As commentators as knowledgeable as Ferguson, Reinhart and Rogoff must have been aware, the market discipline on display in the eurozone had not “come without warning.” The ECB and the German government were deliberately courting the bond vigilantes who swarmed over Greece. If they wanted to ease the pressure, all the ECB needed to do was what the Fed, the Bank of England or the Bank of Japan did as a matter of course—buy Greek bonds. But the ECB had no intention of doing that, not, at least, until the very last minute. The ECB meant to send a message: Austerity or else! They must have been
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