LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The European Central Bank will begin direct purchases of 60 billion euros worth of covered bonds in July, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday at his monthly news conference. The ECB plans to fully implement the purchases by June 2010, he said. The action will consist of direct purchases in the primary and secondary markets. The ECB announced last month that it would implement a program to purchase covered bonds but had provided no details.
