Holy Thursday beckons the arrival of the Easter weekend with the world coming together to celebrate the wonders of the festive season. However, given the imbroglio on one side of the Atlantic vis-à-vis Cyprus, the financial markets are certainly looking down on this nation to give shape and direction to the markets in the ensuing days. So this Easter weekend, could be a blessing in disguise as the markets closedown for few days before resuming next week. But Thursday i.e. today, spells an important day for the Cyprus faithful’s as the banks finally open their doors after closing down for more than a week. TV channels will have a field day as security officers are expected to come down heavily as the citizens of the nation try to get their money back. I would be lying if I said I am not expecting a riot anytime soon and the events in the nation will not hamper the global financial markets. In fact the world is certainly watching the developments from this country.

Cyprus reopens its banks on Thursday while limiting withdrawals, banning cheques and curbing the use of Cypriot credit cards abroad, among measures imposed to avert a bank run after it agreed a tough rescue deal with international lenders. The Central Bank said banks would open their doors at midday (6 a.m. EST) on Thursday after nearly two weeks when Cypriots could only get cash through limited ATM withdrawals. A central bank official said Cypriots would be allowed to withdraw no more than 300 euros ($380) a day. Yiangos Demetriou, head of internal audit at the Central Bank, said on state television that the controls would allow unlimited use of credit cards within Cyprus, but set a limit of 5,000 euros per month abroad. He said the measures would last four days but could be reviewed.

After months of calm in global markets, concerns about the future of the euro zone are back with a vengeance as fears grow that the turmoil in Cyprus could spread to other parts of the region and ultimately undo the single-currency block. As the Easter Weekend dawns upon us, we certainly hope that the markets retain some stability during these troubled times and regain some of its lost glory when the Easter weekend draws to a close!