Greece has made a €200M interest payment to the IMF

 Interest payment that fell due on Wednesday, although concerns over its future continued to rattle European markets. Athens faces another €750M repayment obligation to the IMF on May 12 and many commentators are struggling to see where the money is going to come from. The cash-strapped country still remains in a deadlock with creditors over its next tranche of bailout funding.

A worldwide sell-off in government bonds deepened today, buoyed by rising German Bund yields that recently hit record highs and narrowed their gap with U.S. Treasuries. Benchmark 10-year Bunds now trade at 0.53%, having hit a record low of 0.05% last month, when many expected them to turn negative. The vicious bond market meltdown is also raising pressing questions for investors - is this a correction or merely a trend change?

The European Commission raised its euro-area growth forecast today as dwindling fears of deflation and monetary stimulus help the economy overcome pressure from the continuing crisis in Greece. While GDP in the 19-nation bloc is now forecast to increase 1.5% this year (up from a prediction of 1.3% in February), the European Commission slashed Greece's economic growth outlook to 0.5% in 2015, down from an earlier 2.5% estimate. Other GDP forecasts for 2015: Germany +1.9%; France +1.1%; Italy +0.6%.

U.S companies have issued a record $39B of bonds in 2015

U.S. companies have issued a record $39B of bonds in 2015 that mature in more than three decades, more than five times the amount sold in the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Oracle  joined the fold this past Tuesday, selling $1.25B of securities due in 2055. Another notable is Microsoft , which sold its first 40-year bond in February. Treasurers are embracing what may be their last opportunity to lock in cheap long-term funding costs before the Fed raises rates, while investors are snapping up the longer-dated securities because they offer a higher yield over shorter-term debt.

$100B Reserve fund for AIIB

Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified an accord Saturday to set up a $100B reserve fund for the so-called BRICS nations, aimed at reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system centered around the IMF and World Bank. China is poised to provide the largest share of $41B to the pool, while Russia, Brazil and India will provide $18B each. South Africa is set to chip in the remaining $5B.

Chinese shares bounced back from their earlier lows on Monday as weak China factory activity reinforced views that Beijing will roll out more stimulus measures to support its slowing economy. The HSBC final Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 48.9, its fastest drop in a year, down from the preliminary reading of 49.2 and weakening from the 49.6 print in March. Meanwhile, the IMF is close to declaring China's yuan as fairly valued for the first time in more than a decade, a milestone that follows years of IMF censure of Beijing's management of the currency.

Euro rallied fresh two month high gainst dollar

With a surge in German yields and lessening fears of deflation in Europe, the euro rallied for a second session, climbing to a fresh two-month high against the dollar. Data this week suggesting the eurozone might be pulling out of deflation triggered a rise in Bund yields and shot the benchmark 10-year yield to 0.386%, up some 20 bps in two days. The euro has now clawed its way back from a 12-year low of $1.0457 in March, when the ECB launched its massive QE program. Euro +0.2% to $1.1244.