Monday 15th June

15/06/09 19:36 CET

markets

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A bearish Monday for European stocks which finished the day down three percent.

The sell off came with investors reacting to a weekend meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of Eight who said they believed their economies are stabilising but that recovery from the credit crisis remained shaky. The euro zone unemployment figures didn’t help. Banks suffered worst, HSBC, Banco Santander and UBS were all down as the European Central Bank said euro zone banks may face further writedowns. Energy, mining and other natural resources companies fell because the prices of oil and other commodities slid as the dollar gained in value. That followed comments from Russia’s finance minister at the G8 meeting that the dollar’s role as the world’s main reserve currency is unlikely to change in the near future. Steelmakers and car manufacturers also lost value.More about: European Union, Markets

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Mali: Rebel groups agree to creation of Islamic state

Two Rebel groups have agreed to merge and create an independent Islamic state in Northern Mali. After seizing Azawad – an area larger than France – two months ago, the groups had initially disagreed, with the secular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)…