Gold prices surged Monday as German and French leaders worked on an emergency plan to save the eurozone within weeks rather than months and strong U.S. retail buying bolstered equities.
Berlin and Paris are reportedly hammering out a fast-track scheme to force fiscal discipline among debt-choked eurozone members by deepening integration. The goal behind the frantic weekend talks is that such a move will clear the way for the European Central Bank to act quickly to keep Spain and Italy from joining Greece, Portugal and Ireland as nations on the verge of default.
In addition, eurozone finance ministers were set to meet Tuesday to approve terms for borrowing against the $586 billion European Financial Stability Facility and policies for granting credit to Eurozone members and buying those members' bonds.
