In Europe, the Central Bank Loses Control

Gone are the days when European Central Bank President Mario Draghi could bend the markets to his will merely by uttering three words. His vague promise to do "whatever it takes" to save the euro, made four years ago, was enough to avert the unraveling of the eurozone at the hands of bond investors. On March 10, he unveiled a raft of measures designed to weaken the euro while at the same time propping up the Continent's ailing banking sector. These included an interest rate drop further into negative territory, a sizable increase in the rate of bond purchasing in the ECB's quantitative easing program and a new package of ultra-cheap loans for the banking system. These measures, by contrast, have not achieved the same success....