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European Sources: Greece Gives New Reform Plan to Creditors

Greece has submitted a promised reform plan to its EU-IMF creditors, a day before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to discuss how to end Athens's debt crisis with the French and German leaders, European sources told Agence France Presse Tuesday.

Creditors "are now in the process of studying" the list of "counter-proposals", which arrived two days after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker complained Tsipras had not fulfilled a pledge made at a meeting last week to send Brussels the plans, one source said AFP.

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Australia Widens Probe into Illegal Home Buying by Foreigners

Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey on Tuesday widened a probe into the illegal buying of residential property by foreigners, with almost 200 sales being investigated for breaching investment rules.

Prices of residential real estate in some of Australia's biggest cities, such as Sydney and Melbourne, have soared in recent years, with concerns growing that cashed-up foreigners, particularly from China, have helped inflate the market.

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China Consumer Inflation Falls to 1.2% in May

Chinese inflation fell to 1.2 percent in May, data showed Tuesday, as Beijing struggles to boost consumer spending while analysts tipped further stimulus measures on top of the three interest rate cuts since late 2014.

The reading for the consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation in the world's second-biggest economy, was lower than April's 1.5 percent, National Bureau of Statistics said.

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Report: China to Have 'Veto Power' over Infrastructure Bank

China will ultimately have "veto power" over major decisions of the new Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The AIIB, which will be based in the Chinese capital, has 57 prospective members, but the United States and Japan -- the world's largest and third-largest economies, respectively -- notably have declined to join.

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HSBC Says to Cut $5bn by 2017, Sell Brazil and Turkey Businesses

Scandal-hit bank HSBC announced Tuesday up to 25,000 job cuts as part of a global restructuring that entails its withdrawal from Brazil and Turkey, while it also mulls abandoning London as its HQ.

In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange it also said it intends to save $5 billion in annual costs within two years.

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German Trade Surplus Widens in April as Exports Rise

Germany's trade surplus widened in April from the previous month as exports grew by 1.9 percent,  official data showed on Monday.

At the same time imports fell by 1.3 percent, pushing the trade surplus, the balance between imports and exports, up to 22.3 billion euros ($25 billion) in April, according to seasonally adjusted figures published by the federal statistics office, Destatis.

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Turkey Stocks Tumble, Lira Hits Record Low after Election

Turkish shares fell 6 percent in morning trade Monday and the lira plunged to a new record low against the dollar, as investors took fright at new political uncertainty following legislative elections.

Turkey's central bank acted swiftly in an intervention to give some support to the pressured Turkish lira, saying it was pruning its short term foreign exchange deposit rates effective Tuesday.

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Greece's Varoufakis to Meet German Finance Minister Monday

Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will meet Monday in Berlin with his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, amid contentious negotiations between Greece and its creditors, the German ministry said.

A ministry spokesman told Agence France Presse the meeting would take place "in the morning" and that no press conference was planned.

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Oil Down after OPEC Meeting, Eyes on Iran Talks

Oil prices fell in Asia Monday after OPEC decided to maintain its high output levels, while traders were also weighing the possible return of Iranian supplies that have been curtailed by international sanctions against Tehran, analysts said. 

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 47 cents to $58.66 while Brent crude for July eased 42 cents to $62.89 in afternoon trade. 

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PM: Greece Close to EU-IMF Deal but Creditors Must Drop 'Absurd' Demands

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday said the country was close to a default-saving reform deal but called on EU-IMF creditors to withdraw "absurd" demands for further austerity cuts after ducking a loan repayment to the IMF.

"I believe we are now closer than ever to a deal," Tsipras said in a speech to parliament as he faced criticism from the opposition on the state of the negotiations.

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