Regional central bank cooperation regarding actions and facilities aimed at maintaining financial system liquidity, yes. Regional central bank cooperation regarding interest rates, stay tuned.

The European Central Bank maintained its restrictive monetary policy stance regarding interest rates Wednesday when President Jean-Claude Trichet underscored that the bank is no hurry to lower key, short-term interest rates, Reuters reported.

The euro moved higher versus the dollar Wednesday at mid-day on the news, rising about one cent to $1.5744.

Trichet said price stability remained the ECB's number one concern and that the bank's current interest rate stance would help keep euro-zone inflation under control, Reuters reported. The ECB has kept its key refinance rate at 4.0% for nine months, while its transatlantic counterpart, the U.S. Federal Reserve, has lowered benchmark, short-term interest rates by 300 basis points since September 2007, in an effort to jump-start a U.S. economy stalled by the nation's worst housing slump in more than 20 years.

Further, Trichet turned aside notions that the ECB would soften its definition of price stability, the ceiling for which the bank places at "below but close to the 2% level." The euro-zone posted a 3.3% inflation rate in 2007, a rate Trichet has repeatedly said is too high.

Unlike the Federal Reserve, which has a dual policy mandate of price stability and full employment, the ECB, by charter, has no employment mandate and is required to focus only on inflation.

Economic Analysis: From a European consumer price index standpoint, Trichet has a valid argument regarding key interest rates on the continent. European growth remains adequate, and retail inflation is elevated. Still, if euro-zone Q1/Q2 2008 GDP data begins to show signs of a slowdown, or other ill effects, on the heels of the U.S. slowdown, Trichet may face increased pressure from Europe's commercial institutions to nudge rates lower in the second half of 2008.