Greek banks will remain closed today and it is unclear when they will open again as the country's government imposes capital controls.
ATM machines will not work, and a cap of €60 is expected to be put on withdrawals when they do start dispensing money. The Athens stock exchange is also closed.
equity markets are expected to fall by between 3 percent and 4 percent on most European markets with the German Dax Exchange likely to be worst hit.
Shares in Japan fell by 3 percent last night to five-month lows while Chinese markets fell by another 7 percent following sharp losses last week – though there are other factors at play here than the Greek crisis alone.
As markets open the value of the euro has dropped by 2 percent - €1 will currently buy $1.10.
However, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for calm and said bank deposits were safe during a televised address.
Investors are braced for a busy morning as investors are expected to move money into haven assets including German government bonds, US Treasuries, gold and Swiss Francs.
Earlier the governing council of the European Central Bank announced it will continue providing emergency loans to Greece's banking system at its current level.
The ECB says its emergency assistance will remain under review, but it has promised to "work closely with the Bank of Greece to maintain financial stability."
It comes amid fear of a run on the Greek banks, as the country edges closer to defaulting on its international debts.
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An initiative aimed at getting 14,000 people into jobs in the Midlands is being launched today, it is the first of 8 regional schemes in the pipeline.
Some of the initiatives aimed at helping reach the target include a skills forum, a regional energy hub, new cycling and walking trails along local waterways and the establishment of a Midlands Manufacturing Technologies Campus.
The government will also look to support the growth of more than a thousand exporters that are already operating in the region, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses.
Key sectors involved include manufacturing, tourism, food and energy.
This move comes as government parties get into election mode, it is believed to be a move which is intended to woo rural voters, and to convince the electorate that the recovery in the Irish economy is spreading beyond Dublin.
These plans will hope to increase employment by between 10 percent and 15 percent in each region bringing unemployment rates within one percent of the national average.
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A total of just over €1bn of taxable income was saved by taxpayers through the use of various property tax reliefs in 2012 and 2013.
In a reply to a question from Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman, Michael McGrath, Mr Noonan said that this figure came to €574m in 2012 and the provisional figure in 2013 was €450m.
The minister added: "These are the claims for the year, rather than the actual tax cost, and that the claims may not be fully used in the year due to insufficient income being available to absorb the claim, or due to the impact of the high income earner’s restriction."
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100 jobs have been announced for Sligo and Dublin this morning.
50 jobs are to be created in Sligo at the biopharmaceutical giant AbbVie's plant in Ballytivnan.
Meanwhile, another 50 people are being hired in Dublin for the new European Headquarters of Wrike. The business software company has its headquarters in California.
