Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-12-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] Athens Stock Exchange opening: slow trade

[02] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Wednesday

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates: Wednesday

[04] Greece welcomes Libyan decision to accept int'l inspections for WMD

[05] Health ministry decides against extra measures for flu outbreak

[06] EFG Eurobank to wholly acquire Alico-CEH Balkan Holdings

[07] Olympic Airlines seeks to lease jets

[01] Athens Stock Exchange opening: slow trade

Equities were marginally lower at the opening of the trading session Wednesday on the Athens Stock Exchange, with trade promising to remain slow and lacklustre throughout Christmas Eve.

The general share price index was down 0.09 per cent, standing at 2,201.47 points around half an hour into the session, and turnover at 7.1 million euro.

Individual sector indices showed a mixed performance, with the biggest gains in Base Metals, up 0.78 percent and Information technology, up 0.20 percent. The biggest losses were in Holding, down 0.67 per cent and Publishing, down 0.41 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 0.04 per cent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 0.24 percent, and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index was down 0.18 per cent.

Of the stocks moved, 67 were up, 91 were down, and 47 were unchanged.

[02] Weather Forecast: Rain, storms on Wednesday

Rain and storms are forecast in all parts of the country, especially in sea areas, while snow will fall in mountainous areas. Winds southerly, very strong, gradually easing off. Temperatures in Athens 10C to 14C and in Thessaloniki 5C to 8C.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates: Wednesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.249

Pound sterling 0.708

Danish kroner 7.501

Swedish kroner 9.176

Japanese yen 134.2

Swiss franc 1.573

Norwegian kroner 8.438

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.657

Australian dollar 1.701

[04] Greece welcomes Libyan decision to accept int'l inspections for WMD

Greece on Tuesday welcomed Libya'sdecision to accept international inspections for weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

Foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis said:

''We hail Libya's decision to rid itself of the internationally-prohibited weapons of mass destruction and to accept relevant international inspections, which will contribute to the security and stability of the region.

''This very positive decision of the Libyan government and its implementation will substantially help to strengthen the cooperation between the European Union and Libya, but also to strengthen the latter's bilateral relations with the Union member states and also the international community in general.''

[05] Health ministry decides against extra measures for flu outbreak

Health ministry staff and expert scientists decided against additional measures to cope with an outbreak of influenza detected in Greece during a meeting on Tuesday, saying that the existing mobilisation of health services was adequate.

In statements after the meeting, Health Minister Costas Stefanis said that hospitals and health services had already been placed on alert and no further measures were deemed necessary.

Scientists said the Greek outbreak was probably due to the fujian variety of virus that had caused epidemics in the United States and Europe but noted that its clinical image was less virulent than that seen in other countries.

Official confirmation that fujian was involved would be given by the Pasteur Institute within a few days, after tests on samples from 28 children admitted to hospital with flu were complete.

Doctors at the Aglaia Kyriakou hospital reported that a further 15 cases of flu were detected during Monday's all-day outpatient clinic but that none merited hospitalisation.

[06] EFG Eurobank to wholly acquire Alico-CEH Balkan Holdings

Athens-quoted EFG Eurobank Ergasias said on Tuesday that it would acquire 50 per cent of Alico-CEH Balkan Holdings Ltd from American Life Insurance Company (Alico), taking its stake to 100 per cent.

Alico-CEH of Cyprus owns 91.71 per cent of Bulgarian Post Bank AD, EFG said in a statement.

Approval will be sought from regulatory authorities for the acquisition, the statement added.

[07] Olympic Airlines seeks to lease jets

Olympic Airlines, the new company to emerge from the former Olympic Airways, said on Tuesday that it was bidding in a tender to lease seven, new 150-seater jets in order to reinforce its fleet.

Management also said in a statement that in November the airline had increased its flights abroad by 0.80 per cent and to home destinations by 8.4 per cent in comparison with the same month of 2002.

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