European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde pushed back on Wednesday against economic pessimism, arguing that a rebound will come as pandemic uncertainty declines and that Europe possesses all the tools needed to overcome the crisis. ven with much of the 19-member euro area in lockdown, Lagarde continued to predict a recovery, provided that economic restrictions can be lifted from the second quarter and the bloc can overcome a “laborious” start to vaccinations. Only last month, the ECB cut its growth forecast to 3.9% this year but increasingly widespread curbs on movement and activity in countries including ... (full story)