​The ECB’s first ever QE program and new economic thinking at Davos

The European Central Bank announced plans for a large scale asset purchase plan. Details of the 1.1 trillion euro plan showed more accommodation than anticipated and the euro fell to an 11-year low: below $1.15 at the news. Eurozone government bonds were higher across the board. The ECB’s program calls for risk sharing by national central banks, who will aid in the purchase of 60 billion euros of assets each month from March 2015 until the end of September 2016. Edward Harrison weighs in.

Erin reports live from Davos about what she witnessed at the World Economic Forum, including an exchange between hedge fund boss Ray Dalio and Goldman Sachs President Gerry Cohn.

Edward sits down with Axel Merk – president and chief investment officer of Merk Investments. Axel tells us how effective he thinks the ECB’s quantitative easing program will be and gives us his take on whether we’ll see euro dollar parity.

After the break, Erin is joined in Davos by Rob Johnson – president of The Institute for New Economic Thinking. Rob talks about how to integrate new economic thinking into the models used by global leaders. He also discusses international political conflicts on the radar screen at the World Economic Forum, and gives us his impassioned view of why economics is not just an abstract field but a social science dominated by real and diverse human beings.

And in The Big Deal, Edward and RT correspondent Ameera David discuss encryption software. Take a look!