Precious metals are moving between minor gains and minor losses as of the writing of this post Monday morning. The reality of the matter is that things this week are shaping up to be just as slow as they have been for the past two or three weeks. Not only are there very few pieces of markets-moving economic data, what economic data is made public has thus far not had much of an impact on the global marketplace.

As has been the case for the better part of the past month, this week will more than likely see the market focus on the number of events unfolding across the European Union. With Greece in talks with creditors, Russia’s economy still lagging, and a surprise quantity of upbeat economic reports, there is quite a bit to talk about as far as the European economy is concerned.

Greece Reached Bailout Extension Deal

Thanks to the slow nature of last week’s 5-day trading session, we saw investors from all over the world give unusual amounts of attention to the talks taking place between Greece and their EU creditors. You see, with Greece’s financial future currently in the hands of a handful of EU countries, the new Greek government has been actively trying to wriggle into some freedom with regard to financial decisions. Unfortunately, EU creditors have been reluctant to give Greece any wriggle room when it comes to their ongoing bailout plan.

While most of the market was convinced that the end of last week meant the end of Greece’s chances of remaining part of the European Union, the reality of the matter was that Greece reached a buzzer-beating deal with its creditors that sees a financing plan extended by a third of a year. Thanks to this deal, not only will Greece see a lifesaving injection of cash, but they will also be able to put off worrying about certain debt reduction and austerity measures until sometime during this summer.

Though this deal being reached ended up being good for stocks across the European Union and the United States, most market experts agree that this deal is a perfect exemplification of how the EU is continuing to push glaring financial and economic problems under the rug to be dealt with sometime down the road. You can bet that before this upcoming Summer concludes, we will once again be dealing with Greece’s economic and financial troubles.