The British and German stock markets hit record peaks Monday on hopes that eurozone quantitative easing stimulus, due to be outlined later this week, will bolster economic growth. Investor sentiment was also given a shot in the arm after China cut interest rates over the weekend for the second time since November, but the rally quickly ran out of steam as oil prices dropped. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid 0.09 percent to close at 6,940.64 points, having reached 6,974.26 points in morning trade, its highest intra-day level on record. This Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) will unveil the details of the bond purchase programme it is kicking off this month.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A woman who blogged for years about her son's constant health woes was convicted Monday of poisoning him to death by force-feeding heavy concentrations of sodium through his stomach tube.

Kelly Gissendaner's team had still not filed an appeal early Monday at the US Supreme Court, her last possible recourse, court sources said. Barring a last-minute stay, Gissendaner would be the 16th female prisoner to be executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated nationwide in 1976. Gissendaner, 46, is due to receive a lethal injection at 7:00 pm (0000 GMT Tuesday) at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison in Jackson. The boyfriend, Gregory Owen, pleaded guilty and testified against Gissendaner in 1998, thus avoiding a sentence of life in prison.