Morning MoneyBeat Europe: Modest Gains Expected, Busy Week Starts Slow

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Good Morning Europe

Markets are expected to start the week modestly higher, as the flood of liquidity overwhelms plentiful doubts about the global economy's state of health, not least the real strength of growth in China.

There's not a huge amount for investors to get their teeth into Monday, although there will be as the week goes on with plentiful heavyweight earnings reports due, and, of course a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday. The deadlock over Greece's place in the eurozone continues, with signs of mounting impatience on the eurozone side of negotiations. Last minute deals are not unheard of in Europe, however, and markets still seem to be pinning their hopes on one.

Market Snapshot: U.S. markets (Friday close) DJIA up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.7%, S&P 500 up 0.2%. Nikkei now down 0.3%. Brent crude down 15 cents at $65.13. Gold up $6.30 at $1181.30. EUR/USD at $1.0854, USD/JPY at ¥119.04. 10 year Treasury yield 1.90%, Bund 0.16%, Gilt 1.67%.

Watch For: The first-tier data cupboard is bare, but we will get earnings from Apple after the U.S. market close.

What You May Have Missed:

HSBC Could Look To HK, The ‘H’ In Its Name : With HSBC threatening to move its headquarters out of London, one city comes to mind as its potential new home: Hong Kong, the “H” in its name.

Outgoing Credit Suisse Chief Warns Against Throwing Investment Bank ‘Overboard’ : Outgoing Credit Suisse CEO Brady Dougan gave his farewell speech at the Swiss bank’s annual meeting on Friday, and dug in further on the issue of maintaining the size of its investment banking unit.

What HSBC’s Potential U.K. Exit Means for Barclays : The decision by HSBC Holdings to look into moving its headquarters from the U.K. could have implications for Barclays PLC’s investment bank in the U.S.

Still Waiting For a Greek Deal : Greece’s perennial round of bailout negotiations is more of a moveable fast than feast. The latest venue was Latvia’s capital Riga, where the Eurogroup of European Union finance ministers were meeting. Yet again no deal was struck as Greece runs out of time and money.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Nepal Rescuers Struggle to Reach Quake Victims: As international aid arrived in Nepal’s quake-hit capital, army and police teams began their third day of search-and-rescue operations on Monday and the government tried to speed the delivery of water, tents and other supplies to people left homeless.

With No Deal on Greek Bailout Aid in Sight, Some in Europe Suggest ‘Plan B’: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke with senior European officials about speeding up talks over a new bailout deal, after a deadlock in negotiations prompted some eurozone ministers to suggest discussing a “Plan B” in the event the negotiations fail.

At Volkswagen, a Game of Thrones as Chairman Piech Quits: Ferdinand Piech’s exit as chairman of Volkswagen resolves a battle that had distracted top management. But challenges and uncertainty aren't over for the automotive giant.

U.K. Tells BP it Would Oppose Foreign Takeover of the Company: The U.K. government told BP it would oppose any potential foreign takeover of the company because it wants the oil giant to remain a British company with global clout.

‘Flash Crash’ Investigators Likely Missed Clues: Investigators overlooked evidence given to them just hours after the 2010 “flash crash” that could have enabled them to uncover the strategies of Navinder Sarao, the trader now accused of helping cause the violent selloff in stocks that day, according to members of a committee that oversaw the investigation.

Why U.K.’s Cameron Can’t Get a Break: Why can’t David Cameron seal the deal? According to the normal laws of politics, the British prime minister should be walking away with the general election to be held on May 7.