Europe Leaders Take Another Run at Fixing Crisis

European leaders will take another run at fixing the debt crisis this week after the failure of their fourth rescue blueprint sparked intensified concern the 17-nation euro area was on the brink of unravelling. With a European Union summit in Brussels looming Dec. 9, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner arrives in Frankfurt tomorrow to prod political leaders and the ECB holds a policy meeting Dec. 8. Today, Merkel and Sarkozy will hold talks in Paris in an attempt to bridge differences on a crisis resolution. Safeguarding banks, limiting the damage to Italy and Spain and finding additional rescue funds may hinge on the response to Franco-German demands for closer economic integration and tougher policing of fiscal rules. Markets climbed last week as investors looked toward the latest plan to rescue to the 17- nation euro, betting that a new regime of budget rules at the summit may clear the way for more intervention from the ECB. The German and French leaders continue to differ on matters such as the role of the ECB and sanctions mechanisms for euro- area states that violate deficit rules, The two nations are leading the push for closer economic ties among euro nations and locking in tougher enforcement of budget rules to counter the debt crisis