The yen slid against the dollar and the euro Monday after officials at the meeting of the Group of 20 industrial and developing nations refrained from openly criticizing the Japanese government for trying to force down the yen, while European stocks drifted lower. This weekend's meeting resulted only in a pledge to ensure that monetary policy is focused on price stability and growth, rather than weakening currencies. "The G20 statement is largely an indirect endorsement of Japan's monetary policy and other economies boosting their central bank's balance sheet," said Danske Bank, which expects continuing weakness in the yen over the coming quarter. "The next key yen event will be the appointment of the new Bank of Japan governor. This may trigger some volatility in the market but, given that the Japanese economy contracted during the fourth quarter and that the gross domestic product deflator showed a 0.6% year-on-year decline, we expect the Bank of Japan to continue with aggressive easing and hence for relative economic policy to continue to drive the yen weaker," it added. Sticking with currencies, the pound hit a fresh seven-month low against the dollar, trading below $1.5459. Meanwhile, Europe's equity markets were a little weaker amid a series of disappointing earnings reports. Danish brewer Carlsberg fell 4% after the release of its fourth-quarter results, with analysts pointing to lower-than-expected sales in Europe. Spanish communications company Telefonica SA (>> Telefonica SA) was also under the cosh, down 1.7% after saying it will take a 438 million euro ($585.1 million) charge against its 2012 earnings, to reflect the impact of Venezuela's recent currency devaluation. Elsewhere, TNT Express NV (>> TNT EXPR ADR) slipped 1.1% after posting another net loss for the fourth quarter. It wasn't all bad, though. Natixis (>> Natixis SA) surged 17% as investors welcomed the company's plan to simplify its structure, even as it reported a plunge in fourth-quarter net profit Sunday. In commodities, the gold price rallied after its recent sharp falls caused by the liquidation of gold funds prompted by the lack of yield and opportunities elsewhere. There isn't much to look forward to on the data front, with just euro-zone current account at 0900 GMT, and volumes are expected to be lighter than usual as U.S. markets will be closed for the Presidents' Day holiday. Still, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's quarterly testimony to the European Parliament should garner some attention.

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