VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The European Union has yet to receive confirmation that Ukraine and Russia will meet on March 20 to discuss gas supplies, the bloc's Energy Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Friday.

The U.S. dollar climbed to multi-year peaks against the euro and yen in Asia on Tuesday amid starkly diverging outlooks for interest rates globally, while currencies from emerging markets came under mounting pressure from risk aversion.

The International Monetary Fund's bailout program for Ukraine assumes Kiev will be able to get $15.4 billion from talks with its creditors, according to four sources familiar with the IMF's documents.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras denied on Friday that Greece would need yet another international bailout, and a poll showed surging support for his government even though it had to back down to win a temporary lifeline from the euro zone.

The S&P 500 ended above 2,100 at another record high on Tuesday as optimism grew that a debt deal would be reached with Greece and as bond prices sold off.

Japanese shares touched an eight-year high on Monday following a record close on Wall Street, with investors cautiously optimistic the European Union would make progress this week on a debt deal with Greece.

Greece will make every effort to reach an agreement with its euro zone partners at Monday's meeting of euro zone finance ministers on how to transition to a new support program, its government spokesman said on Friday.

Greece's new leftist government and its international creditors failed to agree on a way forward on the country's unpopular bailout and will try again on Monday, with time running out for a financing deal.

Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras laid out plans on Sunday to dismantle Greece's "cruel" austerity program, ruling out any extension of its international bailout and setting himself on a collision course with his European partners.

Greece's new leftist-led government, isolated in the euro zone and under pressure from the European Central Bank, said on Friday it wanted no more bailout money with strings attached from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Greece's leftist government on Sunday began its drive to persuade a sceptical Europe to accept a new debt agreement while it starts to roll back on austerity measures imposed under its existing bailout agreement.

Greece should not undermine EU policy on Russia at a time when it is seeking support from its partners over its economic problems, European parliament President Martin Schulz told Greek newspapers on Friday.

New European Union sanctions against Russia could include further capital markets restrictions, making it harder for Russian companies to refinance themselves and possibly affecting Russian sovereign bonds, EU officials said on Wednesday.

EU finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to loan Ukraine 1.8 billion euros ($2.0 billion) to help save it from bankruptcy, leaving open the option of increasing aid at a later stage.

Ratings agency S&P cut Russia's sovereign credit rating to junk status on Monday, bringing it below investment grade for the first time in a decade.