V(Q)E-Day

The ECB is crowing about the success of its new QE program, but the reality is that euro area recovery has been in place long before QE was implemented or even imagined. The euro has actually strengthened since QE began, and with the most dovish expectations for the ECB now realized, we don't see why it should weaken from here. Similarly, we see little room on the downside for euro area sovereign yields. Stocks and the banking sector can continue to benefit from the underlying recovery that has long preceded QE. There is a risk of short-term Grexit crisis, but QE might ease the blow -- and in the end, it would teach a useful lesson to populists in other countries, especially Spain.