News Summary: ECB official cautions on rate cuts
News Summary: ECB's Asmussen cautions that monetary policy can't fix everything
FILE - In this April 23, 2010 file picture German Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Asmussen, right, and Axel Weber, then governor of the central bank of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbank, brief reporters on their work at at the IMF-World Bank meetings in Washington. A top European Central Bank official, Joerg Asmussen, warned Thursday April 25, 2013 that another interest rate cut might not be much help for eurozone countries in recession — because already low rates are not getting through to businesses and consumers. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
MINIMAL IMPACT: A top European Central Bank official warned Thursday that another interest rate cut might not be much help for eurozone countries in recession — because already low rates are not getting through to businesses and consumers.
LOOKING FOR HELP: A run of disappointing economic news this week has fueled market expectations that the bank will cut rates from a record low of 0.75 percent to stimulate the economy of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro.
EMPTY CUPBOARD: Joerg Asmussen, the ECB's top official for international relations, said that the "pass-through of rate cuts" would be "limited" since troubled banks are not able to send them on. He cautioned that ultra-low interest rates can take pressure off governments and banks to fix their troubles anyway.
