ECB fires starting gun on massive economic stimulus

At last, after months of talk, Mario Draghi has flicked his electronic printing presses to "on".

Europe's central bank, which he leads, today began a bond-buying operation likely to lead to the spending of more than a TRILLION euros.

The idea is that investors will then spend that money elsewhere, boosting growth in the eurozone and warding off the threat of falling prices.

It's known in the jargon as quantitative easing. It usually forces the value of your currency lower. That's music to the ears of businesses which export, as it makes their products cheaper abroad.

We've been gauging reaction to what the bank is doing from business leaders in the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, and Spain, plus we have analysis from the economist, Roger Bootle.