European leaders will take another run at fixing the debt crisisthis week after the failure of their fourth rescue blueprintsparked intensified concern the 17-nation euro area was on thebrink of unraveling.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President NicolasSarkozy will hold talks in Paris today starting at 1:30 p.m. overlunch. With a European Union summit in Brussels looming Dec. 9,U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner arrives in Frankfurttomorrow to prod political leaders and the European Central Bankholds a policy meeting Dec. 8.

Safeguarding banks, limiting the damage to Italy and Spain andfinding additional rescue funds may hinge on the response toFranco-German demands for closer economic integration and tougherpolicing of fiscal rules. Markets climbed last week as investorslooked toward the latest plan to rescue the euro, betting that anew regime of budget rules at the summit may clear the way for moreintervention from the ECB.