Hello friends and Fortune readers.
Wall Street stock futures are set to open higher this morning on the latest rumors of last-minute efforts in Athens to avert default.
Today’s must-read article is from Fortune’s Shawn Tully on Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ great Grexit gamble. The nation’s leader has been trying to push a nationwide referendum to lure European leaders back to negotiations, but it’s a long shot. We’re also bringing live updates on the Greek situation here.
Here’s what else you need to know today.
1. Greece is set to default.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confirmed last night the country wouldn’t pay the IMF €1.54 billion ($1.7 billion) as scheduled today. Meanwhile, the country’s bailout agreement with the Eurozone and IMF expires tonight, barring some kind of miracle. Markets are still eerily quiet though, still wary of being wrong-footed by an intervention from the European Central Bank (and hopeful that the Greeks, if they do vote on Sunday, tell their government to return to Brussels and accept the creditors’ demands.
2. Chris Christie to launch Presidential bid
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is set to launch his presidential bid Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal, counting on his down-to-earth, common-sense persona to make him stand out in a crowded field in the Republican primaries.
3. U.S. economic data.
The U.S. Conference Board, an industry group, releases data on the state of mind of American consumers. Its monthly index of consumer attitudes for June will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Consumer confidence likely rose to 97.3 in June, after it fell to a six month low in May.
Also out today, an update on the cost of homes. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 metropolitan areas will be released at 9 a.m. ET. Analysts expect prices will be up 5.5% in April compared to a year earlier, which would match March’s gain.
4. ConAgra reports.
ConAgra Foods (CAG) updates investors on its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings today, and shareholders will likely be listening for any update on how the maker of Chef Boyardee pasta is handling activist investor Jana Partners. The hedge fund took a stake in the company and said it was prepared to nominate directors to ConAgra’s board to reverse what Jana says is “persistant underperformance” since it swept up Ralcorp in 2013. It will also be CEO Sean Connolly’s first time to publicly address his strategy since he took the helm April 6.
5. Fed presidents take to the podium.
Two Federal Reserve presidents will talk publicly today, though at two very different venues. New York President William Dudley will speak briefly at the 25th anniversary conference for the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure in Basel, Switzerland. The group focuses on finding better ways process and settle financial transactions to promote stability and help central banks around the world do their jobs better. Meanwhile, St. Louis President James Bullard will talk at the “Emerging Leaders Venture Summit” in St. Louis, an annual event that promotes startup investing.
