Turkish shares fell 6 percent in morning trade Monday and the lira plunged to a new record low against the dollar, as investors took fright at new political uncertainty following legislative elections.
Turkey's central bank acted swiftly in an intervention to give some support to the pressured Turkish lira, saying it was pruning its short term foreign exchange deposit rates effective Tuesday.
Full StoryGermany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will meet Monday in Berlin with his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, amid contentious negotiations between Greece and its creditors, the German ministry said.
A ministry spokesman told Agence France Presse the meeting would take place "in the morning" and that no press conference was planned.
Full StoryOil prices fell in Asia Monday after OPEC decided to maintain its high output levels, while traders were also weighing the possible return of Iranian supplies that have been curtailed by international sanctions against Tehran, analysts said.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 47 cents to $58.66 while Brent crude for July eased 42 cents to $62.89 in afternoon trade.
Full StoryGreek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday said the country was close to a default-saving reform deal but called on EU-IMF creditors to withdraw "absurd" demands for further austerity cuts after ducking a loan repayment to the IMF.
"I believe we are now closer than ever to a deal," Tsipras said in a speech to parliament as he faced criticism from the opposition on the state of the negotiations.
Full StoryThe International Monetary Fund said Friday it was preparing $833 million in emergency financial assistance to Iraq as the country battles the Islamic State insurgency.
The IMF said a mission had agreed on the aid with the Iraqi government under the Fund's Rapid Financing Instrument program, subject to IMF management approval, which is lusikely to come in July.
Full StorySpain's new anti-austerity party Podemos on Friday presented its economic proposals to representatives of the International Monetary Fund in Spain, the party said in a statement.
"This meeting, which is the result of an IMF request made to Podemos, is part of a series of meetings which the international body is having with Spanish political parties and economic actors during its visit to the country," the statement said.
Full StoryA U.S. judge ordered Argentina on Friday to pay $5.2 billion to some 500 creditors seeking repayment on the same favorable terms given to other holders of the South American country's restructured debt.
In a 26-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Griesa ruled that by refusing to make payment to some hedge fund and individual bondholders of its defaulted debt, while making payment to other creditors, Buenos Aires was in violation of an equal treatment provision in its contracts.
Full StoryThe OPEC oil producers' cartel has decided to keep the "same" output target of 30 million barrels per day, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Friday.
"The ceiling is the same. You will be surprised how amicable the meeting was," Naimi told reporters after the gathering of the 12-nation cartel that pumps one third of the world's oil.
Full StoryThe German central bank, or Bundesbank, upgraded Friday its growth forecasts for this year and next year, saying activity in Europe's biggest economy was being supported by both domestic and foreign demand.
The Bundesbank said in a statement it was expecting gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.7 percent in 2015, by 1.8 percent in 2016 and 1.5 percent in 2017.
Full StoryThe euro lost ground Friday on uncertainty about Greece's future in the eurozone as it struck a last-minute deal to delay a debt repayment, but still faced several stumbling blocks to reaching a bailout reform agreement.
In Tokyo trading, the single currency weakened to $1.1220 and 139.63 yen from $1.1239 and 139.79 yen in New York.
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