IG Market Analyst Alastair McCaig says the European Central Bank is a step closer to implementing quantitative easing.

SHOWS: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 19, 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. IG, MARKET ANALYST, ALASTAIR MCCAIG, SAYING:

JOURNALIST ASKING ALASTAIR MCCAIG: 'European shares are at a seven year high - have markets already factored in action from the ECB and if so is there a danger they could be disappointed on Thursday?'

MCCAIG: 'I think as further bad news came out of markets over the course of last week that was increasingly perceived as good news effectively forcing the ECB that step closer towards quantitative easing. Also the actions that took place by the Swiss National Bank were also seen as another indicator that some form of euro zone quantitative easing would appear. And the rumours have been rife for well over a week now that something would materialise and there is of course always the chance that Mario Draghi and his team will not be able to agree with all parties as to the exact methodology of introducing this but I think even if something isn't auctioned on Thursday we will get very strong confidence signals that it will be imminent thereafter.'

JOURNALIST: 'Is the impact of the Swiss central bank's decision still reverberating around markets?'

MCCAIG: 'I think the actions we saw last week from the Swiss National Bank caught many by surprise especially when you consider the commentary that had come out of them only recently prior to that decision to un-peg the currency against the euro. The fact that we saw 4,000 pips on a major currency pair in quite frankly under 20 minutes is something I have not seen in over 20 years in the City and it is unlikely to be replicated any time soon. Yes there are still quite a lot of implications on the back of that not just in the currency markets but across the board.'

JOURNALIST: 'Less than a week until the Greek election and the IMF has warned against restructuring Greek debt - what impact could that have?

MCCAIG: 'Well there are certainly two very opposing views on this. I think the problem is this is a general election and the average man or woman on the street is going to get their say on how they see things. As much as the ECB, the IMF, the Troika and their funds having been pumped into Greece might have seen that as being beneficial and quite frankly life saving. The average Greek citizen might not see that in the same light, especially as many of these funds have gone towards Greek banks rather than necessarily the Greek infrastructure and economy. Certainly austerity measures for that country have been pretty severe and although the big picture might point towards a country that really needs to stay as part of the European Union and the euro zone. The unhappiness of the populous shouldn't be underestimated.'