James Wilson, in our Frankfurt office, has compiled a guide to the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme as policymakers struggle to contain the contagion in eurozone debt markets.

What is the ECB doing?

The ECB has reopened what had become a dormant programme of buying the debt of various eurozone countries in the secondary market. It’s a fire-fighting measure to try to calm markets. Having bought Greek, Irish and Portuguese bonds, they are for the first time this week now buying Italian and Spanish debt.