VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The Swiss National Bank, battling a rise in the country's currency, could push interest rates further into negative territory if the franc moves in the "wrong direction", a Swiss newspaper reported on Sunday, citing sources close to the bank.

China's slowing economy will be at the forefront as parliament convenes for its annual meeting this week, with a weekend interest rate cut a reminder of the challenge of balancing painful restructuring with combating the onset of deflation.

Greek funding and quantitative easing in Europe, an expected rate cut in Australia and the buoyant U.S. labor market are set to be the focus of an economic week dominated by a host of central bank meetings.

Hours after China's central bank cut interest rates to battle slowing growth and rising deflationary risk, an official survey showed on Sunday that activity in China's factory sector contracted for a second straight month in February.

U.S. consumer prices fell over the past year for the first time since 2009 as gasoline prices continued to tumble, which could allow a cautious Federal Reserve more room to hold off on raising interest rates.

Possible interest rate increases in the months ahead are unlikely to have a major impact on growth in Mexico, central bank governor Agustin Carstens said on Tuesday.

Verbal missteps by the U.S. Federal Reserve have increased the risk of a volatile market reaction when the time comes to raise interest rates, the outgoing president of the Philadelphia Fed said in an interview on Friday.

The Federal Reserve on Thursday awarded $30.0 billion of seven-day term fixed-rate reverse repurchase agreements to 34 bidders at an interest rate of 0.06 percent, the New York Federal Reserve said on its website.

A blowout jobs report has changed the calculus for investors for what the Federal Reserve might do in coming months, resetting expectations for how markets might behave if the U.S. economy continues to strengthen even as global growth lags.

The dollar traded mixed on Friday after weaker-than-expected headline U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product data, which included the fastest pace of consumer spending since 2006 and left intact market expectations of long-term greenback gains.

China's manufacturing growth stalled for the second straight month in January and companies had to cut prices at a faster clip to win new business, adding to worries about growing deflationary pressures in the economy, a private survey showed.

The U.S. factory sector grew at its slowest pace in six months in December, a sign that weakness in the global economy is weighing on the United States.

An uneasy calm settled on Asian markets on Wednesday as a brewing financial crisis in Russia and the rout in oil prices sent investors scurrying for the cover of top-rated bonds.

Global shares prices came under pressure on Monday as oil prices briefly sank to fresh 5-1/2 year lows in choppy trade, doing little to allay concerns that some energy producers and exporters could find themselves in dire straits as revenues slump.

The U.S. Federal Reserve would give the clearest signal next week that its easy money stance is ending if, as some expect, it drops its two-year long pledge to keep interest rates close to zero for a "considerable time".