NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- China is the focus of investors this morning as its central bank expanded monetary easing by cutting its bank reserve ratio by 100 basis points to 18.5% over the weekend -- as many had hoped for -- after a spate of slowing economic growth figures. Meanwhile, the potential for a Greece debacle still exists as both sides continue to negotiate to try and keep the country away from defaulting on its debt obligations. In energy, the Saudi oil minister was quoted as saying the country will continue to keep production near record levels, which will keep some pressure on the price of oil. Some notable earnings today include: Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP:Nasdaq), Morgan Stanley (MS:NYSE), Hasbro (HAS:NYSE), Halliburton (HAL:NYSE), Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL:NYSE), Fortinet (FTNT:Nasdaq), IBM (IBM:NYSE) and Packaging Corp. of America (PKG:NYSE). On today's domestic economic calendar is the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March, which will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. On average, economists expect a rise to and consensus is looking for a rise to 0.1 from a previous level of -0.11 for February. Over the weekend, Barron's wrote that Growth Seeker's United Rentals (URI:NYSE) could pop 50% over the next two years. Earnings season kicks into gear with a vengeance this week, so buckle up! The People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 100 basis points to 18.5%, the deepest such cut since 2008 when the financial crisis was in full swing. Asking prices for homes in the U.K. hit a new record high, according to property website Rightmove. This is because of a dearth of supply, with many sellers said to be holding off until the results of the May 7 elections are known. Greek banks may soon run out of collateral to access European Central Bank refinancing, the head of the French central bank and member of the ECB governing council Christian Noyer was quoted as saying. "It is therefore urgent that Greece put an end to the current situation and that Athens should establish a program with the IMF and the backing of other eurozone countries in order to reestablish confidence," he said. Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner (TWX) are set to discuss potential remedies to save their merger with Justice Department officials on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Federal Communications Commission is considering, among other options, to designate the merger for a hearing - which is seen as a sign the FCC is not convinced the deal would be in the public interest, the paper said. Morgan Stanley (MS) is in talks to settle a probe with the New York attorney general into whether it misled investors in mortgage bonds, the Wall Street Journal reports, saying the bank would pay around $500 million as part of the process.
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