REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is #1. Taylor Swift is #6.
Writing for Fortune, former Federal Reserve chair Paul Volcker says of Draghi:
Mario Draghi, as president of the European Central Bank, surely has one of the toughest and most significant jobs in the world ... Draghi, drawing on long experience in both government and business, has moved to fill that void. Taking full advantage of the instruments available to the central bank and his personal powers of persuasion, he has carried out his own pledge to do "whatever it takes" to hold the eurozone together.
In January, Draghi and the ECB announced a long-awaited quantitative easing program aimed at jump-starting the eurozone economy, which had been facing declining growth and the growing specter of deflation.
Earlier this month, ECB QE officially began with the central bank buying $60 billion of covered bonds and asset-backed securities.
Business Insider's Mike Bird reported on Tuesday that after a gloomy end to 2014, things in Europe are actually looking up.
Here's what Bird outlined:
- Retail sales are surging. This is a consumer-driven recovery. German and Spanish retail sales helped drive the continent's spending up at the fastest pace in 10 years.
- Consumer confidence is at an eight-year high. After a dip at the end of last year, when the possibility of a third recession was being raised, consumer confidence is now accelerating again.
- The private sector is reporting the best growth in four years. That's particularly good news for employment.
- Money is flowing in to European funds at a record pace. This year has seen the biggest inflows into European funds ever recorded already.
Writing in Fortune, Volcker concluded that:
Victory in the battle for growth and stability-and political reconciliation-within Europe has not yet arrived. However, there is little doubt that Draghi has provided a beacon of needed leadership. Given the weight of Europe in the world economy, we all have a stake in his work.
Read the full list of the world's top leaders over at Fortune »