Precisely half an hour ago [9], we mocked the overnight Reuters trial balloon about ECB corporate bond buying, whose only purpose was to send futures higher, when not only did we question the credibility of the report based on "one person familiar with the work inside the ECB, speaking on condition of anonymity" and said that now "we await Germany to throw up all over what is a clear Reuters trial balloon floated by "one person familiar with the work inside the ECB, speaking on condition of anonymity" to see what the market reaction is to even more stimulus (as if it is unclear)." Well, it wasn't Germany. At least not yet. It was Reuters' competitor in the coverage of ECB rumors and innuendo, the FT, which moments ago blasted this, via Bloomberg:
- ECB SAID NOT TO HAVE PUT CORPORATE BOND BUYING ON AGENDA: FT
So just in case anyone forgot how credible the Reuters rumor mill is when bailing out European risk (think summer of 2011 and 2012), here is a stark reminder.
More from the FT:
The European Central Bank has not yet put the issue of buying corporate bonds on the agenda for its December policy meeting, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The euro weakened and shares rose in Italy, Spain and Germany jumped after Reuters reported two sources as saying that the policy making governing council could discuss the possibility of buying the assets at its final meeting of 2014, reports Claire Jones.
While corporate bond purchases are an option that policy makers have discussed in recent months, one of the people familiar with the matter said preparations for buying the debt have not intensified in recent weeks.
However, the person said corporate bond purchases are being considered, along with other ideas, as a possible means to extend the ECB's programme of private sector asset purchases - which at the moment are confined to asset-backed securities and covered bonds - should inflation and growth in the eurozone continue to disappoint.
Of course, in a normal world, the entire overnight ES gain would evaporate in seconds, even as the origianl "source" has long since sold out of their risk. In this centrally-planned market, however, the ramp will stick. Just because.
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