10 things you need to know before European markets open
Greece's new prime minister won't back down. Greece's new leftist prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, said on Sunday he would not accept an extension to Greece's current bailout, setting up a clash with EU leaders - who want him to do just that - at a summit on Thursday. Tsipras also pledged his government would heal the "wounds" of austerity, sticking to campaign pledges.
And Greece's finance minister says the euro will fall apart if his country leaves the currency. If Greece is forced out of the euro zone, other countries will inevitably follow and the currency bloc will collapse, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Sunday.
There's a four-way Ukraine summit coming on Wednesday. The leaders of Ukraine, Germany and France are pushing for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in a frantic bid to halt escalating bloodshed in eastern Ukraine.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott survived an attempt to unseat him. Abbott on Monday survived a confidence vote on his leadership after just 17 months in power and urged an end to the disunity that has seen the government's popularity plummet. Abbott has been fighting for his job after poor poll ratings and a series of policy flip-flops spurred some MPs from his conservative Liberal Party to openly attack him.
Investigative journalists say HSBC has provided accounts to international criminals. A cache of secret bank files shows that HSBC's Swiss banking arm helped wealthy customers avoid taxes and hide millions of dollars, according to a report by a network of investigative journalists released Sunday. The ICIJ says HSBC gave accounts to international criminals, corrupt businessmen, politicians and celebrities.
European investor confidence is coming. At 9:30 a.m. ET (4:30 a.m. GMT), Sentix release their monthly barometer of European investor confidence. Economists expect another improvement this month, followed a spate of better economic data from the eurozone.
Standard Chartered is targeting rich people. Standard Chartered will shift its retail bank's focus from mass market to affluent customers and urge more customers online as part of a broader turnaround strategy for the lender, a senior executive told Reuters.
Alibaba is investing more than half a million dollars in a Chinese smartphone maker. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group said in a statement on Monday it will buy a minority stake in domestic smartphone maker Meizu Technology Co for $590 million. Alibaba didn't disclose how much of the privately owned handset maker it will acquire.
Asian markets are mixed. Japan's Nikkei climbed in trading Monday, closing 0.36% higher. The Shanghai Composite Index is also up, 0.73% higher ahead of the close, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently down 0.52%.
Oil prices are still climbing after their strongest week since 2011. West Texas Intermediate is up another 0.42% in price in trading early Monday, to $51.96. Brent is 0.18% higher at $58.79. Falling U.S. oil rig counts and conflict in producer Libya helped stretch a rally from last week when crude surged the most since 2011.