Euro fights back strongly

The euro surged this morning after Europe and the International Monetary Fund agreed a 500-billion-euro aid package for Greece and its eurozone neighbours to stem a crisis that threatened global recovery.

The deal, which Spanish finance minister Elena Salgado said could hit 720 billion euros with IMF involvement, would consist of 440 billion euros from eurozone countries and another 60 billion euros of loan funds coming from the European Commission. The IMF would contribute another 250-billion-euro facility.

The single currency shot higher to 1.2907 dollars after the announcement, up from 1.2755 dollars in New York Friday, while the traditionally safe-haven yen slid against its peers as risk appetite returned to the markets.

The IMF's executive board had on Sunday approved a record 30-billion-euro loan for Greece, whose debt woes have shaken global financial markets.

The monster bailout "proves that we shall defend the euro whatever it takes," the European Union's commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Olli Rehn, told a press conference after 11 hours of talks in Brussels.

The European Central Bank will also implement exceptional measures in support of a monster euro bailout package, Rehn said.
Asian markets shot higher in approval, with Tokyo up 1.20 percent, Sydney up 1.54 percent and Seoul adding 1.34 percent.