Greeks optimistic on an agreement this week

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The Reserve Bank of Australia remains open to further interest rate cuts according to the minutes of the last board meeting, citing the slowdown in China, weak capital expenditure and concerns about the job market. The minutes also revealed that the central bank had considered waiting until June for its second rate cut in the current cycle, but had opted for May because of the release of its quarterly statement on monetary policy which was released during the same week.

News Roundup

HIGH: GREECE

Greek officials have renewed hope that an agreement can be made this week to unlock billions of euros to stop the country going bankrupt. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission is said to have outlined a much more favourable deal to the Greek government, as It would delay austerity measures but still require the government to push through labour market reforms. The proposed deal would grant Greece around €5bn in June, in time to meet repayments to the International Monetary Fund which total €1.5bn. However, the figure is less than the previously reported sum of €7.2bn due to the fact that the IMF is unlikely to release its share, as they are supposedly unhappy with the Juncker deal.

LOW: UK

Deutche bank is considering moving part of its British operations to Germany if the UK votes to leave the EU. According to the Financial Times the referendum is due to take place in 2017, prompting the German company to be the first big bank to act on the possibility of Brexit. They will begin a formal review into the implications of the result of the referendum which is expected to bring far greater uncertainty into the markets with on Bank executive stating ‘I think the banks will be more vocal this time around as the risks are greater’.