Turkey's battered financial markets bounced back on Monday as the cabinet met for the first time since a major reshuffle by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, battling a damaging political crisis over a high-profile graft probe.

The lira rallied to 2.1396 against the US dollar in morning trading after it touched a record low of 2.17 last week as Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for 11 years, faced mass protests and growing calls to resign.

Slovenian 12-month inflation dropped in December to 0.7 percent from 1.3 percent in November pulled down by seasonal discounts, official data showed Monday.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices also fell by 0.9 percent from November, after dropping by 0.1 percent from the previous month, the statistics office said.

Spanish national newspaper La Gaceta has scrapped its print edition, a spokeswoman said on Monday, as it fights to survive a financing crisis in the recession-damaged country's media.

"The paper edition has been closed" since Friday, said a spokeswoman for the strongly conservative newspaper, which was founded in 1989 and employs about 60 people.

Crocs Inc said late Sunday that the Blackstone Group is making a $200 million (145 million euros ) investment that will give it preferred stock and a 13 percent stake in the US-based shoe company.

The stock will have a six percent cash dividend rate, and at any time after three years from the issuance date, if the closing price of Crocs common stock equals or exceeds $29.00 for a period of 20 consecutive trading days, then the preferred stock shares will convert into shares of common stock, the statement read.

Bailed-out Greece is hoping to return to bond markets in the second half of 2014 -- but only if growth and a primary budget surplus permits, its finance minister said Sunday.

"We are preparing a return to the markets in the second half of 2014," Yannis Stournaras said in an interview published in the Realnews weekly.

The euro reached two-year highs against other major currencies on Friday after hawkish comments by a German central banker.

Near 2200 GMT, the euro traded at $1.3743, up from $1.3690 on Thursday after earlier peaking at $1.3893, the highest since October 2011.

The euro reached two-year highs against other major currencies on Friday after hawkish comments by a German central banker.

Near 2200 GMT, the euro traded at $1.3743, up from $1.3690 on Thursday after earlier peaking at $1.3893, the highest since October 2011.

President Barack Obama's administration on Friday urged U.S. lawmakers to swiftly restore unemployment benefits, criticizing a decision not to extend emergency aid to 1.3 million people looking for work.

A statement from the Director of the National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, said the move "defied economic sense."

U.S. oil prices Friday rose above $100 a barrel ahead of the Department of Energy's weekly release on the nation's oil inventories.

At around 1525 GMT, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February rose 68 cents to $100.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. WTI last traded above $100 on October 21.

The Turkish lira plunged Friday to a new historic low against the dollar and the stock market also slumped as the political crisis in the country deepened.

The lira fell to 2.1467 to the dollar while the Istanbul stock exchange's BIST 100 index dropped by 3.76 percent around 0910 GMT Friday, after having fallen 2.33 percent Thursday and 4.2 percent Wednesday.