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ECB ready to buy Spanish and Italian bonds to fight eurozone debt crisis

The European Central Bank said last night it would “actively implement” its controversial bond-buying programme to fight the eurozone’s debt crisis, signalling it will buy Spanish and Italian government bonds.
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) said it welcomed the announcements made by the governments of Italy and Spain on new measures and reforms in the areas of fiscal and structural policies, the Telegraph reports.
“It is on the basis of the above assessments that the ECB will actively implement its Securities Markets Programme…..and therefore to ensure price stability in the euro area” the ECB said in a statement,
News of the deal came through just after 11pm last night. It is understood ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet wanted an agreement from ECB members to buy Italian paper before the Asian markets opened.
G7 finance ministers were also expected to hold a conference call overnight.
The central bank was forced to step in after its refusal to enter the Italian and Spanish bond markets last week added to sovereign debt fears, which in turn helped fuel a sell-off that wiped $2.5trn (£1.5trn) off global stock markets.

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Market watchers were already waiting with baited breath for Monday’s opening bells to see the impact on stocks of Standard & Poor’s decision over the weekend to strip the US of its AAA credit rating for the first time.