Deutsche Bank

The Eurogroup's apparent 'non-negotiation' stance with Greece reflects one main worry we suspect - conceding to Greece would increase rather than reduce political risk, emboldening the resurgent anti-austerity and anti-euor extremist parties across Europe. With Spain and France seeing 'extremist' parties in the lead, the following chart is likely the one that keeps Dijsselbloem up at night...

Well that didn't take long...

*GREECE TO SUBMIT LIST OF REFORM COMMITMENTS TO EU TOMORROW: OFFICIAL

So we are less than 3 days into the 'new deal' and Greece has missed its first deadline. We can't help but wonder if the initial draft, just as we warned, was thrown up all over by the Germans.

While Friday's 'agreement' to agree to agreeing a deal that would be agreeable between The Eurogroup (and its 'Institutions') and Greece was heralded by the markets as a success for avoiding a Greek Exit (Grexit), there are numerous hurdles left in the next few months that could derail this process and bring about the re-introduction of the Drachma. As Deutsche Bank concludes, Greece’s (reluctant) request for a bailout extension is the first step in what is likely to be a difficult path to compromise...

With Greece moving to the, ahem, periphery if only for a few days/hours, this week the US calendar returns to the forefront with Fed Chair Yellen’s semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee tomorrow night and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, which the market will be paying very close attention to for the reconciliation of how the Fed plans to continue on its rate-hiking path despite rapidly deteriorating US macro data that has started 2015 at the worst pace (in terms of downside surprises) since Lehman.

• Tsipras Tamed as Economists Declare Greece Loses Austerity Fight (BBG)
• Greece readies reform plans to first sign of leftist unrest (Reuters)
• Yellen Faces Congress Amid Direst Threat to Fed Since Dodd-Frank (BBG)
• The war must go on: Kiev says cannot withdraw heavy weapons as attacks persist (Reuters)
• Ukraine fears spread of war after blast in eastern city (Reuters)
• Denmark Dismisses Report It Could Consider Capital Controls (BBG)
• Deadline Nears on Homeland Security Funding Impasse (WSJ)
• Gross Fund Hurt by Oil’s Plunge Amid Bets on Energy Bonds (BBG)

"The median stock sports a P/E and EV/EBITDA of 18.0x and 11.0x, respectively. These valuations rank in the 99th percentile of both P/E and EV/EBITDA multiples since 1976.  The proverbial “smart money” is selling, not buying. Completed private equity sales through M&A and via follow-on offerings have both surged to record levels measured by both number of deals and by transaction value. A total of 350 follow-on sales by private equity firms were completed in 2013 and 2014, a 70% jump from the 210 transactions completed in 2011 and 2012."

A bank which has €54.7 trillion, or a little over $62 trillion at today's exchange rate, in derivatives - a number that is 20 times greater than the GDP of Germany -  just failed a central bank stress test due to lacking governance and risk management controls and, just maybe, has insufficient capital? What can possibly go wrong.

Here's a plan where the drachma will be more desirable than the euro after Greece defaults on anything euro denominated and backs its redeemable drachma with fractional gold. Upon default euros drop, drachma pops!

• Greece requests euro zone loan extension, offers big concessions (Reuters)
• Germany Rejects Loan Request Saying Greece Must Meet Conditions (BBG)
• Did the Fed Just Enter the Currency Wars (BBG)
• French consumer prices fall for first time since 2009 (Reuters)
• Oil falls sharply after U.S. crude inventories rise (Reuters)
• High-Speed Firm Virtu Revives IPO Plans (WSJ)
• Fed Tiptoes Into Rate-Hike Debate (Hilsenrath)
• Rajoy’s Nemesis Is Back: Anti-Graft Editor Targets Vote (BBG)

Ultimately, then, we are still left with the same three-step process to reach a conclusion to the Greek crisis.

• Step 1 consists of a request for a new program or an application for a 3rd ESM program with Greece committing to some a prior conditionality.
• Step 2 consists of negotiating the substance around this conditionality, in particular the prior actions that would need to be fulfilled to disburse funding to Greece.
• Step 3 would consist of passing such prior actions through the Greek parliament and ultimately servicing Greece's loan obligations.

The more each of these steps is delayed, the shorter the timespans available and the greater the risks of failure.

We previously noted the extreme spike in S&P Energy sector stock valuations (and the fact that energy sector earnings will have to surge by 70% in order for this exuberant to be 'discounted' correctly). Now Deutsche Bank has run the numbers and warns that in order for S&P Energy to now be trading at what we would consider a fair ~15x normalized EPS, $70/bbl oil must return and be sustained by 2H15.

There’s nothing good left from the initial idea that gave birth to the EU. It’s devolved into something utterly ugly, in which fat Germans driving their Mercs and Beamers down the autobahn can yell at their car stereos that those lazy Greeks must pay their due - which stems from Merkel et al. bailing out Deutsche Bank’s insanely outsized derivatives portfolios. The whole thing is so morally bankrupt, it’s really insane that we’re still trying to have a serious discussion about it. The whole thing, the entire global banking system, is as morally bankrupt as it is financially. So far, all the EU has (anyone notice how silent the IMF has been?) is hubris, bluster and chest-thumping. They play politicians, but Syriza plays real life.

• Methodology change sees Indian economy grow faster than China's (Reuters)
• Can Greek Businesses Even Survive? (WSJ)
• Putin to travel to Minsk talks raising hopes of a deal over Ukraine (Euronews)
• Ukraine contact group representatives deny ceasefire deal in Minsk (Reuters)
• Moar buybacks! Hedge Fund-Backed Investor Puts Himself Up for G.M. Board (NYT)
• Ukraine peace summit overshadowed by some of war's worst fighting (Reuters)
• Time for non-non-GAAP excluding China: Tesla CEO threatens firings after dismal China sales - sources (Reuters)
• Jon Stewart leaving Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' (Reuters)