10 things you need to know before European markets open

Le Pen

REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Good morning! Here's what you need to know.

1. There won't be Grexit, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said. Germany said that it expects the International Monetary Fund to continue participating in the bailout for debt-stricken Greece, despite the lender's doubts on the issue.

2. Kraft Heinz has withdrawn its proposal for a $143-billion merger with larger rival Unilever. Kraft had made a surprise offer for Unilever in a bid to build a global consumer goods behemoth, although it was flatly rejected on Friday by Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap.

3. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for an end to a world order dominated by the West. He said: "I hope that (the world) will choose a democratic world order – a post-West one – in which each country is defined by its sovereignty."

4. China suspended all imports of coal from North Korea, the country's commerce ministry said, as part of its efforts to implement United Nations sanctions against the country. The Ministry of Commerce said the ban would be effective until Dec. 31.

5. Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi opened the way for a leadership fight. Renzi made clear he would seek re-election and warned that the PD's internal feuding was proving a gift to its main opponent in parliament, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.

6. Britain has offered Peugeot manufacturer PSA Group assurances on post-Brexit trade. Business minister Greg Clark met French politicians and PSA executives in Paris to discuss their plan to buy General Motors' European unit, Opel, which include Vauxhall plants in Britain.

7. Scientists found a lost continent two-thirds the size of Australia beneath the south-west Pacific Ocean. The land mass of 4.5 million square kilometers (1.74 million square miles) is 94% underwater and only its highest points – New Zealand and New Caldeonia – poke above the surface.

8. China is closely following US President Donald Trump's plans to create more domestic jobs. "We are paying close attention to these policies but they will not affect the development of China's manufacturing industry," Industry Minister Miao Wei said.

9. French hard-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon would raise spending by 273 billion euros ($290 billion). That sum includes a €100 billion recovery plan to stimulate the French economy.

10. The IMF agreed terms with debt-ridden Mongolia. The International Monetary Fund agreed on terms for a more than $5 billion loan package to the Mongolian government to help get the north Asian country's economy back on track.

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