Eurozone bank tries to ease coronavirus crisis

The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced steps to tackle the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

It is offering cheap loans to commercial banks to encourage them to lend to small businesses.

It is also expanding its quantitative easing programme, buying financial assets with newly created money.

But unlike some other leading central banks, it did not cut interest rates. European stocks fell even further, in what was already a gloomy session.