VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Greece said it may impose capital controls and keep its banks shut on Monday after creditors refused to extend the country's bailout and savers queued to withdraw cash, taking Athens' standoff with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to a dangerous new level.

Euro zone leaders will hold an emergency summit on Monday to try to avert a Greek default after bank withdrawals accelerated and government revenue slumped as Athens and its international creditors remain deadlocked over a debt deal.

Germany will do all it can to avoid Greece stumbling out of the euro zone, a senior government official said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels.

Greece's left-wing government insisted on Saturday it had avoided being "strangled" by the euro zone, which agreed in principle to extend a financial rescue deal as nervous savers pulled huge sums from Greek banks.

European Union leaders endorsed a new investment programme intended to kick-start economic growth in the bloc at a summit in Brussels, which its chairman said would end late on Thursday, half a day earlier than planned.