ECB succeeding on euro zone economy, but risks remain and more help available

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday that actions the bank has taken in December have succeeded in improving the economic climate, but he pledged to do more if the improvement proved transitory. "A very substantial degree of (monetary policy) accommodation is needed," he told a news conference after the ECB had left interest rates and asset purchases unchanged. With inflation in Germany hitting 1.7 percent in December, ECB critics in the country have been calling for an