Euro

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the credit rating on 28 Spanish banks, including Banco Santander, less than a month after cutting the nation's sovereign rating.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair said the UK must keep open the option of joining the euro if the current crisis is resolved.

Billionaire investor George Soros has called on Europe to start a fund to buy Italian and Spanish bonds, or risk the demise of the euro.

The Swiss franc has fallen 9% against the euro after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it was setting a minimum exchange rate against the single currency.