Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 14-02-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] High tax penalties to be reduced, gov't spokesman says

[02] FM's comment on NATO alliance's enlargment issue in 2008 summit

[03] FinMin mulls reductions in Tax Bureau penalties

[04] Gov't spokesman on SYRIZA stance on Greek eurozone exit

[05] SYRIZA on gov't spokesman Kedikoglou

[06] KKE on ND-SYRIZA confrontation over the European Parliament committee examining troika's role

[07] Finance ministry downplays 'WSJ' report of 'secret' eurogroup meeting on Greece

[08] PM Samaras receives family of three fallen Navy officers

[09] Police ban marches after Saturday's rallies at Imia Memorial, Syntagma and outside Athens University

[10] SYRIZA Political Secretariat meets, announces list of local election candidates

[11] Revamped Athens Eye Clinic is an asset for the health system, Georgiadis said

[12] Doctors' react to the health ministry prescriptions cap measure

[13] Protesting employees 'welcome' Health Minister Georgiadis at Thriasio hospital

[14] FM Venizelos condemns hand grenade attack at Greek Orthodox Church in Lebanon

[15] FM Venizelos to meet with public and private sector union members

[16] FM Venizelos to meet US Assistant Secretary of State Nuland on Monday

[17] SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras to visit Paris on Monday

[18] FinMin confirms no EU funds used for construction of holiday homes

[19] Law implementation is not up to police officers' discretion, Public Order minister says

[20] French commander visits EU Operational Headquarters in Larissa

[21] Admin. Reform ministry draft bill shutting down 21 organizations to be tabled early next week

[22] No deal with Gazprom on pricing yet, DEPA and ministry say

[23] Negotiations between DEPA and Russia's Gazprom continuing, energy ministry says

[24] Greek unemployment rate reaches 27.8 pct in October, Eurostat says

[25] EU, local government conference on tackling youth unemployment in Athens, Piraeus

[26] Eurozone harmonized inflation rate fell to 0.7 pct in Jan, Eurostat

[27] Industries with fiscal year to mid-2013 report higher revenues but lower profit

[28] Greek retail sales up for the first time in 44 months in November

[29] State Broadcasting Company receives 597 proposals on new programme productions

[30] Donations to charities, nonprofits to be exempted from VAT, spokesman says

[31] National Bank sets up internal 'bad bank' unit

[32] Piraeus Bank sees wave of business mergers in H1

[33] Failure to address industries' energy cost is a 'political cowardice', industrialists' union head says

[34] Alpha Bank confirms that Greece is attracting capital

[35] Greek stocks end January 1.22 pct higher

[36] Greek bond market closing report

[37] ADEX closing report

[38] Foreign Exchange rates - Saturday/Monday

[39] Inspections show that buildings on Kefalonia withstood Sunday's strong earthquake

[40] Witnesses in Pakistani murder trial focus on hate crime features of the case

[41] Culture ministry to participate in MIDEM 2014 music fair in Cannes

[42] School teachers hold nationwide protests against availability scheme

[43] Rain on Saturday

[44] The Friday edition of Athens' dailies Politics

[01] High tax penalties to be reduced, gov't spokesman says

"Corrections are underway. As Prime Mini-ster noted yesterday in his speech, mistakes have been made. When you are trying to change everything so quickly, some mista-kes could be made. And we are correcting them," Kedikoglou told private radio station Real.

He reiterated there were positive signs for the economy, underlining that "for the first time, bank deposits have increased in Greece, after three years.

For the first time, we have estimates for a drop in unemployment by the Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE)".

Kedikoglou leveled harsh criticism against SYRIZA, saying it undermined the country's effort.

"When they doubt the sacrifices of the Greek people, when they say there is no primary surplus, when they say the collapse is inevitable, when they adopt doomsday rhetoric, they create a climate of uncertainty that undermines the national effort to exit the crisis,» he said.

Kedikoglou also accused SYRIZA of "economic terrorism". "When you hear the Left Platform condemning and attacking fiercely efforts by other SYRIZA members to have a realistic approach, I would say that they should first solve their internal problems. It would be very welcome if they voted for some reform", Kedikoglou said, wondering how it was possible that none of the measures of the last one and a half year was considered correct by SYRIZA.

[02] FM's comment on NATO alliance's enlargment issue in 2008 summit

"At the 2008 NATO Summit Meeting, the Greek government handled the issue of the alliance's enlargement very well. I had said the same thing then, as an opposition MP. But the handling of this issue by the Greek government and, mainly, the alliance's overall stance on this issue are described correctly, precisely as I described them yesterday, as well as a few months ago, in Parliament," Venizelos said, according to a ministry announcement.

Venizelos was responding in reference to various articles on what he said on Thursday in Parliament - and not to journalists, to whom he made no relevant statements, the ministry's statement said.

"Any given Foreign Minister, when addressing Parliament, speaks for and commits his or her country internationally, and is thus obliged to be absolutely precise in terms of international law, because only in this way is the national interest protected. These issues - in neither their current nor historical dimensions - are not open to domestic political exploitation," he added.

[03] FinMin mulls reductions in Tax Bureau penalties

More specifically, the ministry is planning to reduce the penalties of 1,000 euros and 2,500 euros (for large companies) regarding the delayed submission of VAT returns as well as setting a ceiling on penalties for failure to issue receipts.

[04] Gov't spokesman on SYRIZA stance on Greek eurozone exit

Kedikoglou said that SYRIZA is permanently complaining that its views are distorted, whereas a central committe member clearly said that Greece cannot tolerate everything in the name of the eurozone.

According to a transcript provided by Kedikoglou, Yiannis Tolios, SYRIZA Central Committee member told private Skai TV during an interview that his party supports "the writeoff of the greater part of the debt." Asked by the journalist to clarify - whether that would occur unilaterally - Tolios responded, "Of course unilaterally. It is SYRIZA's official view that we are not in favour of the eurozone at all costs. We will not make sacrifices for the euro. This is our motto. Let whoever want to follow us," according to a transcript released by Kedikoglou.

Kedikoglou called on the main opposition party leader Alexis Tsipras to clarify his party's stance. "If these views do not express SYRIZA, as his collaborators claim, Tsipras should immediately clear his position in public and remove his colleagues. Otherwise, SYRIZA confirms that with threats against investors and his positions on bankruptcy and exit from the euro, it is directly undermining the Greek economy," Kedikoglou underlined.

[05] SYRIZA on gov't spokesman Kedikoglou

"Once again the government spokesman appears unprepared," SYRIZA said in the statement, adding that SYRIZA has clear positions on the debt, which include writing off a large part of it and paying off the rest with a development clause.

"This will be achieved under hard bargaining so as to defend the interests of the Greek people. This is something that the Greek government does not even dare whisper," according to the statement.

[06] KKE on ND-SYRIZA confrontation over the European Parliament committee examining troika's role

The party noted that the troika and the permanent monitoring and control mechanisms, that have already been decided, are the tools used to implement the EU's directions.

[07] Finance ministry downplays 'WSJ' report of 'secret' eurogroup meeting on Greece

According to the ministry sources, such meetings between Eurogroup ministers are commonplace and this was yet one more meeting like others that have often been held on the sidelines of Eurogroup meetings. A meeting of this kind should not cause any surprise, they said.

[08] PM Samaras receives family of three fallen Navy officers

"We did the obvious," Samaras said, "we are honoring the memory of three young men who fell doing their duty for Greece 18 years ago, for the sovereignty and honour of our homeland. This is a duty of honour by the state and a spiritual duty for all of us."

Ioannis Karathanassis, son of killed captain Christodoulos Karathanassis, said that "those three individuals gave their lives for some ideals I am sure you share, and I believe that through your commitment to them you will help Greek citizens and give a push to my and following generations."

He also said Samaras was the first prime minister to pay attention to the issue.

Nikos, brother of co-captain Panagiotis Vlachakos, said it was a moment of honour for all families. "The sacrifice of the three officers is a resistance to anyone plotting against Greece," he said.

[09] Police ban marches after Saturday's rallies at Imia Memorial, Syntagma and outside Athens University

The Golden Dawn party has scheduled a rally at 19:00 in the evening on Saturday, at the Imia Memorial in Rigillis Square in Athens, while at 18:00 in the afternoon an anti-fascist rally is scheduled to take place in Syntagma Square, organised by various anti-fascist organisations. At 18:30, meanwhile, a third rally will be held in front of the Athens University building by the Movement Against Racism and the Fascist Threat.

As was announced by the Greek Police, by decision of the Attica General Police Director, "the rallies that will be held tomorrow Saturday at the Imia Memorial (Rigillis square), Syntagma square and in front of the Athens University building will not be allowed to develop further into marches, for reasons of public security."

The announcement clarifies that "the above decision does not affect rights of assembly."

The 'Imia incident' refers to a brush between Greece and Turkey over the Imia islets in the Aegean in 1996 that nearly sparked off armed conflict before it was defused but not before a Greek military helicopter crashed near the islets, killing three officers on board.

[10] SYRIZA Political Secretariat meets, announces list of local election candidates

SYRIZA president Alexis Tsipras made the proposals during the Friday night session, stressing the need for new persons to be promoted, to signal a break with the worn-out system of two-party rule.

The party's candidate for the Attica region will be Athens 2nd constituency deputy Rena Dourou, while 34-year-old economist Gavriil Sakellaridis will be the party's candidate for Athens mayor.

The proposals are expected to be ratified on Sunday with a vote at the party's Central Committee.

[11] Revamped Athens Eye Clinic is an asset for the health system, Georgiadis said

"In this country, we are used to showing only misery and things that go wrong and we constantly talk about the failures of the National Health System," Georgiadis said during the inauguration ceremony. "But it does not only have failures. It also has successes that we need to highlight."

Georgiadis also noted that the Athens Eye Clinic, under its new organizational structure, can serve more than 200 patients per day and provide the best possible heath services.

[12] Doctors' react to the health ministry prescriptions cap measure

The deputy minister said that final stage chronic kidney disease and heart patients, liver failure patients and transplant patients, as well as hospital doctors will be excluded from the measure.

ISA has already appealed to the Council of State (CoS) requesting the annulment of the ministerial decision imposing a cap on the number of prescriptions that can be written by doctors via the Greek National Organization of Healthcare Services (EOPYY), while the Greek Medical Association (PIS) has announced that on Monday a complaint will be filed with the Supreme Court Prosecutor requesting the abolition of the prescription and diagnostic test cap.

[13] Protesting employees 'welcome' Health Minister Georgiadis at Thriasio hospital

According to employees, Thriasio is in a "state of emergency" due to the lack of personnel. The employees also claimed that austerity policies had destroyed the country's national health system ESY.

"We don't need any charity", employees said, asking for free of charge, public health for all citizens.

Georgiadis visited the hospital on the occasion of the delivery of hospital equipment and consumable medical supplies, provided by the International Orthodox Christian Charities.

The incident overshadowed a nice event, Georgiadis said later, referring to the employees' protest.

[14] FM Venizelos condemns hand grenade attack at Greek Orthodox Church in Lebanon

"We strongly condemn the hand grenade attack in the Greek Orthodox Church in Tripoli of Lebanon, which caused injury to two people," said Venizelos in a statement and added, "the Greek government expresses its sympathy to the victims of the attack and condemns all acts of violence and religious intolerance which prevent the peaceful coexisting of believers of all faiths in the region."

Venizelos also expressed the country's concern over the alarming escalation of violence in the Middle East, as well as its full support to the unity, sovereignty, stability, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon.

[15] FM Venizelos to meet with public and private sector union members

[16] FM Venizelos to meet US Assistant Secretary of State Nuland on Monday

The meeting will place at the Foreign ministry at 12.30.

Nuland on Monday will also meet the Foreign ministry's secretary general, Ambassador Anastassios Mitsialis.

[17] SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras to visit Paris on Monday

Tsipras' visit will include among others a meeting with Jean Luc Melanchon, presidential candidate in the 2012 elections, a meeting with the Chair of the European Left Party and a speech at a Front de Gauche (Left Front) event. Alexis Tsipras will also meet with members of the French Parliament and Senate.

[18] FinMin confirms no EU funds used for construction of holiday homes

"According to random checks on the programs for 1994-1999 and 2000-2006, no criminal acts have been committed," Staikouras said, following a question by New Democracy deputy Yiannis Karampelas citing reports that EU funds earmarked for investments in tourism have resulted in the construction of holiday homes.

[19] Law implementation is not up to police officers' discretion, Public Order minister says

Dendias was responding to a written question submitted to the Parliament by Independent Greeks deputy Marina Chrysoveloni, regarding a newspaper report which claimed that "police officers contacted their superiors before arresting (former minister Michalis) Liapis, who was found driving a car with fake number plates."

In his written response, Dendias referred to police officers' actions in Liapis's case and said:

"The implementation of the law is not left to the discretion of police nor is it subject to the prior approval by superior officers. Considering these, any commentary on the dissemination, reproduction or adoption of unfounded objections on alleged actions, deviating from this framework, is unnecessary."

[20] French commander visits EU Operational Headquarters in Larissa

During his visit on Thursday, he expressed satisfaction for the planning of the initial phase of the operations drawn up by Greek military staff, which is expected to be completed on Sunday. The definitive plan of operations will be ready on February 18.

Major general Ponties was received by brigadier Christos Drivas.

[21] Admin. Reform ministry draft bill shutting down 21 organizations to be tabled early next week

Speaking to private Real FM radio, Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the small delay in the draft bill's tabling, which was scheduled for today (Friday), was due to technical reasons, specifically to a delay of a few days by the State General Accounting Office.

The minister said that there are no changes as regards the organizations that will be shut down, adding that consultations have been completed and all necessary recommendations taken under consideration.

As regards the talks with the troika, Mitsotakis said that the goals set are being met.

Referring to the permanent employee status in the public sector, he said that based on the Constitution employees can only be fired for disciplinary violations or if their job position is abolished.

Responding to a relevant question, he also said that the issue of the permanent employee status in the public sector should be discussed during the next constitutional revision.

Financial News

[22] No deal with Gazprom on pricing yet, DEPA and ministry say

There is no agreement yet, they said, nor is there one expected by the end of the day. The Greek side is negotiating to bring the gas supply price down, on par with the European average, it said.

[23] Negotiations between DEPA and Russia's Gazprom continuing, energy ministry says

Sources at DEPA and the environment, energy & climate change ministry said that the two sides at still at the stage of exchanging letters concerning the ongoing negotiations, which have not been completed and no agreement has been reached between the two sides. The same sources said that there is activity but it is unlikely that the issue will be finalised today.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had stated after his meeting with the Russian president that "low energy prices by Russia are decisive for our recovery". The goal of the negotiation on behalf of DEPA is to reduce the natural gas price to the EU average, leading directly to energy cost reduction that will benefit enterprises and households using natural gas, as well as indirectly, considering that natural gas is the second electricity production source after lignite.

Aside from the price, the negotiation between the two companies also includes a number of issues concerning the supply terms and "take or pay" clauses according to which, DEPA pays for specific quantities of natural gas annually regardless of whether they are actually received.

According to recent Eurostat figures (May 2013), the natural gas price for Greek households is 42 pct higher than the EU average, at 10.2 euros per 100 kWh compared to the EU average of 7.2 euros.

[24] Greek unemployment rate reaches 27.8 pct in October, Eurostat says

The jobless rate in the euro area was at 12 percent in December, stable since October, while the unemployment rate in the EU fell slightly to 10.7 percent from 10.8 percent in November.

No data were available on Greece's unemployment rate in November and December.

Eurostat estimated that 26.2 million men and women were unemployed in the EU, of whom 19 million were in the eurozone. Compared to November 2013, the number of unemployed fell by 162,000 in the EU and by 129,000 in the euro area.

Among the EU member states, the highest unemployment rates were recorded in Greece (27.8 pct in October), Spain (25.8 pct), Croatia (18.6 pct) and Cyprus (17.5 pct). The lower rates were recorded in Austria (4.9 pct), Germany (5.1 pct) and Luxembourg (6.2 pct).

The highest increase compared to a a year ago was registered in Cyprus (from 13.9 pct to 17.5 pct) and Greece (from 26.1 pct in October of 2012 to 27.8 pct in October 2013).

In Greece, the number of unemployed reached 1.388 million in October. Unemployment rate among men was 24.7 percent and 32.1 percent among women.

Greece's youth (under 25) unemployment rates rose to 59.2 percent in October from 56.8 percent in September.

Greece still has the highest rates of youth unemployment in the EU, followed by Spain (54.3 pct) and Croatia (49.2 pct)

The lowest rates were recorded in Germany (7.4 pct), Austria (8.9 pct) and Holland (11.3 pct). In December, the youth jobless rate was 23.2 percent from 23.4 percent in November and in the euro area to 23.8 percent from 24 percent respectively.

[25] EU, local government conference on tackling youth unemployment in Athens, Piraeus

Athens Mayor George Kaminis described the problem as a "volcano on which we are sitting," and stressed that jobless rates for under 25s in Greece exceeded the unprecedented rate of 60 percent. He said that 160 million euros, chiefly from EU funds but also national funds, will be spent to increase employment and business enterprise in Athens.

The new head of the European Parliament's office in Greece Leonidas Antonakopoulos described the problem as Europe's top priority and called it a "blemish on European culture", while the head of the EU representation in Greece Argyris Peroulakis referred to an "urgent need for more effective employment policies, especially on a local level."

The EU has pledged 6.0 billion euros to finance programmes to boost youth employment in 2014-2020, distributing these funds in areas where youth unemployment exceeds 25 pct. There are currently 13 member-states that fulfill this requirement, while in Greece and Spain the youth jobless rate exceeds 50 pct.

The 'Guarantee for Youth' programme provides that all young people under 25 will be placed in either employment, training, apprenticeships or continue their education within four months of leaving formal education or becoming unemployed.

The launch of the programme in Greece, with 230,000 young people as potential beneficiaries, was announced by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at the labour ministry on Wednesday.

[26] Eurozone harmonized inflation rate fell to 0.7 pct in Jan, Eurostat

The average annual harmonized inflation rate in the eurozone fell to 0.7 pct in January 2014 from 0.8 pct in December 2013, Eurostat said here on Friday.

In its first estimate on the consumer price inflation, the EU executive's statistics service said that the average annual price of food/alcohol/tobacco grew 1.7 pct, while prices in the services sector grew 1.1 pct. On the other hand, energy prices fell 1.2 pct.

Eurostat will release its final figures on the inflation rate in the eurozone, the EU and each member-states on February 24.

[27] Industries with fiscal year to mid-2013 report higher revenues but lower profit

The 130 companies from all industry sectors had a total turnover of 1.76 billion euros and have released their profit and loss statements for their fiscal year until mid 2013.

The companies posted a 7 percent rise in sales and gross profit, a 5 percent in EBITDA profit, while their EBIT profit rose 14 percent.

Their bottom line was hit by higher financial cost and other one-off items, with pretax profit falling 12 percent while their net profit was down 66 percent.

The recovery of sales and operational profit of those companies does not discount the overall improvement of the industrial sector's performance.

It does reflect the recovery trend in operational profit margins but those companies' financial performance has benefited from the closing down of competitors, as they saw their sales and output cost per unit rising.

Moreover, these 130 companies correspond to less than 4 percent of the total sales of Greece's big and medium-sized industries.

[28] Greek retail sales up for the first time in 44 months in November

In a statement, commenting on the figures released by Hellenic Statistical Authority, the finance ministry noted that retail sales grew in November 2013 for the first time since March 2010, signaling a combination of an improvement in the consumer confidence index in the last few months and a significant change in economic climate - a trend expected to be strengthened in the coming months of the year.

The retail sales volume index rose 2.9 pct in November, compared with the same month in 2012, after a gradual and systematic slowdown of its decline in the previous three months. The November increase reflected a 30 pct increase in clothing/footwear and a 19.2 pct rise in furniture-electrical appliances-home equipment.

[29] State Broadcasting Company receives 597 proposals on new programme productions

The company has set several evaluation stages based on transparent procedures. Furthermore, NERIT has established specific criteria, examining the compatibility of the proposals with the objectives and principles of the company in terms of validity, quality, originality and finance.

NERIT conducted an online open call for first time in the Greek TV market, without exercising its statutory right for direct award.

A second call for expression of interest is expected to be launched soon for programs to be broadcasted in October-December 2014.

[30] Donations to charities, nonprofits to be exempted from VAT, spokesman says

Kedikoglou said that the obligation up to now to pay VAT on gifts to aid vulnerable segments of society deterred many companies from giving gifts, having them choose instead to destroy items that could be donated.

He added that under the regulation products that were removed from shelves or not sold for various reasons - such as damaged packaging, company recall or proximity to expiration date - could also be distributed without VAT.

Prior to the move, the European legislation was consulted and solutions provided by other EU member-states were reviewed, he stressed.

"This will provide an incentive to companies to offer them to philanthropy and nonprofits so that these products end up with our fellow citizens who truly need them, instead of being destroyed by companies," Kedikoglou noted.

[31] National Bank sets up internal 'bad bank' unit

The new unit, to be headed by Petros Fourtounis, general manager, was designed in cooperation with experts from McKinsey & Co based on the model and practices of similar units operating successfully in other large European banking groups.

NBG said in a statement that a long and deep recession hitting the economy demanded a different approach to enhance the smooth operation of the business sector. "In this demanding environment both banks and enterprises must adopt innovative strategies to deal with problems. The new unit will focus, through a cooperation with enterprises, to implement efficient restructuring programmes contributing to the sustainability of enterprises," the bank said.

It noted that the success of the project will boost National Bank's profitability through an efficient resolution of non-performing loans and at the same time it will accelerate a restructuring and support of economic sectors and enterprises at the crucial phase of their recovery. The unit will focus first on small and medium-sized enterprises and select portfolios of large enterprises.

[32] Piraeus Bank sees wave of business mergers in H1

Speaking to reporters in Thessaloniki, during a news conference, Antoniadis said that a slowdown in the growth rate of non-performing loans since May 2013 was a significant element reflecting an improving economic situation in the country. He also referred to a reconstruction of the Greek economy on a new basis "leaving behind the illusion, the bubble of a unreal wealth". Antoniadis said that Greek banks did not refuse to give money to good transactions, to those which will give back the money.

"We did not refuse money to exporters, to innovative enterprises, to the farm produce sector," he said, adding that "banks are managing savings and not personal wealth".

"Don't forget that we manage 158 billion euros in deposits and our loan portfolio totals 228 billion euros," he noted.

Antoniadis said that Greek banks could seek another cut in lending interest rates (after the one decided in September 2013) during the current year, on the precondition that deposit interest rates were also adjusted in full harmony with a stable economic climate.

[33] Failure to address industries' energy cost is a 'political cowardice', industrialists' union head says

Daskalopoulos referred to the issues that businessmen are concerned with, such as the competitiveness potentials of European industry, the development of entrepreneurship in Greece, addressing the issue of energy cost and the need for political stability.

"We have bottomed out," Daskalopoulos said and pointed out that efforts should be strengthened to achieve changes that would make Greeks feel confident and optimistic.

Daskalopoulos asked that the public sector should intervene less in entrepreneurship, adding the State did not have a company-friendly stance.

During his interview, he referred to the need to cut down energy cost and termed the failure to deal with the issue a "political cowardice".

"The energy issue must be addressed now. I think political cowardice is the only problem. I don't know how politicians will become more daring. But this is what we need," he said.

[34] Alpha Bank confirms that Greece is attracting capital

However, Alpha Bank's analysts urged for caution on the economic policy implementation as markets were not still confident about the situation in Greece. Apart from that, Greece was also affected by developments in other emerging markets despite the fact that situation in the country was totally different, they said.

"Greece is now attracting capital and should not be influenced by the capital flee that has lately hit emerging economies," the report added.

The analysts underlined that "the recent outflow of capitals as a result of the debt crisis is expected to reverse as fiscal adjustment is being stabilized and confidence in the growth prospects of the Greek economy is being gradually restored."

[35] Greek stocks end January 1.22 pct higher

Turnover was almost unchanged at 80.94 million euros. The Large Cap index rose 1.38 pct and the Mid Cap index fell 0.60 pct. Titan (5.85 pct), Jumbo (4.91 pct), MIG (4.70 pct), Ellaktor (4.67 pct) and Metka (3.96 pct) were top gainers among blue chip stocks, while Coca Cola HBC (2.63 pct), National Bank (1.20 pct) and Korinth Pipeworks (1.11 pct) suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day.

The Construction (4.91 pct), Personal Products (4.11 pct), Media (3.17 pct) sectors scored gains, while Food (2.58 pct), Health (0.73 pct) and Travel (0.70 pct) suffered losses.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 74 to 51 with another 26 issues unchanged. Pegasus (11.11 pct), AEGEK (10.11 pct) and Kyriakoulis (9.92 pct) were top gainers, while Atti-kat (9.09 pct), Geniki Bank (9.09 pct) and Lazaridis (8.74 pct) were top losers.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Banks: +1.56%

Insurance: +1.51%

Financial Services: +1.84%

Industrial Products: +2.44%

Commercial: +1.13%

Real Estate: +1.96%

Personal & Household: +4.11%

Food & Beverages: -2.58%

Raw Materials: +1.62%

Construction: +4.91%

Oil: +2.22%

Chemicals: -0.48%

Media: +3.17%

Travel & Leisure: -0.70%

Technology: +0.17%

Telecoms: +3.05%

Utilities: +2.87%

Health: -0.73%

The stocks with the highest turnover were OTE, Piraeus Bank, OPAP and PPC.

Selected shares from the FTSE/ASE-20 index closed in euros as follows:

Alpha Bank: 0.67

Public Power Corp (PPC): 9.90

Coca Cola HBC: 19.60

Hellenic Petroleum: 7.19

National Bank of Greece: 3.29

Eurobank Properties : 7.55

OPAP: 9.55

OTE: 10.80

Piraeus Bank: 1.73

Titan: 19.90

[36] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates continued moving lower. The 12-month rate fell to 0.559 pct from 0.562 pct, the nine-month rate eased to 0.483 pct from 0.487 pct, the six-month rate fell to 0.396 pct from 0.399 pct, the three-month rate eased to 0.296 pct from 0.298 pct and the one-month rate eased to 0.23 pct from 0.232 pct.

[37] ADEX closing report

Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 19,621 contracts worth 11.181 million euros, with investment interest focusing on OTE's contracts (3,996), followed by Alpha Bank (2,056), National Bank (1,139), Piraeus Bank (3,240), MIG (2,027), PPC (2,653), OPAP (710), Mytilineos (1,236), GEK (291), Ellaktor (237), Motor Oil (149), Titan (121), Hellenic Exchanges (123) and Korinth Pipeworks (132).

[38] Foreign Exchange rates - Saturday/Monday

U.S. dollar 1.371

Pound sterling 0.833

Danish kroner 7.573

Swedish kroner 8.983

Japanese yen 140.20

Swiss franc 1.240

Norwegian kroner 8.638

Canadian dollar 1.535

Australian dollar 1.574

General News

[39] Inspections show that buildings on Kefalonia withstood Sunday's strong earthquake

Simopoulos explained that authorities have received approximately 1,500 requests to inspect buildings for damages - out of an estimated 33,000 separate properties on the island based on the number Public Power Corporation electricity meters - and had so far carried out 1,050 first inspections. Of these, about 50 pct of the buildings inspected were found to be temporarily unsafe to inhabit, while another 500 applications for inspection for 'possibly unsafe' buildings were still pending.

Most of the damage is centred around the towns of Argostoli and Lixouri, the two largest on the island, where half the homes had been designated unsafe to live in following last Sunday's earthquake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. The infrastructure ministry and inspection authorities said 500 of the 1,000 buildings had problems, while serious damages also were found at six of 53 school buildings.

Inspections of the island's hospitals and health service centres have been completed. Worst damages - mostly deep cracks in the walls - were found in the Lixouri general hospital (Mantzavinatio), the Argostoli hospital, the town's health centre, and the Havdates rural medical centre.

The quake and a succession of aftershocks damaged mostly the western part of the island, while some hundreds of islanders unable to return to their homes have been temporarily housed in the ferry boat "Eleftherios Venizelos" that was sent to Kefalonia to house earthquake victims.

[40] Witnesses in Pakistani murder trial focus on hate crime features of the case

Main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) MP Vassiliki Katrovanou said that the cold-blooded murder was racially motivated, noting that the fact that the defendants, Dionyssis Liakopoulos and Christos Stergiopoulos, hid the number plates of their motorcycle and not the knife is in agreement with the sense of impunity that dominated in that period and their certainty that they wouldn't be prosecuted.

She also told the court that a total of 350 instances of racially motivated violence have been recorded in Greece, adding that "it is not a coincidence that the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights visited Greece, considering that there is strong concern in Europe over the issue."

In her testimony, Migrant Integration Council president Maria Kouveli also spoke about a racially motivated crime, underlining that the victim was stabbed seven times.

International Federation for Human Rights president Dimitris Christopoulos said that it was a hate crime characterized by unjustifiable violence.

Pakistani Community president Javed Aslam said that the victim was a peace-loving and hardworking man. He said that a total of 40,000 Pakistanis live in Greece, half of them in Athens, adding that a total of 700 instances of violence have come to his attention as the president of the Migrant Workers' Union.

The defence lawyers called on the court to allow an investigation into their clients' phone records so it may be proven that they have no relations whatsoever with the ultra-right Golden Dawn party. Both defendants are also facing charges in the Golden Dawn case for participation in a criminal organization.

The trial will resume on February 14.

[41] Culture ministry to participate in MIDEM 2014 music fair in Cannes

Through the ministry's participation, Greek musicians will have an opportunity to present their work to the music industry outside Greece's borders, getting in touch with record labels, artists and bands, exchanging ideas and finding out the latest trends and technology in the music business.

[42] School teachers hold nationwide protests against availability scheme

In Athens, workers will start a march from Klathmonos square, in central Athens at 13.00.

OLME has already called a 24hour strike on February 7, the day of the hearings on the teachers' availability case at the Council of State.

Weather forecast

[43] Rain on Saturday

[44] The Friday edition of Athens' dailies

DIMOKRATIA: "Bomb No2" for the budget execution from a Council of State ruling

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: "A show-off of power" on the incident outside shipping minister's office

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Papachristos' list under scrutiny" on armaments programme alleged kickbacks

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "A 7-day deadline for 102 settlements on illegal buildings" regarding penalties' settlement procedure

ESTIA: "A new faux-pas by SYRIZA", regarding the party's briefing of Europarliament representation reviewing troika's policies

ETHNOS: "On war and Europarliament elections path" referring to the controversy between the government and the main opposition.

IMERISSIA: "OTE to invest 1.2 bln euros" in new technologies and infrastructure in 2014-2017

KATHIMERINI: "Samaras put an end to scenarios" on early elections and a possible "grand coalition" with SYRIZA

LOGOS: "Watching the same show once again" on INE-GSEE think tank estimates that Greece would not exit recession in 2013 or 2014

NAFTEMPORIKI: "Time is up for businesses' bad loans" on the banks' efforts to deal restructure their business loans portfolios

RIZOSPASTIS: "They embellish EU and its institutions" referring to the report by Europarliament's representation on troika's policies

TA NEA: "Haircut on VAT tax penalties" on the government's plans to cut down fines on overdue VAT tax payments.

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