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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-05-30Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Gov't spokesman: Greeks have made huge sacrificesAMNA--Government spokesman Dimitris Tsiodras on Tuesday clarified that the caretaker government he participates in has a specific mission and role in handling all open issues leading the country to elections smoothly.Responding to a question on the reported lack of state cash reserves, he said "all measures are being taken to avoid whatever problems," including spending cuts and revenue increase. "For this purpose, caretaker Finance Minister Giorgos Zannias will meet with tax and custom office officials having as a goal the increase of revenues," he said. He also stressed that the caretaker government cannot legislate but this does not mean that the laws and obligations enacted into laws should not be implemented. amna Commenting on the likelihood of Greece's exit from the eurozone, he cited the conclusions of the informal European Council during which the European partners stated that they want Greece in the eurozone. As regards the inflammatory statements made by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, the government spokesman underlined that "the Greek people have made huge sacrifices and deserve to be respected." amna He also stated that before the end of June the state will pay off a 490-million-euro debt owed to pharmacists by social insurance funds, adding that 75 million euro were paid last Friday and the second tranche will be paid before the end of the week. [02] The Wednesday edition of Athens' dailiesThe Wednesday edition of Athens' dailies at a glanceThe repercussions of a possible Greek exit from the eurozone according to a National Bank of Greece (NBG) report, mostly dominated the headlines on Wednesday in Athens' newspapers. ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "45,000 hirings in Local Administration". AVGHI: "NBG speculation". AVRIANI: "The people are laughing at the doomsayers' stupidities of a system that is collapsing". ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "NBG report: Return to drachma a terror scenario". ESTIA: "This is how we reached the collapse". ETHNOS: "Document on drachma nightmare". IMERISSIA: "NBG's shocking report: Drachma would bring chaos» KATHIMERINI: "The eurozone exit nightmare". NAFTEMPORIKI: "NBG: Return to drachma a nightmarish landscape". RIZOSPASTIS: "People's organisation and alertness in the face of the possibility of an unstructured default". TA NEA: "French President Francois Hollande message: Respect for the Greeks -International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde: I learned my lesson". VRADYNI: "Burning taxes for low income earners, even for the unemployed". [03] Athens Stock Exchange opening: DeclineAMNA--Equity prices were declining at the opening of trade on Wednesday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with the basic share price index down 2.18 percent, standing at 516.64 points at 11:00 am, and turnover at 4.075 million euros.The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 2.53 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 0.73 percent. Individual sector indices were moving downward, with the only gains in Personal and Household Products, up 0.62 percent and in Constructions, up 0.41 percent.amna The biggest losses were in Food and Beverages, down 3.70 percent; Telecoms, down 3.50 percent and Banks, down 3.34 percent. Of the stocks traded, 9 were up, 30 were down, and 7 were unchanged. [04] PPC reports 1.4-mln-euro loss in Q1AMNA-- The Public Power Corporation (PPC) on Tuesday reported net losses totaling 1.4 million euros in the first quarter of 2012, despite a 17.4 pct increase in revenue from electricity power sales -for the first time in three years- as household consumers turned to air conditioning systems during the winter months avoiding the high cost of heating oil. However, increased revenue was counterbalanced by higher cost of fuel and natural gas during the same period.amnaPayroll spending fell by 17.4 pct in the January-March period. Turnover totaled 1.54 billion euros, up from 1.37 billion euros last year, while PPC's debt rose slightly to 4.85 billion euros, from 4.7 billion euros in 2011. Public Power Corporation said its bad debt provisions jumped 118 pct to 54.1 million euros.amna Arthuros Zervos, chairman and chief executive of PPC, commenting on the results said he expected this year's results to move according to budget provisions on the precondition that a macroeconomic environment will not deteriorate further. [05] Fishermen Feast at Aghia Galini on CreteAMNA--The "Fishermen's Feast" will be held for the second consecutive year at the small port of Aghia Galini in Rethymno prefecture on Crete. The three-day event will open on June 2 and will focus on the sea and the people of the sea, their boats, and the sunset.The programme includes among others, a night feast with music and dance, fishing competition and fish soup cooking as well as boat trips to the spots where fishermen cast their fishing nets. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |