Reuters first with the European Central Bank's new crisis-fighting facility

Reuters broke the news on March 26 that the European Central Bank was preparing a new crisis-fighting facility to help liquidity-short banks in Ireland and other parts of the euro zone. The scoop had major implications for Ireland`s sovereign bailout, as it could remove the need for fresh aid from other sources. For ECB policy, it could help the central bank wind down its offers of unlimited funds in money market operations. The Financial Times and Wall Street Journal did not report the news until two days later. Then, when disagreements within the ECB’s Governing Council forced the central bank to suspend the plan, Marc and Reuters colleagues were ahead of other news organisations in reporting this on March 31. The euro moved in response to both Reuters stories.