VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The S&P 500 closed flat on Friday but ended lower for the week, with investors cautious ahead of a meeting in Europe that could decide whether Greece will default on critical loans.

Greece failed again to clinch a deal with its international creditors on Thursday, setting up a last-ditch effort on Saturday to either avert a default next week or start preparing to protect the euro zone from financial market turmoil.

Oil prices rose above $63 a barrel on Monday in response to new proposals from Greece that the European Union welcomed as a basis for progress at talks to try to stave off a default that could cause turmoil in financial markets.

Surging investment by Chinese companies in U.S. research labs is yielding a fast-growing trove of patents, part of a push to mine America for ideas to help China shift from being the world's factory floor to a driver of innovation.

German business leaders urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to take a tough line with Greece at an emergency summit of euro zone leaders later on Monday, saying only reform concessions from Athens could keep the country in the euro zone.

Greek shares .ATG rose 6.8 percent in morning trade on Monday on hopes that Greece was closer to reaching a deal with its international lenders.

The Greek central bank warned on Wednesday that the country would be put on a "painful course" towards default and exiting the euro zone if the government and its international creditors failed to reach an agreement on an aid-for-reforms deal.

Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday he was confident a deal would soon be found to keep Greece in the euro zone and even if it did exit, the currency bloc was now much better placed to withstand the shock.

Greece's government is confident of reaching a deal with its creditors this week and is open to pushing back parts of its anti-austerity program to make that happen, the country's interior minister said Saturday.

Airbus could announce "several hundred" airplane orders at the June 15-21 Paris Airshow, Fabrice Bregier, chief executive of the planemaking unit of Airbus Group, said on Saturday.

Amazon’s decision to change its tax-efficient European business structure could raise its tax bill by as much as $100 million a year but authorities will have to fight for additional money and any payments will be hidden from public view.

The Bank of England plans to assess the implications of a possible British exit from the European Union, it said in a statement, confirming an email it inadvertently sent to a newspaper about the supposedly confidential research project.

Russia avoided further diplomatic confrontation with Ukraine and the European Union at three-way trade talks on Monday and did not renew previous demands for Kiev's duty-free deal with the bloc to be put on hold.

Greece's labor minister said on Tuesday Athens would soon conclude a deal with its foreign creditors that could unlock further loans to the cash-starved country.

Greece's government will pay public-sector wages and pensions in May but needs an agreement with creditors by the end of the month, its spokesman said on Monday, amid growing fears the country is on the verge of bankruptcy.