Euro plunges as credit crisis hits Europe

The European single currency plunged Monday after a weekend meeting of European Union leaders failed to produce a consensus on how to deal with renewed banking-sector turmoil. Strategists said a lack of coordinated effort prompted investors to ditch the euro lifting the dollar. Meanwhile, rising risk aversion sent the Japanese yen soaring against all major counterparts. The euro tumbled to a fresh 13-month low against the U.S. dollar and hit a new two-year low against the yen. Strategists at Commerzbank said Friday's passage of the $700 billion U.S. bank bailout package "has been taken as proof that the U.S. political system is able to cope with the crisis, and . . . the market is questioning Europe's ability to achieve the same. This puts the euro under renewed pressure."