by Calculated Risk on 6/08/2012 10:05:00 PM

Earlier today there were reports that Spain could request a bank bailout this weekend. From the Financial Times: Spain poised to seek bailout and from Reuters: Exclusive: Spain poised to request EU bank aid Saturday

Spain is expected to ask the euro zone for help with recapitalizing its banks this weekend, sources in Brussels and Berlin said on Friday, becoming the fourth country to seek assistance since Europe's debt crisis began.

Five senior EU and German officials said deputy finance ministers from the single currency area would hold a conference call on Saturday morning to discuss a Spanish request for aid, although no figure for the assistance has yet been fixed.

Later the Eurogroup, which consists of the euro zone's 17 finance ministers, will hold a separate call to discuss approving the request, the sources said.

"The announcement is expected for Saturday afternoon," one of the EU officials said.

However, later in the day, from MarketWatch:

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told reporters Friday that the government would make no decisions on any aid request before the results of various reports on Spanish banks were known.

“The government has to respect the process before taking any decisions about the data of the banks,” said Sáenz de Santamaría, in the televised press conference. She also said there were no plans for any meetings in the coming days, but sidestepped questions about whether a teleconference call would be held.

The Economics Ministry said Friday that the results of the independent audit and stress-testing of Spanish banks will publish June 21. The government has also hired a second set of independent auditors to value the banks, with results expected July 31. As well, said Sáenz de Santamaría, the government was waiting on results expected next Monday, June 11, from the International Monetary Fund report on the banking sector.

However the IMF released the report today, from the WSJ: Pressure Mounts on Spain to Request a Bailout

In conference calls Saturday, euro-zone finance officials are expected to press Spain's government to request aid before the June 17 Greek elections, according to European officials familiar with the negotiations.

On the eve of those calls, the International Monetary Fund rushed out a report late Friday saying the banks need at least €37 billion ($46 billion); the report had been expected Monday.

And on China from MarketWatch: China data deluge

Chinese data will be closely watched for signs that country’s economy is slowing more dramatically than previously projected. Over the weekend, China is scheduled to release its latest data on inflation, industrial production and retail sales for May, as well as monthly trade results.

From the WSJ headline: "China's consumer price index rose 3.0% in May from the same month a year earlier, slower than April's 3.4% rise."