Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-09-12

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

CONTENTS

[01] International Festival of Art and Technology "MEDIATERRA"

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

[03] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks plunge in panic selling on US mayhem

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

[01] International Festival of Art and Technology "MEDIATERRA"

The 4th International Festival of Art and Technology "MEDIATERRA", held under the auspices of the Culture Ministry, was presented on Wednesday by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

Venizelos said that as of this year the "MEDIATERRA" is incorporated in the programmes of the Cultural Olympiad and will be one of the Cultural Olympiad's activities until 2004.

The minister said that the festival this year is based on the idea of an "electronic micro-museum." He said the "micro-museum" will travel in the future to Sofia and Belgrade and conclude in Frankfurt at the international book exhibition, where Greece is the honoured country.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 373.424

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 547.319

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 45.413

Swedish kroner 35.295

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 312.557

Swiss franc 224.902

Norwegian kroner 042.321

Cyprus pound 589.481

Canadian dollar 238.871

Australian dollar 192.405

[03] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks plunge in panic selling on US mayhem

The Athens bourse finished sharply lower on Wednesday after panic selling sparked by a spate of terrorist attacks in the US the previous day prompted fears of a collapse in world markets and global recession, analysts said.

The general share index shed 7.74 percent to end at 2,358.05 points.

Turnover was higher at 259.3 million euros.

The market opened with players dumping paper, driving down the market by 5.61 percent. After the first 15 minutes of trade and shift in the 6.0 percent volatility limit to 12.0 percent, losses rose to more than 7.0 percent.

In a fresh wave of selling later in the sesssion, investors tried to cut their losses by emptying portfolios, taking the market more than 9.4 percent lower.

Several institutional investors were seen making selective, small-scale placements at low price levels, traders said.

Also depressing sentiment was the outcome of a prosecutor's preliminary enquiry into allegations of share manipulation by the Public Securities Company that found the finance minister and his deputy may be guilty of breach of trust and duty.

The session was held later than usual, at 1200 to 1630. Trade was conducted normally from brokerage terminals despite a bomb scare.

Along with other European markets, the bourse held a minute of silence for the dead in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and Pentagon in Washington.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 7.71 percent lower; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 8.95 percent down; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities lost 9.77 percent.

Decliners led advancers at 357 to 2 with one issue remaining unchanged.

[04] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

Sunny weather is forecast in most parts of the country on Thursday, with storms likely on high ground in Thrace and Macedonia. Winds north-northwesterly, light to moderate, turning strong in parts of the southeastern Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 13C to 26C; in the Ionian and the rest of the mainland from 17C to 29C; and in the Aegean islands from 20C to 28C. Sunshine in Athens, with temperatures between 18C and 29C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 16C to 26C.

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