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Russia may offer Greece a discount on gas deliveries and new loans when Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visits Moscow this week, the Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday, citing one source in the Russian government. A Kremlin spokesman said last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tsipras planned to discuss economic ties and EU sanctions on Moscow when they meet for talks, which Kommersant said would take place on Thursday. "We are ready to consider the issue of a gas price discount for Greece," the newspaper said quoting an unnamed Russian government source.

Corporate profits are back at the levels reached in 1990, 1999 and 2008 that presaged recessions and a sharp downturn in sales and employment.

Presidents, Prime Ministers, Congressmen, Generals, Spooks, Soldiers and Police ADMIT to False Flag Terror

Having previously warned that "the eurozone chess game is entering its final stage," and exclaimed that "we are not at war with Russia or ISIS, we are at war with the Troika," Italy's erstwhile populist leader, Italy's Five Star Movement's Beppe Grillo unveils his Plan B by destroying seven unfounded myths with regard an exit from the euro...

Traditional banks were built to gather deposits. Their design and infrastructure is geared towards that; they are maladapted to today’s interest rate environment. P2P platforms and other non-bank lenders are eating their lunch. Absent some radical rethinking of their operations model, they are about to go the way of the dodo. Of course, markets are not efficient; it will take time for competitors to move in. Traditional banks, however, have few weapons to fend them off: their brands (much less valuable for loan-origination than for deposit-gather purposes) and their (hugely expensive) legacy infrastructure. It took almost a century for the dodo bird to become extinct.

The drought in California is getting a lot worse. In fact, California has been losing more than 12 million acre-feet of groundwater a year since 2011, and wells all over the state are going dry. Once the groundwater is all gone, what are people going to do?

The ECB’s €1 trillion plus in asset purchases should drive demand for euro corporate credit as yields on sovereign debt and SSAs are driven relentlessly lower. UBS is now forecasting €600 billion in supply for 2015, up a fifth from last year with up to €140 billion in HY issuance. With liquidity in the secodary market constrained by regulation, does this increase the risk that a tail event could trigger a bond market meltdown? 

This long-term weakening of the economy is the direct result of financialization and the Federal Reserve's policy of propping up impaired debt with more debt and constantly bringing demand forward with zero interest rates.  The U.S. economy is slowing to stall speed--the point when gravity overcomes the lift provided by central bank free money. This deceleration is evident in a number of indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), which is now at 0% according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's GDPNow model.

The volatility in initial claims continues: after last week's drop to 282K pulled the heavily-watched number back under 300K, this week we have seen even less layoffs, with the DOL reporting that only 268K claims for unemployment benefits were filed in the past week, well below the 286K expected. The 4-week moving average was 285,500, a decrease of 14,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 3,250 from 297,000 to 300,250. And while it is no secret that US labor data leave much to be desired it was today's trade data that will shock many, after the BEA reported that in February, the US trade deficit collapsed to just $35.4 billion, a 17% plunge compared to the $42.7 billion January revision, and far below the $41.2 billion expected. The $7.3 billion drop in the deficit was the largest since the $8.3 billion drop posted in June of 2013. And even more notable: the total February deficit was the lowest since October 2009!

• Samaras Says He’d Join Alliance to Keep Greece in Euro (BBG)
• Tensions with Warren camp could loom over Clinton campaign (Reuters)
• Ackman Report on Herbalife in China Figures in Probe (WSJ)
• Al Shabaab storms Kenyan university, 14 reported killed (Reuters)
• Iraq’s Four-Mile Line of Supertankers Fuels Shipping-Rates Surge (BBG)
• Menendez's fate could sharpen Republicans' edge in Senate (Reuters)
• IRS Chief Chides Ted Cruz Over 'Abolish the IRS' Mantra (BBG)
• Yemen Houthi fighters backed by tanks reach central Aden (Reuters)

• Oil holds around $55 as Iran nuclear talks drag on (Reuters)
• Bob Diamond’s African Banking Venture Runs Into Problems (WSJ)
• Iran Nuclear Talks Resume With Lavrov Saying Deal at Hand (BBG)
• Wal-Mart Ratchets Up Pressure on Suppliers to Cut Prices (WSJ)
• Renegades of Junk: The Rise and Fall of the Drexel Empire (BBG)
• Explosion at Yemen factory kills at least 25: residents, medics (Reuters)
• Macerich Rejects Simon Property’s $16.8 Billion Takeover Bid (WSJ)
• Reckoning Arrives for Cash-Strapped Oil Firms Amid Bank Squeeze (BBG)

• Iran, powers push for nuclear deal as clock ticks toward deadline (Reuters)
• How DIY Bond Traders Displaced Wall Street’s Hot Shots (BBG)
• MillerCoors Caught in a Downdraft (WSJ)
• Saudi-led strikes again hit Yemen overnight (Reuters)
• Even With Free Money, Merkel Still Reluctant to Spend (BBG)
• Britain Uses Tax Breaks to Lure Digital-Game Developers (WSJ)
• China to Insure Deposits in Move Toward Scrapping Rate Curbs (BBG)
• As China Expands Its Navy, the U.S. Grows Wary (WSJ)

This is one of those sad times when The Onion realizes it has badly, and permanently, missed its IPO window.

Back in September 2013 we wrote "Coming Soon To A Theater Near You: MBIA's $1 Billion World War Z" in which we explained why MBIA will soon have a substantial problem (amounting to just about around $600 million) with several CLOs which we dubbed "Zombie CLOs" or as they were actually known, Zohar, on which it had written insurance, and which would become evident sooner or later once someone took a long, hard look at the collateral manager of the CLOs, namely Lynn Tilton's Patriarch Partners. Well, finally someone did take a long, hard look and today, our warning comes full circle following a shocker out of the SEC accusing Lynn Tilton of fraud and of "hiding the poor performance of loan assets in three collateralized loan obligation (CLO) funds they manage."

• Setbacks and progress as Iran, six powers meet to end nuclear impasse (Reuters)
• Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Leave Iran Nuclear Talks (WSJ)
• Obama Ramps Up Lobbying on Iran as Deadline Looms (WSJ)
• Greek yields edge up as lenders scrutinise reform pledge (Reuters)
• Oil prices drop on possible Iran deal, dollar (Reuters)
• Yemen’s Houthis Battle for Aden as Saudi Strikes Hit Rebels (BBG)
• Iran nuclear deal to see $20 oil if Tehran floods crude market (Telegraph)
• China’s Zhou Says PBOC Has Room to Act on Growth Slowdown (BBG)