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Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-08-20Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM talks with BoG chiefANA-MPA/Prime Minister George Papandreou on Thursday emphasised that the first goals in the country's closely watched fiscal restructuring and deficit-busting programme have been met, in greeting Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. George Provopoulos to his office.The Greek premier said the next steps aim to buttress a secure economic climate, social justice and the economy growth. On his part, Provopoulos' initially said that despite whatever problems the country's public finances have been reined in, allowing for the creation of a "virtuous cycle" in the economy. "We're leaving behind a vicious cycle," he said upon arriving at the Maximos Mansion office. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou was also at the meeting, following his earlier meeting with Papandreou. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [02] Reduced state budget deficitThe state budget deficit fell 39.7 percent during the period January-July 2010 in comparison with the same period in 2009, vis-à-vis a stated annual target 39.5 percent.According to data released on Friday, between Jan-Jul 2010 the deficit reached 12.10 billion euros while in the correspondent period of 2009 it was 20.05 billion euros. The fiscal consolidation for the first seven months of 2010 was achieved via spending cuts and revenue increases. Furthermore, the data does not fully reflect all the fiscal measures included in the government's austerity programme for 2010, namely, the second increase in the VAT rate by 2 percentage points, applied as of July 1, 2010. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [03] 'Antikythera Mechanism' exhibition on KytheraAn exhibition entitled "The Mechanism of Antikythera" will be on display on the southwestern Aegean island of Kythera (Kythira) until Sept. 19, an initiative by the ministry of education.The exhibition opened on Aug. 11 in Potamos, Kythera while on Aug. 19 the exhibition was transferred to Chora, the island's main town. Visitors of the exhibition will be able to learn about the history of the ancient mechanism, believed to be an ancient mechanical calculator (also described as a primordial "mechanical computer") designed to calculate astronomical positions. The artifact was discovered within an ancient shipwreck off the nearby isle of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete . It has been dated to about 150-100 BC. Technological devises of similar complexity appeared a thousand years later, scholars have noted. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [04] Govt' on economic growthGovernment spokesman George Petalotis, speaking to public radio on Thursday, expressed a conviction that if the government continues with the same and even speedier rates then economic growth will return in 2012, accompanied by a decrease in unemployment and boosted entrepreneurship.Petalotis also termed the upcoming elections a "local administration struggle with strong political characteristics," explaining that we have to do with a new, now, self administration with the new "Kallikratis" institution that, as he said, must begin with persons who will believe in this very great change. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form [05] Central government debtANA-MPA/The central government's debt amounted to 316.954 billion euros as of June 30, up from 310.387 billion euros at the end of March.The Greek state's cash reserves at the end of June totalled 7.465 billion euros, slightly up from 7.159 billion euros on March 31, while the Greek state's securities reached 25.496 billion euros from 25.408, respectively. The data was announced by the State General Accounting Office. More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |