Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-02-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] Minister sees room for private firms in social insurance

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[03] Authorities crack first case involving Internet crank caller

[04] Prison inmate's death the result of foul play, coroner finds

[05] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Wednesday

[06] ASE closing (recasts)

[07] Greek stocks jump 2.11 percent on ASE

[01] Minister sees room for private firms in social insurance

Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Tuesday that private insurers could play a complementary role in social insurance, with workers, employers and the state still financing the bulk of the system through mandatory contributions.

"It is natural to assume that income spent on insurance services will rise and gradually approach a European Union average of 10 percent of gross domestic product," Christodoulakis told the Union of Insurance Companies of Greece.

"In Greece, the corresponding figure is 2.2 percent of GDP. I think that it could rise to 5.0 percent, but a much greater spread of quality is required and an understanding of the significance of insurance services," he added.

Addressing the same event, Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said that private insurance could act as a partner of the state social insurance system.

The union's president, Dimitris Kontominas, said the insurance industry was in difficulty due to a weak performance by the Athens Stock Exchange that had exacerbated existing problems, further narrowing profit margins.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates per euro

U.S. dollar 0.875

Pound sterling 0.614

Danish kroner 7.491

Swedish kroner 9.137

Japanese yen 117.3

Swiss franc 1.487

Norwegian kroner 7.796

Cyprus pound 0.580

Canadian dollar 1.405

Australian dollar 1.702

[03] Authorities crack first case involving Internet crank caller

Police investigators announced on Tuesday that they had solved their first case involving crank calls made over the Internet and had charged one suspect.

Following an investigation initiated a year ago after a complaint by a couple receiving lewd and abusive messages from an unknown caller on their cell-phones from November 2000 to October 2001, police followed a trail of clues to insurance consultant Ioannis Gialouris.

The messages were sent to the couple via an Internet site that ensured the sender's anonymity and sent the messages for free. Investigators succeeded in locating usable electronic 'fingerprints', however, which they used to track down the computer from which the messages were sent and thus identify the suspect, who turned out to have been a former friend of the couple.

[04] Prison inmate's death the result of foul play, coroner finds

The death of 28-year-old prison inmate Theodoros Grigorakos on January 27 was the result of poisoning and not an acute pulmonary inflammation as initially suggested by an autopsy, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Grigorakos, a remand prisoner awaiting trial on charges of homicide, died on his way to hospital after he was found in his cell in a coma.

According to the results of toxicology and cell tissue tests ordered by the coroner, Grigorakos' death was caused by a dose of cyanide slipped into food he ate on the evening of his death, probably by an fellow inmate who so far eludes detection.

[05] Weather Forecast: Mostly sunny on Wednesday

Sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country, with scattered cloud in the west and north. Early morning visibility will be limited. Winds southwesterly, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 2C to 16C; on the rest of the mainland and in the Ionian from 7C to 18C; and in the Aegean islands from 8C to 17C. Sunshine in Athens with temperatures between 7C and 17C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 2C to 15C.

[06] ASE closing (recasts)

The Greek stock market seemed ready to recoup its February losses on Tuesday, with more than three trillion drachmas lost from the market's capitalisation so far this month, ending sharply higher.

Worries over political developments and a fragile business climate, a combination that hit market sentiment in previous weeks, is beginning to subside while an improving climate in international markets is also encouraging the return of investors in the Greek bourse.

Analysts said that the market, after its three-week decline, looked oversold and predicted that the general index would be tested around the 2,400 level in the next few days before begining its climb towards the 2,500 level in the short-term.

Also encouraging was a 40 percent increase in the volume of trade on Tuesday.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Banks: 4,335.20 +1.45%

Telecoms:1,093.28 +2.73%

Insurance:1,551.58 +0.48%

Investment:704.68 +2.06%

Construction:1,154.01 +3.76%

Industrials:1,443.07 +1.85%

Holding:2,219.59 +1.12%

Base Metals:805.99 +1.58%

Minerals:1,044.73 +2.46%

Publication:400.03 +3.01%

Textile:814.88 +2.90%

Retail:750.51 +1.63%

IT:803.93 +3.05%

IT Solutions:520.37 +2.35%

Wholesale:617.26 +2.55%

Food-Beverage:767.88 +1.26%

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 244.37 points, up 2.05 percent.

Tzirakian, Parnassos, Halyps Cement, Hadzikranioti, Technodomi and Xylemporia scored the biggest percentage gains, while Papafilis, ForthNet, Alcatel, Karelias, Lanakam and Alpha Leasing suffered the heaviest losses.

Closing prices of shares included in the Morgan Stanley Greek Index (in euros):

�lpha Bank: 18.24

Coca Cola: 15.70

Eurobank: 13.98

Panafon: 5.64

Greek Aluminium: 35.68

Viohalco: 8.66

Lambrakis Press: 3.96

National Bank: 24.48

Hellenic Petroleum: 5.86

Technodomiki: 6.18

Commercial Bank: 34.38

Attica Enterprises: 4.02

Athens Water: 6.42

Intracom: 9.14

Duty Free: 8.72

Maillis: 5.24

Hellenic Telecoms: 17.52

Olympiaki Techniki: 3.04

Papastratos: 15.02

Piraeus Bank: 8.40

Titan Cement: 40.44

�otor Oil: 7.76

Folli-Follie: 21.72

Fourlis: 4.08

[07] Greek stocks jump 2.11 percent on ASE

Equity prices ended Tuesday's session sharply higher with sentiment on the Athens Stock Exchange improved, reflecting a positive climate in international markets.

Strong buying for smaller and medium-sized capitalisation stocks helped push share prices higher and the general index above the 2,400 level.

The index ended 2.11 percent higher at 2,406.80 points, although turnover remained a disappointing low Dr 35.8 billion, or 105.1 million euros.

The Construction, IT, Publication and Textiles sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (3.76 percent, 3.05 percent, 3.01 percent and 2.90 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 1.90 percent higher, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 2.33 percent, and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index increased by 2.33 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 317 to 27 with another 13 issues unchanged.

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