VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Euro zone businesses started the second quarter with healthy growth as a buoyant order book again encouraged them to hire more, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The euro zone ended four months of deflation in April with consumer prices unchanged from year-ago levels, removing the threat of persistent price declines as energy costs pushed up in the month.

Euro zone officials sought to wring policy concessions from Greece on Wednesday to unlock urgently needed aid after Athens said it would present a list of reforms for legislation to show it is serious about implementing its promises.

If fear of Europe-wide financial wildfire was Athens' trump card in its standoff with euro zone creditors - then the card has now turned up a dud.

Most central banks have been easing policy since the start of the year and are set to do more, but it still isn't clear whether that new activism, which has pushed stock markets to record highs, will help the global economy much.

Greece offered some concessions on Friday on reforms demanded by international lenders in return for new funding before Athens runs out of money, but euro zone creditors said negotiations needed to speed up to get a deal by June.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a speeding up of the process to conclude a reform-for-cash deal with euro zone creditors after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday, a Greek official said.

Greece is in talks with its international creditors -- euro zone governments and the International Monetary Fund -- on a package of reforms that would help unlock more funding to prevent the cash-strapped country defaulting.

Greece can scrape together enough cash to meet its payment obligations until June, euro zone and Greek officials said on Wednesday, playing down fears of an imminent default as hopes receded of a deal with its creditors to release fresh aid.

Greece will not present a list of economic reforms to euro zone finance ministers on Friday, a senior EU official said, adding the country should be able to stay solvent until June.

World stocks climbed back toward all-time highs on Tuesday as upbeat European earnings reports and expectations of a sixth straight rise in German business confidence helped offset worries about a possible Greek default.

Russia denied on Saturday a German media report suggesting that it could sign a gas pipeline deal with Greece as early as Tuesday which could bring up to five billion euros into Athens' depleted state coffers.

Greece will need to tap all the remaining cash reserves across its public sector -- a total of 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion) -- to pay civil service wages and pensions at the end of the month, according to finance ministry officials.

Investors attempting to determine whether U.S. equities will rebound from Friday's selloff or continue to sink will look to a deluge of earnings next week for a clearer picture of the economy.

The S&P 500 posted its biggest percentage loss since March 25 on Friday as investors shunned risk amid new trading regulations in China, renewed worries about Greece running out of money, and tepid U.S. corporate earnings.