Reports emerged in the early hours of Monday morning that Cyprus reached an agreement with external funders to avoid a collapse of its banking system. Global markets breathed a collective sigh of relief. Hard hit Cypriots did not.
Here is your guide to the events occurring in Europe and elsewhere in the world likely to move markets over the coming days.
North America
The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank's March business activity index will kick-off America's data week on Monday. Markets expect the regional gauge to rise to a reading of 3.4 from 2.2 last month.
Economists will also be the look-out for any interesting pronouncements from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke. Bernanke will join Bank of England governor Mervyn King and International Monetary Fund chief economist Olivier Blanchard at the London School of Economics to discuss lessons from the global financial crisis.
On Tuesday, markets will turn their attention to last month's durable goods orders and new home sales data.
Economists expect new durable goods orders to have risen 3.5% last month, a reversal of January's 5.2% decline. Excluding more volatile transportation orders, however, orders probably rose 0.7%, down from 1.9% in the previous month.
New home sales surged 15.6% in January to an annualised 437 000 units. Markets expect to see a pullback to 425 000 units in February.
On Thursday, government officials will release final fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) figures. Economists expect the data to show a sizeable upward revision. Preliminary estimates reported a contraction of 0.1% in the final three months of 2012. This estimate was subsequently revised to a 0.1% expansion. Final figures are likely to show 0.6% growth.
Finally, on Friday, markets will turn their attention to February's personal income and outlays (spending) report. The consensus forecast is that personal incomes rose 0.9% from January to February while spending likely rose 0.6% over the same period.
Europe
European markets are likely to welcome the news, at least initially, that Cyprus and the troika – the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank – have come to terms on the broad strokes of a bailout package for the island nation.
European leaders had given their Cypriot counterparts until Monday to come up with €5.8-billion in order to receive €10-billion in desperately needed aid. Without external assistance, the tiny country's outsized banking system, which holds €68-billion in deposits, faced imminent collapse.
Reports emerged on Monday morning that Cyprus has agreed to close the nation's second-largest lender, inflicting unknown but undoubtedly heavy losses on accounts holding more than the €100 000 insurance limit. Deposits below the limit will be shifted from Popular Bank of Cyprus – also known as Laiki – to the nation's number one lender, Bank of Cyprus.
Deposits above €100 000 in both banks will remain frozen and used to pay off Popular Bank of Cyprus debts and recapitalise the Bank of Cyprus.
Beyond the situation in Cyprus, Germany will feature prominently on this week's data calendar.
On Wednesday, markets will focus their attention on the Germany's GfK consumer sentiment reading. Markets expect the index to remain at 5.9.
On Thursday, Germany will release February's retail sales and unemployment figures. Markets expect retail sales to have declined 0.5% on a monthly basis last month, down from a 3.0% monthly rise in January. Unemployment figures are expected to show a decline of 2 000 positions in February following the loss of 3 000 jobs in the previous month.
Asia
On Tuesday, China, Japan and South Korea will meet in Seoul for three days of talks on a proposed trilateral free trade agreement. The combined gross domestic product of the three countries represents about one-fifth of the global economy.
On Thursday, Taiwan's central bank is expected to leave the bank's benchmark interest rate on hold at 1.875% and Japan – the world's third largest economy – will release last month's retail sales data. Economists surveyed by Market News International suspect that sales fell 1.3% in February from a year earlier.
On Friday, Japan will release consumer price index (CPI), unemployment, household spending and industrial output data.
Analysts expect consumer inflation data to show that Japan's core CPI recorded a fourth consecutive drop, likely having fallen 0.4% in February following January's 0.2% decline. The country's unemployment likely remained unchanged in February at 4.2%.
Household spending probably rose by 0.3% in February, year on year, down from 2.4% year on year growth in January. Industrial output is likely to have risen 2.5% from January to February after having risen 0.3% from December to January.
Latin America
On Monday, Brazil's Fundação Getúlio Vargas will release March's consumer confidence data and Mexico will report January's General Economic Activity Index (IGAE) – a monthly gross domestic product (GDP) proxy.
FGV's confidence index deteriorated for the fifth consecutive month in February to its lowest level since January 2012. Analysts at 4CAST expect the sentiment gauge to have weakened further to 114.0 in March.
Mexico's IGAE rose 1.42% in December. Markets expect the index to have shown 2.35% in January.
On Wednesday, investors will watch for two inflation gauges from Brazil – February's manufacturing producer price index (PPI) and Fundação Getúlio Vargas's general price index data – and last month's preliminary trade figures from Mexico.
Analysts expect prices at Brazil's factory gates to have risen 8.50% from a year earlier in February, up from 7.69% in January. Fundação Getúlio Vargas's general price index is expected to show a 0.25% monthly rise for the period between February 21 and March 20, down slightly from 0.29% during the same period in January/February.
Consensus is that Mexico's trade deficit narrowed to $1.2-billion in February from $2.9-billion in January.
On Thursday, markets will turn their attention to Brazil's February unemployment and budget figures.
Brazil's jobless rate jumped to 5.4% in January from a record low of 4.6% in December. Consensus is that the jobless rate rose further to 5.8% in February.
A jump in tax revenues drove Brazil's primary budget surplus to a record surplus of 30.3-billion reais in January, but markets expect February's surplus to narrow to 9-billion reais.
Middle East and Africa
On Monday, Statistics South Africa will release December's tourism numbers and February's business liquidations figures, Angola's central bank will announce its latest monetary policy decision, Kenya will release GDP figures and President Xi Jinping of China will pay a state visit to Tanzania.
Attention will turn to a rates decision from Morocco and fourth quarter GDP figures from Mauritius on Tuesday followed by February's producer price index from Ghana on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Kenya and Uganda will release this month's consumer inflation readings and the South African Reserve Bank will release last month's private sector credit extension and money supply data. The South African Revenue Service (Sars) will issue February's preliminary trade numbers.
South Africa's growth in private sector credit – which has been in positive territory since May 2010 – slowed to 8.64% from a year earlier in January from 10.09% in December. Markets expect growth to have eased further, to 8.0%, in February.
M3 money supply growth accelerated to 6.75%, year on year, in January from 5.17% in December. Consensus is that money supply expanded by 7.06% in February.
Analysts expect Sars's preliminary trade figures to show that South Africa's trade deficit narrowed to $13.4-billion in February from a record $24.5-billion gap in the previous month.
Elsewhere in Africa this week, Zambia will announce its March interest rates decision, Kenya will release last month's overseas remittances data, Ghana will report fourth quarter GDP, Namibia and Nigeria will report February's M2 money supply data.
Matt Quigley writes a weekly economic preview for the Mail & Guardian Online. You can follow him on Twitter at @mattquigley.