VENTURE CAPITAL POST

European shares fell on Monday, weighed down by worries over a looming cash crunch in Greece, while the dollar rebounded after concern over the U.S. economy drove the currency to four-month lows on Friday.

German politicians kept up the pressure on Greece over the weekend to implement reforms, with Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warning Athens in an interview that a third aid package would not be on the cards unless the Greeks made some changes.

Greece's government could ask for an emergency meeting of euro zone finance ministers at the end of the month, the government spokesman said on Thursday, referring to the end-May date by which it hopes to have a deal with its lenders on reforms.

German bond yields climbed on Tuesday on optimism that inflation may have bottomed in the euro zone, lifting demand for the euro, while volatility in global bond markets weighed on stock indexes.

Government bonds sold off again on Tuesday, driving down stocks and helping push the euro sharply higher against the dollar.

Low-risk bonds sold off again on Tuesday driving down stocks and helping push the euro higher against the dollar. Ten-year U.S. Treasury yields, the benchmark for global borrowing costs, hit their highest since early December, while German 10-year yields added 8 basis points to 0.67 percent.

Wall Street closed lower on Monday as investors fretted about Greece's precarious financial condition and slowing growth in China, while energy stocks fell on weaker oil prices.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis will meet in Brussels on Monday ahead of a Eurogroup meeting of euro zone finance ministers, a spokesman for the German finance ministry said.

A top EU official urged Athens and its creditors to make progress in their talks on a cash-for-reform deal on Monday, warning there was no "Plan B" in the event of a Greek default.

Timo Soini, the Finns Party leader and possible new finance minister of Finland, said on Friday it would make sense for Greece to leave the euro zone.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras forecast a happy end soon to fraught negotiations with creditors on a cash-for-reform deal, and the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said talks were making progress, though not enough for a deal next Monday.

French Finance Michel Sapin said on Thursday that euro zone states would find a solution to the Greek debt crisis and that Greece should remain in the currency union.

Greece's euro zone partners are not discussing the prospect of the country leaving the currency union and might offer concessions to Athens' original bailout program, Portugal's finance minister said on Tuesday.

Greece intends to meet debt payments this month and reach a deal with its international lenders to unlock remaining bailout aid, but the International Monetary Fund insists on tough labor reforms, the country's labor minister said on Monday.

The U.S. stock market has struggled for direction of late, but next week's payroll report could confirm whether the recent weakness in data and stock prices is waning as the weather warms, or the start of a longer-term trend.