European and Japanese stocks scaled multi-year highs on Monday on talk of mergers and bids, while interest rate speculation weakened the low-yielding yen slightly against the dollar and euro, according to Reuters. With the Bank of Japan starting its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and both the Federal Reserve and Bank of England due to issue minutes of their latest rate-setting meetings on Wednesday, eyes were firmly on the global rates outlook. "The minutes may give some insight into the perceived balance of risks between growth and inflation and what it means for future monetary policy in the UK and the U.S.," analysts at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets wrote in a research note. But Monday's biggest mover in global currency markets was the pound, which fell sharply after Britain's central bank warned some sterling depreciation would probably be necessary to narrow Britain's large current account deficit. Oil slipped to below $59 a barrel, pressured by expectations of warmer weather in the United States and supported by threats to supply in Nigeria.
