The can has been kicked in Greece ... until Wednesday
Sort of.
But in a note to clients on Monday morning, Kit Juckes, foreign-exchange strategist at Societe Generale, pays it out most clearly (and cynically), writing, "Believe it or not, instead of kicking the Greek debt can down the road, the discussion about whether or not to kick the can has itself been kicked down the road for 72 hours instead."
That just about says it all.
This is a Greek "deal" in name only; as Business Insider's Mike Bird wrote on Monday: "It looks as if neither German nor Greek negotiators got what they wanted, but both have a way to spin it as a minor victory. German politicians can tell voters they presented the exit scenario, and Greek politicians can tell their voters they resisted it."
Of course, some would say the definition of compromise is that neither side gets to have its way.
But the outcome of a referendum that saw Greek voters reject further bailout measures - which were, amazingly, less punitive than the current package - made it seem as if Greece decided it was time to stop conceding political and economic ground to the rest of Europe.
Early Monday morning, lawmakers in Europe reached a tentative deal for a new Greek bailout package. This latest deal must be approved by Greek parliament on Wednesday, and passage of this deal - and the required laws - doesn't actually secure new funds for Greece but allows the country to return to the table to seek them.
You can read up on the full proposal here.
But as Juckes notes, this latest proposal, even if approved by Greece and other euro parliaments, doesn't seem likely to really change the situation on the ground for the Greek economy, which is mired in recession and unlikely to come out of this malaise anytime soon.
"The sad thing is that the absurdity can't hide the awful economic reality that is imposed on the Greek economy," Juckes wrote.
"It's going backwards every day this goes on."