventually leveling off the playing field for all participants?

My gut tells me this bodes well for Gold, which I have investments in. But it has been stagnant for a few years now, so I'm wondering whether devaluing currency is going to even have an effect.

[pampango]

3. I hope this is the beginning of the anti-austerity that Europe needs. n/t