Eurozone

Moscovici who served as French finance minister until 2014 and then became European commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, used some very colorful language, i.e., the French economic situation was "worse than anyone [could] imagine and drastic measures [would] have to be taken in the next two years”. 

Whether, or not, a Greek exit from the Eurozone or a potential debt default is "the thing" that sparks the next major correction in the markets is unknown. Historically, such a widely "known" event is generally already factored into the markets and has much less of an impact when that event eventually comes to fruition. As Art Cashin suggested this morning: "I think China may be more important than Greece. Stick with the drill – stay wary, alert and very, very nimble."

It seems Goldman Sachs' conspiracy theory was right all along...

ECB'S COEURE SAYS ECB IS EVEN READY TO USE NEW INSTRUMENTS, WITHIN ITS MANDATE
GREECE COULD EXIT EURO, COEURE SAYS IN LES ECHOS INTERVIEW

This is exactly what The ECB wanted all along (and their leaders overlords) - all they needed was an 'excuse'. Or, in the parlance of Rahm Emanuel's times, "Let no Greek default crisis go to QE waste."

The unanticipated recent Greek political news flow and consequent market stress are addressed in our portfolio construction by the resilience we built into higher volatility scenarios and unexpected sources of turbulence. Indeed, the risk is not so much Greece but the structural illiquidity of the market which will exacerbate any moves up or down which should be part of the equation.

Regardless of what the Greek people choose, at least the choice will be theirs, along with the consequences.

Referendum is a CYA by Tsipras & Syriza, but a deal is by no means the end of anything...

We are watching the total collapse of Democracy and the birth of a new era – Economic Totalitarianism from Arrogant people who are totally clueless beyond their own greed for power and money.

Lesson 1: Make a big pile of mud; Lesson 2: ...

At the open, Europe looked in the abyss, and with no help coming from China, it did not like what it saw: And then the answer came from the Swiss National Bank, which stepped in to prevent the collapse just as Europe was opening. Because seemingly out of nowhere, a tremendous bid came in to life the EURCHF, buying Euros (against the CHF and the USD) and selling Europe's last left safety currency. We now know that it was the SNB, the same central bank which is the proud owner of well over $1 billion in Apple stock.

Spot the glaring "oversight" it in the BIS map below which is a snapshot of the original BIS release. Hint: Dollar zone in Green... Euro zone in blue...

With Greece disintegrating before our very eyes, here are some recent blasts from the recent and not so recent past, showing just how clueless some of the most and least respected, strategists, bureucrats, drama majors, and former Goldman employees have been when it comes to Greece.

A Grexit debacle easily highlights the advantages of trading throgh blockchain technology. Long story short - no FTDs, counterparty or default risk when trading forex pairs!

"Regrettably, despite efforts at all levels and full support of the Eurogroup, this proposal has been rejected by the Greek authorities who broke off the programme negotiations late on the 26 June unilaterally.  The current financial assistance arrangement with Greece will expire on 30 June 2015, as well as all agreements related to the current Greek programme including  the transfer by euro area Member States of SMP and ANFA equivalent profits."

If there was any confusion if, as we warned was the biggest problem with the Greek referendum namely that next weekend there will no longer be a proposal to vote on, the IMF's Christine Lagarde just put it to rest. As she told the BBC moments ago, the Greek government's planned referendum on the terms of any new bailout plan will be invalid after Tuesday, when the current programme expires. As a result, the Greek people would be voting on proposals that were no longer in place.

Upcoming risk - Instruments moving to 'Close Only' mode

Due to the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Greek debt negotiations, and ahead of a potential announcement over the weekend that could lead to high volatility on the market, please be informed that we have decided to decrease your risks by temporarily moving all Instruments to 'Close Only' mode, from 22:30 GMT+3 on Friday the 26th of June 2015, until 00:30 GMT+3 on Monday the 29th of June 2015, trading terminal time.