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10 things you need to know before European markets open

Dec 31, 2015, 12:29 IST

A man wearing a mask and dressed in a clown costume rides an electric tricycle while carrying a container in the shape of a rubber duck amid heavy smog in Beijing, China, December 29, 2015.REUTERS/Jason Lee

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

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Storms are causing a lot of expensive damage to the UK. PwC raised its estimate of insured losses from UK Storms Desmond and Eva to £900 million and said Storm Frank, currently hitting parts of Britain, could take total losses above £3 billion.

Germany has a lot of refugees. Germany will have registered about 1.09 million refugees by the end of the year, the Saechsische Zeitung daily reported on Wednesday, citing unpublished government statistics.

Ukraine's peace deal is staying in place. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany have agreed to extend the Minsk peace accord on Ukraine into 2016, the Kremlin said, following a phone call between the four leaders.

A Swiss bank will have to pay out for helping Americans dodge taxes. Swiss private bank Julius Baer didn't specify how much it would have to shell out in fines, but said its new provision for the settlement was $547.25 million -- significantly higher than the $350 million set aside in June.

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The refugee crisis is costing Germany a lot of money. Germany's federal states are planning to spend around 17 billion euros ($18.7 billion) on dealing with the refugee crisis in 2016, the newspaper Die Welt said, citing a survey it conducted among their finance ministries.

Tourists love Spain. Spain is set for a third consecutive record year for tourism, with nearly 64.6 million visitors registered in the first 11 months of the year. Tourism Minister Jose Manuel Soria said December's figures are expected to top 3 million, putting the full-year estimate at about 68 million tourists.

Apple had to pay out for avoiding Italian taxes. Italian authorities say Apple Italia has agreed to pay €318 million ($350 million) in taxes for several past years and is working out a deal to cover future tax liabilities for business it does in the country.

Swiss authorities are helping out in the FIFA corruption case. Swiss authorities have handed over a package of evidence to their American counterparts related to the soccer corruption scandal. The Swiss authorities also froze $80 million in assets in 13 bank accounts.

The Russian rouble is hitting a low. The ruble dropped 1.3% on Wednesday to 73.2 rubles per dollar, its weakest level in about 12 months. The national currency lost 40% of its value last year.

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Puerto Rico has a day left to pay $1 billion. Puerto Rico faces a Jan. 1 deadline for roughly $1 billion in debt payments and has already signaled some of that amount could lapse into default, opening the door to potential litigation with creditors.

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