Frankfurt am Main — The European Central Bank is widely expected to prolong massive monetary stimulus on Thursday as the election of Donald Trump and fears for heavyweight member Italy rattle the eurozone. Most analysts predict president Mario Draghi will extend an €80bn-a-month bond-buying scheme beyond the current March deadline at his press conference. Along with cheap loans to banks and record-low interest rates, ECB policy makers see the quantitative easing (QE) programme as critical to supporting a sluggish recovery and pushing up inflation in the eurozone. But while inflation in the single currency area hit a two-and-a-half-year high in November at 0.6%, it remains far short of the central bank’s target of just below 2%. Meanwhile, economic activity in the eurozone could suffer if US president-elect Donald Trump implements protectionist promises made on the campaign trail. And the 28-country European Union has worries of its own, with Britain headed for the exit door, Italy d...
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