Economics
ECB Acts to Stem Nascent Italian Crisis With Pledge of New Tool
- Pandemic has left lasting euro-area vulnerabilities, ECB says
- Officials held emergency meeting Wednesday amid debt turmoil
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The European Central Bank sought to stave off a resurgent sovereign-debt crisis with the promise of a new tool to curb market stress, winning some respite just as investors shifted focus to an impending interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve.
With Italian bond prices gaining after days of gyrations where at one point yields breached 4% -- a level last seen during turmoil in 2014 -- a pledge by officials to devise a measure against turbulence while following the US with hikes of their own may have temporarily persuaded investors of their resolve.