European shares were called to open the first day of the trading week higher following opinion polls showing the Greek pro-bailout parties leading at the weekend.
The UK’s FTSE was called to open 15 points higher, Germany’s DAX was expected to open up by 35 points and France’s CAC was seen higher by 14 points.
Polls on Saturday showed that Greece’s pro-bailout parties have regained enough of a lead to form a coalition. Greece will go to the polls again on June 17 following the failure of elections earlier this month to draw a decisive winner.
Greece’s socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos, has attacked International Monetary Fund Chief Christine Lagarde following her interview with the Guardian newspaper in which she said Greek people needed to help themselves by all paying their taxes. Venizelos said she would not be able to “humiliate” the Greek people with her ‘insult’.
His reaction came as Bundesbank Chief Jens Weidmann dismissed growing calls for the use of Eurobonds to tackle the deepening debt crisis in the euro zone telling French newspaper le Monde that he was “irritated by the talk.”
Spain’s troubled lender Bankia may reportedly be recapitalized with government debt in return for shares in the bank, according to government sources.
The Financial Times reports that a draft European Commission document to be published Wednesday will criticize Italy emphasising that the country’s economy faces considerable economic pressures with tax evasion and a black economy not having been tackled properly by the Italian government.
A massacre in the Syrian city of Houla which saw over 100 people including a number of children killed was condemned by the United Nations Security Council on Sunday. President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime has denied involvement in the killing but has been blamed by both Western and Arab states for the killings.
Both Italy and France hold bond auctions Monday with Italy tendering up to 3 billion euros in 2 year bonds at 11:00 a.m. (CET) and just under a million euros in Sept 2016 and Sept 2017 bonds also at 11:00 a.m. (CET). France tenders three and five month T-bills and up to 2.3 billion euros in one year bonds.