VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Wall Street stocks fell on Friday as a better-than-expected U.S. jobs report raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates by midyear, while renewed worries over Greece's debt negotiations added to the bearish tone.

Greek borrowing costs leapt and bank shares were hit hard on Thursday after the European Central Bank abruptly pulled the plug on its funding for the country's financial sector in what Athens labelled an act of coercion.

Germany wants Greece's new left-wing government to go back on anti-austerity promises made in its first days in office and revert to economic policies its predecessors' agreed with international lenders, a document showed on Wednesday.

The U.S. dollar steadied on Wednesday after its worst day in more than a year, and a retreat in oil prices after four days of gains halted a rally in European stock markets.

European shares stalled and core bond yields held near lows on Monday following disappointing data from China, while Greek markets were volatile as the government pursued efforts to reach a compromise with its creditors.

A majority of Germans favor Greece remaining in the euro zone despite its new leftist government in Athens rejecting austerity, a poll for newspaper Bild am Sonntag showed on Sunday.

The new Greek government's anti-bailout stance has sent shudders through much of Europe but Germany's euroskeptic AfD party can hardly believe its good fortune ahead of a regional election as a breakup of the euro zone suddenly appears possible.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out a debt writedown for Greece on Saturday, and a European Central Bank policymaker threatened to cut off funding to Greek banks if Athens does not agree to renew its bailout package.

New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, striking a conciliatory note on debt talks after a turbulent start to office, has called the European Central Bank chief to assure him that Athens was seeking an agreement.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Wednesday France wanted to facilitate talks between Greece's new leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the rest of the euro zone, and would meet his Greek counterpart in Paris on Monday.

Leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras threw down an open challenge to international creditors on Wednesday by halting privatisation plans agreed under the country's bailout deal, prompting a third day of heavy losses on financial markets.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday Greece's leader Alexis Tsipras would have to "find a different way" to solve Greece's problems if he says he does not want money from the euro zone bailout program.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Greece, where an anti-bailout party looks set to win a snap election, would continue to need aid and would only get this by sticking to agreements, adding he hoped the new government would not make promises the country could not afford.

Greece's leftist Syria party held onto its opinion poll lead on Friday as it campaigns to form the first euro zone government committed to scrapping austerity outright after elections this weekend.

The Federal Reserve could be key for Wall Street next week as investors get to hear from the U.S. central bank for the first time since a series of moves by its global peers, including the European Central Bank's massive stimulus plan.