Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-05-22

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Xiosbank-Bank of Piraeus-Merger

[02] Onassis Foundation-Haifa University

[03] Foreign Exchange Market-Close

[04] Secondary Bond Market-Close

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates-Tuesday

[06] FYROM - Delegation - Cyril - Rome

[07] Weather Forecast-Tuesday

[08] Dynamic Mix - NATO - Air portion

[09] Greece-defence industry-privatisation

[10] ASE-close

[11] Ecevit aide - Aegean Army - Continental Shelf

[01] Xiosbank-Bank of Piraeus-Merger

Shareholders of Xiosbank on Monday approved a merger with Bank of Piraeus through a one-to-one share swap.

[02] Onassis Foundation-Haifa University

The Onassis Foundation and the Haifa University signed an agreement on Monday, under the auspices of the Athens University, for the establishment of a modern Greek studies programme at the Haifa University's Department of Higher Mediterranean Studies, according to a press release by the Alexandros S. Onassis Foundation.

The relevant ceremony at the Athens University opened with an address by Athens University Dean Constantine Dimopoulos and was followed by addresses by the President of the Onassis Foundation Stelios Papadimitriou, the Israeli Ambassador Ran Curiel and the President of Haifa University Yehuda Hayuth, as well as by a presentation of the modern Greek studies programme by professoress Minna Rozen.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Onassis Foundation, Athens University representatives, Haifa University representatives, the President of the University of Europe Eleni Ahrweiler, Foreign Ministry representatives and other officials.

[03] Foreign Exchange Market-Close

The drachma on Monday fell against the euro and rose versus the US dollar in the domestic foreign exchange market.

[04] Secondary Bond Market-Close

Bond prices in the domestic secondary market ended slightly higher in light trade on Monday with players across Europe awaiting a European Central Bank meeting later this week that may order a rate hike to aid the slumping euro.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates-Tuesday

Following are indicative foreign exchange rates for commercial banks released by the central bank for the next working day.

Tuesdays rates (buying)

Euro 334.155

U.S. dollar 371.702

[06] FYROM - Delegation - Cyril - Rome

SKOPJE (ANA M. Vihou) -- A delegation from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Yugoslavia (FYROM), led by President Boris Traikovski, departed on Monday for a three-day visit to Rome to attend events in honour of St. Cyril.

St. Cyril (born 869 AD) along with his brother, St. Methodius, were missionaries from Byzantine-era Thessaloniki. Both have been called by historians ?Apostles to the Slavs? and ?fathers of the Slavonic literary culture?, hench the name 'cyrillic alphabet. Cyril is buried in Rome.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated development, Metropolitan Petar told a Skopje daily that recent reports citing the possibility of the Autocephalus Orthodox Church of Greece recognising the FYROM Church as the ?Archbishopric of Ochrid? or the ?Archbishopric of Skopje? were no more than ?rumours by reporters?.

[07] Weather Forecast-Tuesday

Scattered cloud is forecast throughout Greece on Tuesday, turning to showers and storms in parts of the west, north and centre of the country early in the evening. Early morning mist is expected.

Winds southwesterly, light to moderate.

[08] Dynamic Mix - NATO - Air portion

The aerial part of the major NATO military exercise ?Dynamic Mix? begins on Tuesday over Greek skies.

Participating alliance air force units on Monday mainly covered procedures dealing with air traffic regulations, terrain characteristics for the Greek mainland, etc. Specifically, NATO pilots flew training missions in the general vicinity of the Greek air bases their planes are temporarily stationed.

Military sources said 136 planes are taking part in the exercise, including 66 Greek aircraft belonging to the Hellenic Air Force, 15 German planes, 17 from Italy, 12 from Turkey, seven from France, 11 from Spain and eight from Portugal.

[09] Greece-defence industry-privatisation

The Greek government will sell a 43 percent stake in Hellenic Vehicles Industry and a 49 percent stake in Hellenic Aerospace Industry, National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said on Monday.

Sepaking to reporters, after a meeting with National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Papantoniou said that the government would seek a strategic investor for HAI to take over its management as well.

He said that the country's defence industry was moving satisfactorily and that armed forces' supplies were adequately supported the industry and improving their financial conditions.

Papantoniou said that final decisions on the sale of national defence industries would be taken during the summer.

He also said that PYRCAL, a state-owned ammunitions industry, would be listed on the Athens Stock Exchange following a restructuring plan.

[10] ASE-close

Equity prices dramatically changed direction on the Athens Stock Exchange to end sharply lower on Monday, hit by waves of profit taking selling.

Analysts said that a correction was due in the market following a previous week's 8.0 percent advance and noted that it could offer new incentives to investors.

They said that the 4,650 level remained a strong support level for the market.

The general index ended at 4,691.93 points, off 2.30 percent, but off the day's lows of 4,668.34 points. Turnover was a heavy 268.4 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 2.12 percent lower at 2,578.46 points and the FTSE/ASE 40 index fell 3.55 percent to 696.68 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 1,007.30 points, off 6.43 percent.

[11] Ecevit aide - Aegean Army - Continental Shelf

ANKARA (ANA - A. Abatzis) -- A senior Turkish military aide has recommended the abolition of Turkey's ?Aegean Army? and the adoption of a policy of mutual concessions on Greek-Turkish issues, a major Turkish daily reported on Monday.

Turkey's former navy chief (ret.) Guven Erkaya, an advisor to Turkish Premier Bulent Ecevit, in a letter to the latter also proposed referral of the Aegean continental shelf issue to international arbitration or a "freeze" on the issue, the daily "Sabah" reported in its Monday's edition.

In a front-page article, Sabah said Erkaya's letter recommended that, "in order for problems such as the territorial waters, the continental shelf, FIR, airspace, the demilitarisation of the islands of the Aegean and the 'islets of undetermined sovereignty' to be resolved, instead of efforts to achieve results through individual talks on each issue, it would be preferable that they be examined as a whole, with mutual concessions".

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