Here's my summary of the key news over the weekend in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news that fears about a Greek exit from the Euro-zone have returned to haunt markets.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble ruled out the prospect of a new bailout for Greece, which is stuck in a debt death spiral as its economy contracts under an ever-growing debt-load.
Greece's situation has deteriorated in recent weeks as its GDP contracts and its government struggles to pay its bills.
Bloomberg reported Schauble as saying Germany would not back another bailout and that Greece must not become a 'bottomless pit.'
Meanwhile, Der Spiegel reported the European Central Bank would consider a plan at its September meeting to set limits on bond yields and then buy unlimited amounts of Southern European bonds to enforce those limits.
However, Germany has said it would only support the plan if the countries involved agree to austerity plans to balance their budgets and formally requested bailouts.
This creates the risk of a series of Greek debt-death spirals across Southern Europe in coming years as nations such as Spain and Italy agree to cut government spending and increase taxes to keep the ECB and the Germans happy and keep the Euro together.
September is shaping up as a crucial month for financial markets and the global economy. US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to address a conference of central bankers at Jackson Hole in Wyoming on August 31.
Shortly after that the ECB will decide on its stimulus plans, as will the Federal Reserve itself. China is widely believed to be preparing more stimulatory monetary policy over the next six weeks as well.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand dollar was solid around 80.7 USc in morning trade.
FYI to regular readers who may have heard I am leaving Interest.co.nz, I plan to continue contributing 90 seconds at 9 am and Top 10 after my departure from my current full time position of Managing Editor from November 1.
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