European Leaders Agree to New Growth Measures

According to European Council President Hermann Van Rompuy, European leaders have agreed on approximately $150 billion in new growth measures. This new growth package reportedly contains project bonds.

Van Rompuy was speaking after the close of the first day of discussions in Brussels. European Union leaders are continuing to meet in an attempt to find new cures for the European Debt Crisis. This new package is part of the European Union's budget, one which Van Rompuy claims should be used for growth.

Van Rompuy also said that the leaders plan to discuss his report on the future of the European Union and the European Monetary Union later tonight. On Tuesday, he laid out a four step plan to address the current crisis and present a concrete path for the future of Europe.

The plan is set to discuss two key points: a possible European banking union and the creation of Eurobonds. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been a large critic of Eurobonds, having stated that joint liabilities would not occur in her lifetime. These comments contradict statements from other European officials, such as Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, who stated that the issuance of covered bonds would be a solution to lowering the borrowing costs of Spain and Italy.

The EUR/USD pair climbed about 30 pips on the news but has given back some gains to 1.2443, however stocks, as measured by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY, rallied into the close to finish well off the lows of the day.