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Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-07-09Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Annual summer sales begin on TuesdayAthens (ANA-MPA) -- The annual summer sales in Attica prefecture will begin on Thursday, July 15, and will run through Tuesday, August 31, the National Confederation of Greek Merchants (ESEE) has announced.The summer sales period provides consumers with the opportunity of purchasing products at discounted prices, with reductions reaching as much as 70 percent off the original prices. Shop owners are looking to the sales to generate much-needed revenues, which have dropped sharply in recent months as a result of austerity measures that have caused shoppers to restrict purchases to the bare necessities. [02] Thursday's strikeAthens (ANA-MPA) -- A nationwide general labor strike was staged on Thursday by Greece's two main umbrella federations GSEE and ADEDY, representing the private and public sector respectively, to protest the government's social security reforms bill, which was due to be voted on in parliament later in the evening.Major rallies and protest marches were held in Athens, Thessaloniki and throughout the rest of the country. Speakers at the main Athens rally in downtown Klafthmonos Square said the working people are determined to continue their fight after the ratification of the bill. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) affiliated PAME labor federation held its own separate rally in Athens and around the country. [03] Inflation slows in JuneAthens (ANA-MPA) -- Greek inflation slowed to 5.2 pct in June, from 5.4 pct in May, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) said on Wednesday.The independent statistics service, in its monthly report, said the consumer price index rose 5.2 pct in June, compared with the same month last year, after an increase of 0.5 pct recorded in the previous 12-month period. The CPI fell 0.3 pct in June from May 2010, after a decline of 0.1 pct recorded in the same period in 2009. The statistics service attributed the 5.2 pct inflation rate in June to an 18.9 pct rise in alcohol and tobacco prices, a 2.4 pct increase in clothing/footwear, a 7.9 pct rise in housing prices, an 1.5 pct rise in durable goods prices, an 18.2 pct increase in transportation prices, a 3.7 pct rise in communications, a 3.0 pct increase in education prices, a 3.5 pct rise in hotel-bar-restaurant prices and a 5.1 pct increase in other goods and services. On the other hand, food and beverage prices fell 0.8 pct in June. Greece�s harmonized consumer price index was 5.2 pct in June, from 5.3 pct in May. [04] DSGI investmentDSGI Greece, a group including Dixons, Kotsovolos and Electroworld, unveiled an ambitious expansion program, envisaging investments of 15 million euros in the period 2010-2011.Presenting the plan to reporters, Chris Matthews, DSGI�s chief executive, said it was the group�s response to a difficult period for the country and the electric appliances� sector. DSGI will invest in upgrading its existing retail sales networks and enhancing its presence in the Internet. Under the plan, DSGI has already transformed nine shops under the brand name Kotsovolos into new modern shops. Part of the plan also includes Electroworld, which will be transformed into a digital brand, with a new upgraded site on the Internet offering online shopping. Electroworld�s four shops in Athens will be put under the Kotsovolos brand name, while its two remaining shops, one in Athens and another in Thessaloniki, will be closed. Chris Matthews said the management�s ambition was to transform Electroworld into the top online shop in Greece and ensuring new, dynamic conditions to boost the profitability of Kotsovolos. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |