To appease the holdouts, it left key points broad and noncommittal, offering the possibility of collateral to Finland and describing the complex bondholder deal in a few strokes, vague language that would return to haunt the bloc.

WSJ: European Disunion: Dithering at the Top Turned EU Crisis to Global Threat

The trouble is one of the real points of QE is central banks swap lower quality, potentially liquidity- impaired collateral with higher quality collateral of their own, in the hope that by the fact they are swapping it, in itself it will increase the quality of a potentially impaired asset.

FORBES: The Question Warren Buffett Can't Answer