Stocks Advance on Europe Optimism; Commodities Reverse Losses - by Stephen Kirkland and Rita Nazareth

Stocks rose, rebounding from last week's decline, and Treasuries retreated as European officials discussed plans to tame the debt crisis. Commodities reversed earlier losses and the Dollar Index retreated.

The European Central Bank is likely to debate restarting covered-bond purchases and may discuss interest-rate cuts to ease funding strains, a euro-region central bank official said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's comments that leaders must erect a firewall around Greece prompted speculation about a European version of the U.S.'s Troubled Asset Relief Program after finance chiefs including U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urged more efforts to prevent contagion.

Note EU-Digest: Instead of whining about Europe all the time why doesn't the US financial press watch their own backyard.

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