Japan's Takata Corp, the firm at the center of the auto industry's biggest ever product recall, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan, and said it had agreed to be largely acquired for $1.6 billion by the Chinese-owned U.S.-based Key Safety Systems.

Gold tumbled to its lowest price in nearly six weeks as a large sell order and a stronger dollar hit sentiment on Monday, though losses were limited by political uncertainty around the world.

Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winning rights activist Liu Xiaobo has been released from prison on medical parole and is being treated in hospital for late-stage liver cancer, his lawyer said on Monday.

Financial investors' lack of faith in another rise in U.S. interest rates this year kept the dollar pinned back on Monday at the start of a week packed with speeches from Federal Reserve and other senior central bank officials.

The battle to take full control of Mosul from Islamic State will be over in a few days and an attempted fight-back by the militants failed, an Iraqi general told Reuters on Monday.

Oil prices steadied above last week's seven-month lows on Monday, hemmed in by a relentless rise in U.S. supply, bloated global inventories and a surge in demand for short sale contracts that signal investors see potential for a price fall.