BLOOMBERG
Draghi Starts Squaring QE Circle in Month of Persuasion

Mario Draghi has one month to win consensus on quantitative easing by showing he won't endanger the ECB.

As officials prepare to consider sovereign-bond purchases on Jan. 22, the ECB president is working to get as many policy makers and as much of the public on his side as possible. One concession being debated is to require national central banks to be responsible for at least some of their own credit risk, according to people familiar with the talks.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-22/draghi-starts-squaring-qe-circle-in-month-of-persuasion-for-ecb.html

BLOOMBERG

Putin's Secret Gamble on Reserves Backfires Into Currency Crisis

Kremlin insiders gathered in secret last February to answer a crucial question for Vladimir Putin: Could Russia afford the economic blowback from taking over Crimea?

Moscow said yes.

Markets aren't so sure.

As President Putin exulted at the Winter Olympics in Sochi 10 months ago, aides assured him Russia was rich enough to withstand the financial repercussions from a possible incursion into Ukraine, according to two officials involved in the talks.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-17/putin-s-secret-gamble-bet-on-ukraine-backfires-in-ruble-crisis.html

REUTERS
Euro edges up, still shaky on ECB and Greece

(Reuters) - The euro bounced back from two-year lows against a slightly weaker dollar on Monday, with Greece's presidential election and a batch of U.S. data on Tuesday the chief risks to a calmer holiday mood.

The Australian dollar, up 0.3 percent, was the chief beneficiary of a recovery in oil prices that has seen Brent Crude move almost 7 percent higher from last week's more than five-year lows.

The outlook into 2015 for the euro looks weak, with Luc Coene the latest European Central Bank policymaker to point the way towards outright buying of government bonds to stimulate a still moribund euro zone economy.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/22/us-markets-forex-idUSKBN0K000720141222