Explanation: Bund future is a synthetic product, a weighted average of shorter-term bond market situation. IOW the traders trade in forwards on a thing that does not exist (ggg - but, hell, this is derivatives, my friend) .
The bunds (german obligations etc) have been under ECB control since I guess two years, when Bundesbank turned off the lights and went home. The Bund future is, however, a purely German (Frankfurt / Main) product, competing with LIFFE (and winning as far as I understand).
Anyway, one field less for the ECB to act upon: no influence on Euro notes or bonds, they don't exist.
ECB controls the print machines (DEM, LIT, FFR etc) since some time already, so they are well in position to
control the money supply, whatever the denomination. Of course we all want to cut costs and will switch to one physical form of money 1st jan 02. All the rest - electronic money etc - has all already been done.
National gvt. may issue debt
- it is very tightly controlled and there's penalties for going over the commonly set limit. Funny thing: Germany is now more than 3% overdraft and I wonder what it will look like when these provisions kick in.
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