ECB launches ‘quantitative easing’ for the Euro

European Central Bank, Frankfurt (Eric Chan)

The Europeans have decided to partially follow the lead of the USA and UK and engage in a currency devaluation program called quantitative easing:

PARIS—The European Central Bank has launched an ambitious stimulus program aimed to stop deflation and boost the ailing, 19-member eurozone. The ECB plans to buy billions of dollars worth of eurozone bonds in the coming months.More than a year ago, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the institution would do “whatever it takes” to preserve the struggling euro currency zone. Thursday, the ECB delivered action.Draghi said the bank will inject up to $1.3 trillion or more into the eurozone economy, buying up government bonds.”We believe that the measures taken today will be effective, will raise inflation – medium-term inflation expectations – and basically address the economic situation in the euro area,” he said.The ECB will begin buying nearly $69 billion worth of government bonds each month through September 2016. The measure aims to encourage banks in the eurozone countries to lend more, at lower interest rates. That is expected to push businesses and consumers to borrow and spend more.

The ECB has set a target of a less than two percent inflation rate. That is well above the current level. Last month, eurozone inflation had dipped below zero.

The ECB also said it is cutting the interest rate it charges on loans to commercial banks.

New measures have limits

The bond buying program is known as quantitative easing. The United States and Britain have used this program to recover from the global financial crisis. But Draghi warned the new measures only go so far.

“What monetary policy can do is create the basis for growth. For growth to pick up, you need investment. For investment you need confidence. And for confidence, you need structural reforms. The ECB has taken a further, very expansionary measure today. But now it is up to the governments to implement these structural reforms. And the more they do, the more effective will be our monetary policy.”

The ECB action had been widely anticipated, but Thursday’s announcement exceeded some expectations and led to mixed reactions.

German opposition

The European action is controversial. The eurozone’s biggest economy, Germany, has opposed the bond-buying, voicing fears that the stimulus measure will give the bloc’s weakest economies, such as Greece, less incentive to reform their debt-ridden governments.

Speaking before the bank’s action, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that no matter what the bank did, Europe’s political leaders “need to put a framework for recovery in place.” http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-ecb-to-decide-on-bond-buying-plan-to-revive-euro-zone/2608827.html

Programs like quantitative easing are essentially a legalized form of counterfeiting. The way I understand the European one, governments in the Euro-zone will continue to issue bonds (a form of debt) and the ECB will print up money (mainly electronically) to purchase them. The money will then be used by the governments to spend on whatever programs and projects they want. It might be that the ECB will be selective on which bonds it buys, in theory, to prevent more reckless spending and to encourage growth in jobs and technology. It reduces deflation essentially by inflating the money supply.

The Germans have not wanted a full blown version of ‘quantitative easing’ for at least four reasons:

The Germans feel that certain nations are not properly disciplined financially and a program like quantitative easing will mean that they will fail to correct certain practices that the Germans feel they need to.
The Germans feel that they will have to bail out nations that are not properly disciplined financially, hence they do not want to encourage this.
The Germans fear the type of hyperinflation that happened prior to WWII and realize that quantitative easing type programs but them and all of Europe at risk of repeat–which also means that the Germans do not wish to risk losing their wealth if the Euro is dragged down because of hyperinflation or other currency issues.
The Germans would like to have a currency that is the real reserve currency for the world and do not wish to make the mistakes that they see the USA doing with its dollar.

But then again, the Germans would prefer that the Euro-zone continue, so there we have seen today’s announcement.

From a prophetic perspective, the Europeans do not have to have a perfect currency, only one that is perceived to be in better shape than the USA dollar.

Back in 2013 (see BlackRock cautioning against USA stocks; European finance ministers meeting), I posted the following:

As far as the USA vs. Europe goes, there are some points I want to make. First some points about the USA:

The Bible is clear that the nation with the highest amount of debt will fall and be taken over (Habakkuk 2:6-8).

The USA is the most indebted nation in the history of humanity.

The incoming head of the US Federal Reserve has stated that she wants to continue to debase the value of the currency of the USA, which is a form of increased indebtedness. When or how this may be ‘tapered’ will be seen.

The Bible is clear that a time of Jacob’s trouble is coming (Jeremiah 30:7).

The USA will eventually lose its economic (cf. Revelation 13) and military (Daniel 11:39) dominance.

But eventually does not mean 2014, though stock prices will fluctuate in 2014.

The economy of the USA will fluctuate until it totally collapses.

As far as Europe goes, there are several points to consider:

The European Union is the biggest exporter in the world (see Germany: Merkel’s new coalition wants Germany to increase influence and set European standards–EU exports already number 1 in the world).

Europe is prophesied to have economic and military dominance (cf. Revelation 13), and takeover the USA and its close Anglo-Saxon allies (Daniel 11:39).

Yet, the Bible warns that it will have problems (Daniel 2:41-43).

Europe may have violent civil unrest, which would negatively affect many stock values there.

The Bible teaches that Europe will reorganize at least two more times (Revelation 17:12 & 17:13).

The Bible teaches that eventually the financial system in Europe will collapse (Revelation 18).

Europe’s financial collapse will happen years after that of the USA.

Both the economy of the USA and that of the rising European power will eventually collapse.

Outside of the Bible, history, and news reports, part of why Europe will rise perhaps can be partially illustrated by story.

There once was a movie that had two men camping outdoors. Suddenly, one man yells, “Run, a bear!” The other man yells back, “You can’t outrun a bear.” The first man responded with, “True, but all I have to do is to outrun you.”

The implication is that the first man only needed to be better in the site of the bear than the second one, which presumably the bear would consider to be weaker, and then catch and destroy.

From an economic perspective, the story basically is that the economy of Europe does not need to be perfect, only perceived to better than that of the USA to someday surpass it.

Europe hopes that infusing money into the economies of Europe will essentially reduce the potential for unrest, increase jobs, and improve technological developments, with destroying the Euro. The quantitative easing program may enough to temporarily deal with the negative effects of some of the sanctions that the EU has against Russia–at least for a time.

The Bible teaches that the final ‘ten toes’ of the European power will have difficulties (Daniel 2:41-43) and will reorganize (Revelation 17:12-13).

We will see how many ‘reorganizations’ Europe may have to go through before then. I would also add that I do expect civil unrest in Europe, despite its quantitative easing strategy.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
Must the Ten Kings of Revelation 17:12 Rule over Ten Currently Existing Nations? Some claim that these passages refer to a gathering of 10 currently existing nations together, while one group teaches that this is referring to 11 nations getting together. Is that what Revelation 17:12-13 refers to? The ramifications of misunderstanding this are enormous.
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Might German Baron Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg become the King of the North? Is the former German Defense Minister (who is also the former German Minister for Economics and Technology) one to watch? What do Catholic, Byzantine, and biblical prophecies suggest?
Germany’s Assyrian Roots Throughout History Are the Germanic peoples descended from Asshur of the Bible? Have there been real Christians in Germanic history? What about the “Holy Roman Empire”? There is also a You-Tube video sermon on this titled Germany’s Biblical Origins.
Germany in Biblical and Catholic Prophecy Does Assyria in the Bible equate to an end time power inhabiting the area of the old Roman Empire? What does prophecy say Germany will do and what does it say will happen to most of the German people?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2015, 2016, or 2017? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2014 o 2015? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon video: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives.
Project Prophecy: Economic Collapse Starting in 2015? Jim Rickards once worked for the CIA and also was once part of a a USA government program called called ‘Project Prophecy.’ He has a video were he claims that starting in 2015, the USA may have economic collapse resulting in a 25-Year Great Depression. He mainly cites debt figures and claims advises alternatives to the USA dollar which he says will collapse? What did Rand Paul state? Can the USA dollar collapse?
Blood Moons and Prophecy There are four ‘blood moons’ expected in 2014 and 2015. Do they signal the Day of the Lord or the return of Jesus Christ? A related YouTube video is also available: Blood Moons, Prophecy, 2014, and 2015.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Edition for Second Obama Term This is a 160 page book for people truly interested in prophecies related to Barack Obama and the United States, including learning about many that have already been fulfilled (which the book documents in detail) and those that will be fulfilled in the future. It also has a chapter about a Republican choice. This book is available to order at www.barackobamaprophecy.com. The physical book can also be purchased at Amazon from the following link: Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States: Is Barack Obama Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic Catholic, Kenyan, and other America-Related Prophecies? What About Republican Leaders? Second Edition for Second Obama Term.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition. This electronic version is available for only US$2.99. And you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to for your free Kindle reader and then go to Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States-Second Term-Amazon Kindle edition.