Draghi defends ECB as Merkel enters low-rates debate

The head of the ECB robustly defended its cheap money policy on Thursday against sharp criticism from Germany, as the country's leader entered a debate that has driven a wedge between the euro zone's central bank and its biggest economy. Mario Draghi said the ECB's policy of printing money and keeping borrowing costs at rock bottom was working, adding that interest rates would stay at current record lows for a long time. Emphasizing the bank's right to independence from political interference, D