European Central Bank Launches Trillion-Euro Stimulus

The European Central Bank has hit the launch button on its 1.1 trillion euro ($1.2 trillion) stimulus program by starting to buy government bonds.

The chief monetary authority for the 19 countries that use the euro confirmed Monday it had begun the purchases, which aim to make credit cheaper, boost growth and raise inflation. ECB President Mario Draghi had announced the start date last week, sending stocks higher and the euro lower.

The bonds are bought from banks and other financial institutions using newly printed money.

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The ECB has said it will buy 60 billion euros per month in government and corporate bonds through September 2016, and in any case until inflation turns convincingly upward toward the bank's goal of just under 2 percent.

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