Though it is too soon to gauge any longer-term benefits, the move, by the European Central Bank, could be a turning point in the Continent's debt crisis — a cascading problem that for nearly two years has plagued financial markets around the world and now threatens global economic growth.
American officials and global economists have long urged the Europe's central bank to take just such an aggressive stance — even as European political leaders have repeatedly failed to devise concrete near-term plans to address Europe's debt problems and deteriorating finances.