Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-01-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] Remittances sent abroad by immigrants total €194m, Supreme Court judge says

[02] Christmas season turnover down 21-30 pct, report

[01] Remittances sent abroad by immigrants total €194m, Supreme Court judge says

Nikoloudis, president of the authority on money laundering from criminal and terrorist acts, told Parliament in a document that immigrants living in Greece use mostly legal ways to send money abroad. The remittances are mostly in small amounts of 300 euros to 1,000 euros and go mainly to Asian countries like Iraq, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, as well as to African nations. He said he had no data about money leaving Greece illegally, besides customs arrests.amna

He also said plans were under way to tax most of the legally-earned money sent abroad, in the case tax was not paid on it. He was resonding to a query by a Golden Dawn deputy. amna

[02] Christmas season turnover down 21-30 pct, report

In the report, the vast majority of presidents of commerce groups (57 out of 58) were quoted as saying that Christmas retail turnover was significantly down compared with the same period last year. The report said that the busiest day for the commerce sector was Christmas Eve (December 24), which accounted for 40 pct of the holiday season, followed by December 23 (23 pct) and New Year's Eve (16 pct). amna

The report showed that most consumers were not attracted by the opening of shops for the second Sunday during the holiday season and it noted changes in shopping habits of consumers, who focused on more affordable items, while they also spent less this Christmas.

The clothing/footwear sector was the biggest loser of the season, as the vast majority of commerce groups (50 out of 58) reported a significant drop in the category's turnover. The food and toy categories were the biggest gainers, with three out of 10 commerce groups reporting an increase in turnover and another three reporting steady conditions in the market.amna Commenting on the report, Confederation president Vasilis Korkidis said the results of the Christmas season were very gloomy for the future of commerce enterprises.

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