I wrote on Wednesday that many traders were clamoring for a much bigger European Central Bank bond buying program than the plan to purchase 500 billion euros in assets that was being discussed. Draghi said the program would be 60 billion euros a month and last at least until September 2016.
Just do the math: 60 billion x 18 months = 1.08 trillion euros.
Read More Open-ended European QE set to 'start with a bang'
Some portion of this may be previously announced buying, but the key is that Draghi made it clear that the terms were somewhat open-ended and could go on longer, "until sustained adjustment in path of inflation." Good luck with that.
It's close enough to open-ended, and close enough to the big bazooka.
Bond yields in the euro zone have dropped, the euro has weakened. However, European stock markets are up only modestly
If the goal is to weaken the euro to make it more competitive, then this program is a success at the outset.
Read More Lagarde on European QE: It's already working
Elsewhere:
Regional banks have struggled with mediocre loan growth (3-4 percent year over year), lower loan yields, lower net interest margins, and modest deposit growth. We saw it today with Huntington Bancshares and KeyCorp.
But not for everyone. Take Signature Bank, named Best Bank in America for 2015 by Forbes magazine. It reported loan growth of 32.1 percent, deposit growth of 32.6 percent, and earnings that were up 24.6 percent. Wow.