Good morning traders!

In Asia today, the Nikkei was last up 49.04 points at 10,175.07, while the Hang
Seng ended the morning ahead 391.42 points at 20,000.12.

Crude oil traded at $80.16 a barrel on Nymex.

Gold settled at $1,118 an ounce.

Happy Monday!

G.

Morning all. Friday's market reports:

Telegraph
The Times
The Guardian
The Independent
This is Money

Saturday

Mr Papandreou said on Friday: "There is only one dilemma: Will we let the country go bankrupt or will we react? Will we let the speculators strangle us, or will we take our fate in our own hands?"
Greece's 'worst fears' confirmed, says PM George Papandreou

Greek prime minister George Papandreou is to hold crunch talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel next Friday. Papandreou's trip comes after Athens raised tensions between the two countries - at loggerheads over Greece's soaring budget deficit - by bringing up second world war reparations.
Greek PM to hold crunch talks with Germany

Jamie Dimon, chairman of JP Morgan Chase, has warned American investors should be more worried about the risk of default of the state of California than of Greece's current debt woes. Mr Dimon told investors at the Wall Street bank's annual meeting that "there could be contagion" if a state the size of California, the biggest of the United States, had problems making debt repayments.
California is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief

Los Angeles, the second-largest US city, is facing a crisis of funding not seen since the darkest days of the Great Depression.
City of Angels on brink of abyss

In documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), AIG warned again that it might need additional government support. Without additional support ... there could exist substantial doubt about AIGs ability to continue as a going concern, it said.
Bailed-out AIG warns that it might need more support

The pound slid to new lows on Friday after it emerged that an apparent improvement in Britain's growth late last year disguised the fact that the Office for National Statistics has actually cut its estimate of Britain's economic output.
Pound slides as figures underline scale of UK recession

A former partner of Cazenove, who is accused of making 280,000 from insider trading, told investigators that he had "no idea" how he picked stocks but sometimes tossed a coin before investing, a court was told.
Cazenove partner: I tossed a coin to pick stocks

Sunday

Germany and France are putting together a plan to buy as much as 30bn (26.7bn) of Greek debt to help the country avoid a calamitous sovereign default - but only if Athens commits to slashing public spending.
Germany and France agree to rescue Greece, with conditions

THE pound faces a rough week with uncertainty over the outcome of the general election and concerns over the public finances threatening to trigger a new wave of selling.
Pound under attack as debt worries grow

Monday

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has shot down claims by EU politicians of a rescue deal for Greece, denying categorically that Berlin has agreed to underwrite the Greek bond market.
Germany refuses to be bounced into Greek rescue deal by EU

Property prices in Britain may be back on a downward trajectory, but there is one market where they are still white hot - China. The Asian superpower is in the midst of such a vast property boom, with prices leaping 20pc a month in some regions, that developments are taking on fairy-tale dimensions.
China risking property bubble with prices rising 20pc a month

Barack Obama's home state of Illinois is near the point of fiscal disintegration. The state has been paying bills with unfunded vouchers since October. In Alexander County, the sheriff's patrol cars have been repossessed. Florida, Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York are all facing crises.
Don't go wobbly on us now, Ben Bernanke

A survey of more than 500 firms by the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) and BDO, the accountants, showed there has been better-than-expected improvement in output and orders during the past few months.
Confidence growing in Britain's manufacturing sector

Shire approval ... Egg sale ... VT support ...
Need to know

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Opening Market Overview

A National holiday here today.

End-of-day Market Overview