23Jun2015 Pre-Market Commentary: U.S. Futures Slipping To Flat Status After Not So Good U.S. Financial’s This Morning As Investors ‘Hope’ For A Greek Resolution

Here is the current market situation from CNN Money

European markets are broadly higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 1.45% while France’s CAC 40 is up 1.39% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.27%.

European Stocks Rise on Greek Deal Hopes

European stocks rose, with investors betting Greece is closing in on a deal with its creditors.

Platinum Slammed by Supplies, Dollar

Platinum tumbled to a six-year low, weighed down by a surge in supplies since miners returned to work last year after a strike.

Transmission Of Asset Purchases: The Role Of Reserves

— this post authored by Jens H.E. Christensen and Signe Krogstrup

The Swiss National Bank expanded bank reserves as part of its unconventional monetary policy during the European sovereign debt crisis. The unprecedented expansion involved short-term rather than long-term asset purchases. This approach provides novel insights into how central bank balance sheet expansions affect interest rates. In particular, it illustrates how an expansion of reserves can lower long-term yields through a reserve-induced portfolio balance effect that is independent of the assets purchased.

Syngenta tests investor support for Monsanto opposition

ZURICH/ FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Syngenta will sound out shareholders in the coming days for their views on the Swiss crop chemicals maker’s opposition to rival Monsanto’s $45 billion takeover approach.

Darden Restaurants to Split Off Properties Into REIT

Darden Restaurants Inc. is planning to create a real estate investment trust that will function as its own publicly traded company.

BlackBerry shares climb as revenue slide slows

TORONTO (Reuters) – BlackBerry Ltd reported a slightly wider than expected adjusted loss on Tuesday, however shares in the company rose over 8 percent as its revenue slide began to show signs of stalling and its turnaround begins to slowly gain traction.

Tsipras Faces Party Revolt In Bid To Push Debt Deal Through Parliament

On Monday evening in “Greece Capitulates: Tsipras Crosses ‘Red Line’ Will Accept Bailout Extension,” we outlined the political battle facing Alexis Tsipras in the wake of the Greek PM’s move to effectively strike a deal with creditors that includes higher taxes and restrictions on early retirements. The agreement, which some reports suggest came with an implicit assumption about the necessity of extending the country’s second bailout in order to bridge the gap between payments due to creditors over the coming weeks and final discussions around a third program, has not been received well by Syriza party hardliners.

To be sure, no agreement with creditors would have satisfied the more radical members of the party, many of whom believe the best option for Greece is to default and return to the drachma — these lawmakers contend redenomination would not be as economically catastrophic as the EU would have them believe. If Tsipras cannot rally enough support for the new proposal, a political shakeup may be necessary. Here’s Reuters with more:

Greek lawmakers reacted angrily on Tuesday to concessions Athens offered in debt talks and parliament’s deputy speaker warned the proposals would struggle to win approval, puncturing optimism that a deal to lift Greece out of crisis might be quickly sealed..

“I believe that this program as we see it … is difficult to pass by us,” Deputy parliament speaker and Syriza lawmaker Alexis Mitropoulos told Greek Mega TV on a morning news show.

Frontrunning: June 23

Greek offer to creditors runs into angry backlash at home (Reuters)

Tsipras Seeks to Stave Off Greek Defections Over Aid Plan (BBG)

Austria finmin says no agreement on Greek proposals without concrete plan (Reuters)

Another ELA raise, this time under €1 billion: ECB raises emergency funding for Greek banks (Reuters)

Greek energy, foreign ministers divided on Russia gas deal (Reuters)

China’s Plan for Local Debt Amounts to a Bailout (WSJ)

Key Democratic senators back plan for trade legislation (Reuters)

South Carolina Governor: Time to Furl Flag (WSJ)

Wall Street Diverges as Gorman and Blankfein Take Opposite Paths (BBG)

Uber Lands Big Chinese Backer (

Greek offer to creditors stirs angry backlash at home

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek lawmakers reacted angrily on Tuesday to concessions Athens offered in debt talks and parliament’s deputy speaker warned the proposals might by rejected, puncturing optimism that a deal to pull Greece back from the abyss might be sealed quickly.

China Soars 7% Off The Lows, Global Stocks Continue Rising On Ongoing “Greek Deal Optimism”

Before taking a look at Europe, an update on China. Just a few short hours ago, when looking at the bursting of the Chinese bubble where stocks were down between 3% and 5% across the board in the first post-holiday trading session after the worst week in 7 years, we said that “without assistance (levitation) from the same PBOC that just clamped down on liquidity, the China bubble has burst.” And then as if by request, minutes later we got, drumroll, levitation and the stickiest stick-save by the PBOC seen in months, when the Shanghai Composite staged an unprecedented 7% surge from the lows to close 2.2% higher after tumbling as much as 5% earlier in the session. And just like that, faith in the “wealth effect” is preserved.

Then looking at Europe, while there has been a flurry of macroeconomic data, with the composite PMI storming to 54.1, above the 53.5 estimate, and up from 53.6 in May, the highest since May 2011, it was Greece that was on everyone’s mind once again, why? Because as yesterday’s huge “risk on” rally was reminiscent of 2011/12, suggesting any failure to strike a deal will see equally sizable moves again, RBC analysts write in client note adding that “anyone who thought the Greek situation was irrelevant for the broader market was proven wrong.”

As a reminder, as reported late yesterday, after months of contentuous negotiations in which the Tsipras cabinet had sworn it would not budge on “red lines” that is precisely what it did and conceded to an extension of the exist …

Stratfor: What Borders Mean To Europe

by STRATFOR

— this post authored by George Friedman

Europe today is a continent of borders. The second-smallest continent in the world has more than 50 distinct, sovereign nation-states. Many of these are part of the European Union. At the core of the EU project is an effort to reduce the power and significance of these borders without actually abolishing them – in theory, an achievable goal. But history is not kind to theoretical solutions.

Bouygues faces crossroads choice on telecoms business

PARIS (Reuters) – Martin Bouygues, scion of one of France’s top industrialist families, must decide on Tuesday whether he is ready to part with the telecoms business that is his main contribution to the conglomerate built by his father.

Accounting watchdog probes KPMG over BNY Mellon compliance

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s accounting watchdog has opened an investigation into how accounting firm KPMG [KPMG.UL] made sure that Bank of New York Mellon complied with rules on keeping customer money safe.

China’s Economy Appears to Be Stabilizing, Reports Show

Preliminary reading on factory activity for June suggests improving conditions, but economists still expect further efforts by Beijing to stimulate growth.

S&P assumes Greece to be in euro at year-end

LONDON (Reuters) – Standard & Poor’s central forecast is that Greece will still be in the euro and the European Union at the end of 2015, although even a late deal to stave off default will not resolve its problems, chief rating officer Moritz Kraemer said on Tuesday.

France drives euro zone business surge in June; China, Japan lag

(Reuters) – A resurgence of activity in France helped euro zone businesses expand at their fastest rate in four years this month, the clearest sign yet that the European Central Bank’s stimulus is driving a solid recovery in the region.

Barclays in talks to sell private equity unit to management: source

LONDON (Reuters) – British banking group Barclays is in talks to sell its natural resources-focused private equity business to the unit’s management, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.