European leaders hunted for solutions to the debt crisis,helping Italy and Spain gain a respite from the market turbulenceafter the resumption of the European Central Bank's bond-buyingprogram.

With global stock markets sinking for an eighth day, GermanChancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy planto speak by phone later today, their offices said. The EuropeanCommission called for an expansion of the European FinancialStability Facility, the 440 billion-euro ($623 billion) rescuefund, earning a rebuke from Germany.

The EFSF “should be reinforced and the scope widened,” EuropeanUnion Economic and Monetary Commissioner Olli Rehn told reportersin Brussels. “Experience has shown that we need to stand ready” toact, “preferably ahead of the curve, to be effective.” GermanEconomy Minister Philipp Roesler rejected taking more measures.