ECB eyes more bond buys, cheap loans to keep euro zone afloat: Lagarde

The European Central Bank will focus on more emergency bond purchases and cheap loans for banks when it puts together its new stimulus package next month to help the pandemic-hit euro zone economy, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday.

Lagarde said inflation in the 19-country bloc was now likely to remain negative for longer than expected as a second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak forces new restrictions on economic activity.

The ECB’s job was to keep borrowing costs sufficiently low for households, firms and governments and support the banking sector to prevent a credit crunch, she said, pointing to the bank’s