Greece

Investors have been gripped by an increasing sense of unease this week, largely because of the uncertainty related to China. Since early summer, Chinese stocks have taken a battering but global markets haven't responded much — until now.

Following last week's decision by the country's monetary authorities to reduce the value of the yuan, China's currency, stock markets have really taken a hit.

The officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity pending an announcement by the prime minister, said the snap polls would be held on Sept. 20.

Tsipras was to make an announcement Thursday night, another government official said, while he was expected to also visit the country's president — a necessary formality in calling early elections, for which he would have to step down as prime minister.

The discussions, which started late-July, have by all accounts made progress, though officials from the European Union were less optimistic than their counterparts in Athens about the likelihood of a deal being concluded this week. Germany, for one, has stressed the importance of being thorough in the complicated negotiations.

A European Commission spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva, said the lenders are hoping to finalize the 85-billion euro ($92.5 billion) agreement in time for a major Greek debt repayment in two weeks.

"We believe this is an ambitious yet possible timetable," she said. "Our teams (have been) on the ground (for) almost two weeks, and they report satisfactory progress."

The government is relying on opposition party support for approval in parliament of new austerity measures demanded by bailout lenders, following a revolt by nearly one fourth of its own lawmakers.

Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said the government would not form a national unity government and described early elections as "likely."

"A solution will be found, since the country needs a strong government," Gerovasili told private Skai television. "(Early) elections are likely but that doesn't mean we will be dealing today with when they will take place."

Bank shares suffered most, hitting or nearing the daily trading limit of a 30 percent loss.

"There's a sense of panic," said Evangelos Sioutis, financial analyst and head of equities at Guardian Trust. He noted some traders are selling stock merely to raise cash because there is so little liquidity in the Greek economy.

"There are no buyers," he said. "The outlook is not clear."

The exchange has been closed since June 29, when the government imposed capital controls to prevent a banking collapse.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos signed the order Friday that also includes restrictions for Greece-based traders for an unspecified time period. A 60 euro limit on cash machines withdrawal will remain in place.

But the government faced rebuke following revelations that former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, formed a secret committee to plan for the possible conversion of euros into drachmas "at a drop of a hat."

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said late Monday that meetings in Athens had begun between Greek officials and negotiating teams representing creditors, with talks to intensify Tuesday, paving the way for higher level discussions possibly by the end of the week.

You might think it's been a rough year for investors, but it's mostly been a smooth ride — and a profitable one.

Money is flowing into bonds issued by the riskiest of companies, home prices in some big U.S. cities are soaring, shares of technology companies are still near all-time highs, even after a drop this week, and auction houses are enjoying record sales of art. 

French President Francois Hollande has warned that "everything must be done" to keep Greece in the eurozone.

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras set out new proposals in a bid to prevent a default on a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) IMF loan.

Greece must repay the loan by the end of June or risk crashing out of the single currency and possibly the EU.