The gradual reopening of Europe's bond markets has reached the final frontier: Greece. Piraeus Bank on Tuesday issued €500 million ($696.1 million) of three-year bonds, its first such deal in five years. Investors clamoured for the paper, placing over €3 billion of orders.

That reflects two factors. The first is a hope that Greece may finally be on the mend. After six years of contraction, the economy may grow again in 2014: the European Commission forecasts an expansion of 0.6%. The Greek manufacturing purchasing managers index moved above the 50 break-even mark in January and hit 51.3 in February - the first back-to-back readings above 50 for almost 5½ years, Markit notes. Greece's economic sentiment indicator stands at the highest since September 2008. And Greek banks are raising fresh capital: Piraeus plans to raise €1.75 billion in concert with this debt issue.