Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-08-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] National Bank of Greece shows H1 profit rise

[02] Derivatives Market Close: Equity futures trading at discount

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

[04] German charter flight - Emergency landing

[05] Contracts signed for Attica beach leases

[06] Greek bonds end 4.0-191 basis points up in July vs June

[07] Notorious outlaw - Accomplice - Court

[08] Weather Forecast: Sunny skies on Tuesday

[09] Greek stocks end lower on profit taking

[01] National Bank of Greece shows H1 profit rise

National Bank of Greece, a blue chip on the Athens bourse, on Monday reported earnings before tax of 146.8 billion drachmas in the first half, up 3.5 percent on the same period of 2000.

First-half consolidated profits after minorities of the National Bank of Greece Group totalled 157.5 billion drachmas, down 7.6 percent from 170.5 billion drachmas in the first half of last year, National Bank said in a statement.

The bank attributed the decline in consolidated profits to a drop in earnings in several companies in the group that stemmed from a slumping stock market.

Also in the first half of 2001, the bank's revenue totalled 290.9 billion drachmas, up 1.5 percent from 286.7 billion drachmas in the same period of last year, the statement said.

New mortgages rose by 86 percent from the same period in 2000, and new consumer loans increased by 59 percent, it added.

[02] Derivatives Market Close: Equity futures trading at discount

Equity futures traded on the Athens Derivatives Exchange ended at discount on Monday with players keeping to the sidelines in lower turnover.

Changing hands were 5,151 contracts on turnover of 33.2 billion drachmas.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

Indicative buying rates

U.S. dollar 383.900

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 546.082

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 45.389

Swedish kroner 36.887

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 309.885

Swiss franc 224.207

Norwegian kroner 042.372

Cyprus pound 589.033

Canadian dollar 251.031

Australian dollar 198.191

[04] German charter flight - Emergency landing

A plane carrying out a charter flight from Stuttgart to Bodrum, in SW Asia Minor, made an emergency landing at Thessalonikis airport Monday morning after a passenger reportedly opened a can of ether, causing respiratory problems for the 168 people on board.

The plane was evacuated and ventilated after it landed at Thessalonikis Macedonia airport, before taking off again for Bodrum ancient Halicarnassus at around 4 p.m.

The name of the company operating the plane was not provided.

[05] Contracts signed for Attica beach leases

Hellenic Tourism Real Estate SA on Monday signed a preliminary contract with a consortium of domestic companies that won an international tender to lease beaches with leisure facilities in Alimos and Vouliagmeni, south of Athens.

Attikes Aktes, the consortium that will operate the beaches, comprises Attikat, Terina, Ithaki and Achinos, Hellenic said in a statement.

Hellenic Tourism Real Estate is a subsidiary of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, which has a strategy of leasing or selling its assets.

A preliminary contract has also been signed for leases on beaches in Voula and Varkiza, south of Athens, with another winner in the tender - a consortium comprising Vernicos Yachts, EFG Eurobank Properties, Everest, Ev Zin and V+0 Communications Resources.

[06] Greek bonds end 4.0-191 basis points up in July vs June

Greek bonds were between 4.0 and 191 basis points higher at the end of July from the previous month, tracking robust sentiment in markets abroad, the Bank of Greece said on Monday.

The outlook was healthy for Greek paper, due to a domestic growth rate higher than the European Union average combined with progress in fiscal restructuring; and due to market expectations that interest rates will fall further, the central bank said in a statement.

The greatest gainers in July were long-term issues, which showed gains of between 127 and 191 basis points.

The benchmark 10-year bond was 27 basis points up at the end of July with yield dropping to 5.37 percent from 5.54 in June, consequently reducing the cost of borrowing, the statement said.

The paper's spread with the corresponding German bund was 49 basis points in July from 46 basis points a month earlier.

Turnover in July fell to 19.211 billion euros from 21.127 billion euros in June, a normal decline for the quieter summer months, the Bank of Greece added.

[07] Notorious outlaw - Accomplice - Court

A suspected accomplice of escaped convict Costas Passaris, the countrys most wanted outlaw at present, appeared before an examining magistrate on Monday to face multiple felony and misdemeanour charges.

Twenty-four-year-old Dimitrios Polydoropoulos, a convicted felon himself, has also garnered notoriety as the first individual slapped with charges under a stiffer anti-terrorism and organised crime bill, recently passed by Parliament. He was remanded to custody following the customary deposition before the magistrate, a wholly expected development in felony cases involving individuals with criminal records.

Polydoropoulos apartment in the Neos Kosmos district of southeast Athens was the site of gun battle last week between several police officers and a man believed to be Passaris -- a bungled stakeout that led to the subsequent resignation of Greek Polices (EL.AS) commander when the suspect evaded arrest amid a hail of bullets. A new police chief was announced late last week as a whirlwind of media and opposition political party criticism swirled around the affair.

A nation-wide manhunt for Passaris began after his dramatic escape from the lobby of an Athens hospital six months ago. Two police escorts were shot dead by the convict and an accomplice, while a prison guard trainee was also wounded during the incident.

According to police, Polydoropoulos confessed to giving Passaris the key to his flat. Additionally, a small cache of weapons, ammunition and cash -- believed to be the booty from various local bank robberies were found in the apartment. Charges against Polydoropoulos include racketeering, illegal weapons possession, narcotics trafficking, harbouring a known outlaw and the illegal possession of police frequency scanners.

[08] Weather Forecast: Sunny skies on Tuesday

Sunshine is forecast throughout the country on Tuesday, although from evening isolated storms are expected in Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace, mainly on high ground. Winds northerly, light to moderate. In the west and north, temperatures will range from 19C to 35C; on the rest of the mainland from 22C to 38C; and in the Aegean islands from 23C to 36C. Sunny in Athens with temperatures between 24C and 38C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 20C to 35C.

[09] Greek stocks end lower on profit taking

Equity prices ended lower on Monday hit by a wave of mild profit taking on the Athens Stock Exchange, a normal reaction of the market following recent gains.

The Greek bourse ended higher in the 12 out of the last 15 sessions.

Traders said activity focused in the small and medium-sized capitalisation stocks and noted that investors remained sidelined awaiting fresh incentives.

The general index ended 0.53 percent lower at 2,791.42 points, near its day's lows of 2,784.58 points, with turnover a low 133.69 million euros, or 45.35 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 1,570.68 points, off 0.52 percent, the FTSE/ASE 40 index rose 0.21 percent to 320.70 points, and the FTSE/ASE SMALLCAP 80 index ended at 921.53 points, up 0.04 percent.

The parallel market for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 271.30 points, off 0.13 percent.

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