Boxed in by Debt, Europe Tries Blasting Out

May 9 will go down in European monetary history as the day when long-held taboos were thrown overboard. After endless weeks of agony over assisting Greece, Europe suddenly decided to put up 500 billion euros in loan guarantees for ailing states.

And despite having adamantly resisted so-called "unconventional policies" throughout the financial crisis, the European Central Bank (ECB) reversed its stance even more suddenly by launching a government bonds purchase program.