https://krdo.com/money/2020/03/18/e...t-the-economy-to-fight-the-coronavirus-crash/ The European Central Bank on Wednesday announced a huge new money-printing program aimed at keeping the region’s financial system functioning and helping the economy cope with the devastating shock caused by the coronavirus epidemic. The central bank said it would spend €750 billion ($821 billion) buying government debt and private securities before the end of 2020. And it stands ready to do even more if necessary. “The Governing Council is fully prepared to increase the size of its asset purchase programs and adjust their composition, by as much as necessary and for as long as needed,” the ECB said in a statement. That massive increase to the central bank’s balance sheet, known as quantitative easing, is designed to keep the financial system liquid when investors are running scared. Global stocks have plunged deep into a bear market, and central banks around the world are engaging in emergency stimulus plans to bolster their economies and markets in the face of a potentially disastrous worldwide recession.