Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-11-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] Alexander Onassis Foundation-Awards

[02] Soccer-UEFA Cup-AEK-Result

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Wednesday

[04] Trains - Collision - Injuries

[05] Greece-unemployment-survey

[06] Greece-aluminium-survey

[07] 'Express Samina' - public prosecutor - charges

[08] Greece-tax evasion

[09] Bank of Attica-results

[10] ASE-close

[11] Greece-inflation

[12] Greece-trade unions-strike

[13] Greece-foreign exchange

[01] Alexander Onassis Foundation-Awards

President Kostis Stephanopoulos delivered the international Alexander S. Onassis Foundation's awards for 1999 to former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis and professor John W. Doran at a ceremony held at the Athens concert Hall on Tuesday evening.

D'Estaing was given the award for international understanding and social contribution, Theodorakis for his contribution to culture and professor Doran, a soil scientist at the US Agriculture Ministry's Agricultural Research Service, for his contribution to the environment.

[02] Soccer-UEFA Cup-AEK-Result

AEK Athens lost 2-1 away to Herfoelge of Denmark in a UEFA Cup second round, second leg soccer match on Tuesday night but qualified for the third round of the tournament 6-2 on aggregate.

In the first leg in Athens two weeks ago, AEK trounced Herfoelge 5-0.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Wednesday

Indicative rates released by the central bank for the next working day.

Wednesday's rates (buying)

Euro 337.330

U.S. dollar 392.356

German mark 172.474

French franc 051.425

Pound sterling 561.432

Irish punt 428.320

Belgian franc 008.362

Luxembourg franc 008.362

Dutch guilder 153.074

Italian lira (100) 017.422

Austrian schilling 024.514

Danish kroner 045.263

Swedish kroner 039.212

Finnish mark 056.734

Spanish peseta 002.028

Portuguese escudo 001.682

Japanese yen (100) 365.592

Swiss franc 221.623

Norwegian kroner 042.269

Cyprus pound 589.248

Canadian dollar 256.730

Australian dollar 206.212

[04] Trains - Collision - Injuries

Two mass transit trains collided at a station in northern Athens at around 2:15 local time.

Police said five injured passengers were transported to the nearby KAT hospital, while another four injured people -- located outside the train cars on a rampway when the accident occurred -- were being treated by medics. The accident occurred at the Kifissia station.

The electrically driven trains run on two parallel tracks of the decades-old Piraeus to Kifissia line and are not part of the newly operational Athens metro.

[05] Greece-unemployment-survey

Greek unemployment could fall to 5.0 percent of the workforce by 2010 if economic growth rates could be maintained to an average annual of 3.5 percent, a survey on unemployment by the Institute for Tourist Researach and Forecasts said on Tuesday.

The survey, by professor Panagiotis Pavlopoulos, says that prospects for a real convergence of the Greek economy were not optimistic while it did not exclude any surprises, such as economic output rising with the help of foreign workers with unemployment remaining unchanged in the country.

Comparing unemployment statistics in Greece and the European Union, the survey noted that the country showed the highest rate of unemployment in the ages of 15-24 and the lowest rate at the lowest education level (6.7 percent against 12.6 percent in EU).

Greece has the highest rate of self-employed (45.7 percent against 17.1 percent in the EU), but it lagged other member-states in efforts to upgrade employed workforce in the tourism and public administration sectors.

The survey stressed that unemployment has remained steadily above 10 percent of the workforce since 1960 and that in the period 1975-1998 the inflow of foreign workers exceeded one million.

The survey recommended three measures to achieve higher rates of employment in the coming years. These were: maintaining working hours, a gradual deregulation and reducing lay-off costs and reducing corporate taxes.

[06] Greece-aluminium-survey

The aluminium sector accounts for more than 1.5 pecent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) employing, directly or indirectly, a total of 40,000 workers, a survey by ICAP said on Tuesday.

The survey on "Aluminium Products" said that the sector was facing serious problems due to a shortage of domestic raw material, a low grade of capacity use, fierce competitioin and international aluminium price swings.

The aluminium extrusion sector in Greece includes eight large production units with a turnover of 8.5 billion drachmas each.

The survey predicts that the domestic market for aluminium extrusion products will rise with an annual growth rate of 5.0 percent in the period 2000-2002.

The aluminium rolling sector is a heavily export-oriented sector and has recorded an average annual growth rate of 9.5 percent in the period 1993-1999. For the next two years, the survey forecasts that the average annual growth rate would range from 3.0 to 4.0 percent.

[07] 'Express Samina' - public prosecutor - charges

The Piraeus Public Prosecutor on Tuesday pressed charges against the captain of the passenger ferry "Express Samina" and harbour officials, as well as ship-owners Minoan Flying Dolphins, though not in connection with the ship's fateful shipwreck off Paros in September, which resulted in the deaths of 80 passengers.

The charges actually concern the ship's condition two months prior to the accident, when the "Express Samina" was permitted to sail to the Aegean islands without the proper certificates of seaworthiness, while among the accused are higher echelons in the Coast Guard, the Commercial Fleet Inspection service and Merchant Marine ministry officials.

[08] Greece-tax evasion

Greece's Financial Crimes Squad plans tougher inspections over the coming year in an effort to combat tax evasion in the country, a report said on Tuesday.

The Financial Crimes Squad's programme for 2001 envisages tougher inspections on securities firms, self-employed, fuel distribution and the Athens 2004 Olympic Games' infastructure projects.

The squad has programmed a total of 96,343 inspections for the coming year.

[09] Bank of Attica-results

Bank of Attica on Tuesday reported a 15 percent increase in its nine-month pre-tax profits to 4.8 billion drachmas compared with the same period in 1999.

The bank's assets totalled 428.2 billion drachmas, up 41 percent from the January-September period last year.

Deposits and repos totalled 288 billion drachmas, up 48 percent from last year, loans rose 28.5 percent to 188.5 billion drachmas, while accumulated provisions totalled 1.4 billion drachmas over the same period.

The bank's network has increased by 10 new branches in the first nine months of 2000 to a total of 48.

[10] ASE-close

Equity prices continued losing ground on Tuesday, extending their previous day's losses, as news of a jump in the inflation rate to 4.0 percent in October led to speculation of a delay in monetary easing by the Bank of Grece.

Traders said investors remained on the sidelines also on worries over disappointing results by major commercial banks.

The general index closed 1.54 percent lower at 3,660.93 points with turnover a low 45.94 billion drachmas. Analysts said the index would find support at the 3,620-3,640 level in the short-term.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 1.78 percent lower at 2,115.37 points, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index eased 1.47 percent to 440.89 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended 0.66 percent lower at 400.45 points.

[11] Greece-inflation

Greece's consumer price inflation jumped to a more than anticipated 4.0 percent year-on-year in October from 3.1 percent in September, the National Statistics Service said on Tuesday.

The consumer price index rose 1.1 percent in October from the previous month, reflecting a jump in oil, beverage and tobacco prices.

NSS's officials said that if there not for the rise in fuel prices, CPI figures for October would have been 2.4 percent (core inflation).

They also said that oil prices have reached their peak.

The transport prices' index rose 9.8 percent yr/yr in October, followed by a 8.8 percent increase in housing prices, a 5.1 percent rise in alcohol and tobacco, a 3.6 percent rise in education, and rises of 3.4 percent and 3.2 percent in clothing and healthcare prices, respectively.

Food and durable goods' prices rose moderately by 1.3 percent and 1.7 percent in October, year-on-year.

[12] Greece-trade unions-strike

Greece's largest trade union umbrella GSEE on Tuesday warned of a new 24-hour strike to coincide with the opening of a discussion in Parliament on a draft bill on labour reform, if the country would not accept by Thursday union's demands on reducing working hours, retirement after 35 years of work and withdrawal of a proposal to deregulate lay-off rules in the country.

The proposal for a new general strike was discussed during a union meeting on Tuesday.

Trade unions and employers' organisations are currently in a process of dialogue to discussing workers' demands on employment. Labour Minister Tassos Yiannitsis has pledged that the government would support an agreement on labour reform between social partners.

[13] Greece-foreign exchange

A fall in the euro/dollar rate below the psychologically-critical 86 cents support level in international foreign exchange markets, pushed the drachma lower against the US currency on Tuesday.

The Greek currency fell to 395.520 drachmas per dollar at the day's fixing, up from 392.030 on Monday. The drachma was stable against the euro at 340.050 drachmas per euro from Monday's fixing rate of 340.010.

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