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Sunday, 23 April 2017

New self-employed professionals fund debuts with 201-mln€ deficit over first 2 months of existence

By S. Papapetros [email protected] The new social security fund created from the merger of other funds covering self-employed professionals, including full-time farmers and beneficiaries of the main fund for press…

Iranian FM Zarif in Athens for talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Athens this weekend ahead of his scheduled participation in a Greek-government sponsored forum on ancient civilizations, scheduled for Monday. According to press…

US amb. Pyatt: Greece a key ally, factor for stability in Med

US ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt referred to the east Mediterranean country as a key ally and a factor for stability in the region and in the fight against terrorism,…

Sailboat loaded with would-be migrants intercepted off western Greece; destination probably Italy

A sailboat laden with what Greek authorities described as “refugees and migrants” was located overnight off the resort town of Parga, in the Ionian Sea in western Greece. The same…

Saturday, 22 April 2017

2016 marks best primary budget surplus figure in Greece since 1995

Greece on Friday announced its highest annual primary budget surplus since 1995, seven years before the switch to the common euro currency and during an era often plagued by nebulous statistics over…

Friday, 21 April 2017

Alpha Bank: Higher taxes, pension contributions preventing improvement in job market

Alpha Bank pointed to “tax and contribution fatigue” as preventing an improvement in the job market in crisis-battered, and by extension, in keeping the unemployment rate at a high level.…

Privatization fund: Four improved bids submitted for majority stake in Thessaloniki Port Authority

Greece’s privatization agency, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF), on Friday announced that it had received improved binding bids for the acquisition of a 67-percent stake of the Thessaloniki…

Thomsen: More reforms, Greek debt relief needed for Fund to return to program; Lagarde meets with Greek FinMin

IMF Europe director Poul Thomsen again pointed the need for a reliable reforms package in Greece in tandem with debt relief in order for the Fund to participate in the…

Crucial date for Apivita-Puig deal in mid June

By S. Emmanouil [email protected]   A crucial date for a looming Apivita-Puig strategic partnership is June 16, whereby a scheduled board of directors meeting for the former is scheduled, with…

Initial estimates show Greek budget primary surplus for 2016 at 3.9% of GDP

Preliminary estimates by Greece’s independent statistical authority (EL.STAT) on Friday showed a primary budget surplus for 2016 reaching 3.9 percent of GDP. General government expenditures eased to 86.185 billion euros,…

Canadian travel site includes 3 Greek destinations on best economical honeymoon list

The Canada-based Flightnetwork site has included three Greek destinations as among its “22 of the World’s Best Honeymoon Destinations for Under 3,500 (CAD)”. In successive order, the site lists the…

Thursday, 20 April 2017

WB President Kim: ‘No immiment’ plans for loan to Greece

Βy Vassilis Kostoulas [email protected] World Bank President Jim Kim reiterated on Thursday that there are “no imminent” plans for a loan towards bailout-dependent Greece, confirming reports by “N” this month…

Concern surfaces in Athens over IMF forecasts; specter of ‘fiscal gap’ again emerges

Concern abruptly mushroomed in Athens this week in the wake of the latest IMF forecast claiming the Greek state will not post a 3.5-percent primary budget surplus in 2018, but…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Athens court to hear latest Turkish extradition petition for 3 of 8 servicemen who fled to Greece

An appellate council in Athens will convene on April 25 to consider a new extradition request by Turkish authorities for three out of the eight Turkish military officers and NCOs…

IMF: Greek primary budget surplus 3.3% for 2016 – trio of ministers told to keep ‘low profile’ at D.C. meetings

The IMF on Wednesday again touched on Greek program and the country’s fragile economy, saying it foresees that a primary budget surplus of 3.3 percent will be posted for 2016…

Commission also set to lower Greek GDP growth forecast for 2017

A “milder growth” rate for Greece in 2017 was the way a European Commission spokeswoman put it on Wednesday in revealing that the EU’s executive is also revising, downwards, estimates…

Initial figure points to extra 3 bln€ in annual revenue from pending cut in annual tax-free income threshold

By G. Palaitsakis [email protected] Upwards of three billion euros in additional tax revenue is the tally from a proposed lowering of the tax-free threshold for annual income, the latest austerity…

Four dead in crash of military helicopter in north-central Greece; one NCO injured

The bodies of four officers were recovered from the crash site of a UH-1H transport military helicopter that went down on Wednesday morning in north-central Greece near the central town…

Tuesday, 18 April 2017

IMF cuts growth forecast for Greek economy in 2017, to 2.2% from 2.8%

The IMF this week slashed its previous projection for Greek GDP growth in 2017, now forecasting a 2.2 percent hike, down from last year’s forecast of 2.8 percent. In line…

Mélenchon in reply to critics of pledges to renegotiate EU treaties: I am not Alexis Tsipras

“I am not Alexis Tsipras; I don’t negotiate for 17 hours with people that insult me,” was the quote attributed to French presidential contender Jean-Luc Mélenchon by the French daily…

Greek Q1 2017 budget surplus at 1.068 bln€

The state budget balance recorded a surplus of 1.068 billion euros in the first quarter of 2017 on a modified cash basis, as direct and indirect tax hikes imposed in…

Marathon round of talks, meetings must conclude for latest ‘unofficial’ deadline for Greek program to be met

By T. Tsiros [email protected] The latest “unofficial deadline” in concluding the now more than year-old delayed second review of the Greek program is May 22, with yet another round of…

Lagarde repeats: First decisions on debt relief, then we’ll decide on rejoining Greek program

The IMF will participate in the Greek program only if the country’s debt is judged as sustainable, the Fund’s managing director repeated this week, in an interview with European journalists.…

Monday, 17 April 2017

Reports: Turks who voted in Greece overwhelmingly against constitutional changes

Turkish citizens in Greece that took advantage of the opportunity to vote in Sunday’s referendum in the neighboring country, by casting votes at Turkish diplomatic missions, overwhelmingly voted “no”, according…

ND MP, vice-president: If left up to Tsipras elections wouldn’t be held in Greece again

An outspoken main opposition MP and party vice-president on Monday stirred up the usually tepid post-Easter week political landscape by charging that if it was up to leftist Prime Minister…

Friday, 14 April 2017

Turkish Cypriot leader offers Easter wishes in Greek, Turkish

Turkish Cyriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Good Friday expressed his Easter wishes in both Greek and Turkish , tweeting on his personal account: “Σας εύχομαι Καλό Πάσχα με Υγεία και Χαρά” and “Sağlık ve mutlulukla iyi…

AFP quotes unnamed US treasury official: Washington keeping an ‘open mind’ over IMF involvement in Greek program

An AFP dispatch from Washington on Thursday quoted a senior US Treasury official as saying that Washington will keep an “open mind” regarding the IMF’s participation of the International Monetary…

ND press office head: SYRIZA sinking economy, costing society dearly; govt spox precludes snap elex

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party’s press office director this week warned that the continued presence of the current leftist-rightist coalition government in Greece “is sinking the economy”. Makarios Lazaridis,…

Thursday, 13 April 2017

Folli Follie reports higher turnover, profits in 2016

Greek multinational Folli Follie group, an apparel maker, reported a higher turnover and profits for 2016, amid what its management called a particularly challenging period. Consolidated turnover reached 1.337 billion…

Siemens kickbacks case expected to begin in earnest over coming period

A three-justice appellate court in Athens this week rejected a defense motion for documents included in a voluminous indictment in a case alleging Siemens kickbacks for contracts in Greece to…