News archive of April 2014

Jeff Black & Boris Groendahl

European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said lenders in the region are reducing the risk of failing a balance-sheet review by taking pre-emptive steps to increase capital ratios.

By Derek Gatopoulos

Greece's will achieve better-than-expected budget figures in 2014 year but that unemployment would only decline slowly over the coming four years, the country's finance ministry said Wednesday.

Huge crowds gathered at open-air markets around the capital on Wednesday as producers selling agricultural goods handed out free fresh fruit and vegetables in protest to government legislation regarding how the markets are managed. Earlier in the week producers had embarked on an open-ended strike.

By Abigail Moses

A recovery in the nation that set off the euro region’s debt crisis is allowing Greece’s largest electricity company to return to the bond market for the first time since 2000.

By George Georgakopoulos

The Olympic Flame lit again on Wednesday in Athens for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games to take place in Nanjing, China this August, as the weather at the Panathenaic Stadium was kind enough to ensure a glorious ceremony for the people attending, including several hundreds of schoolchildren.

Greek Parliament on Wednesday lifted the immunity of four Golden Dawn lawmakers, Antonis Gregos, Polyvios Zisimopoulos, Artemios Matthaiopoulos and Constantinos Barbaroussis, in connection to an ongoing probe with regard to the operations of the ultranationalist party. The votes were 213 in favor against 16 who opposed the motion.

Greece will formally propose stretching the maturity of its international rescue loans to up to 50 years as part of measures to make its debt sustainable, a senior Greek finance ministry official said on Wednesday.

British Airways will operate direct flights from London’s Heathrow Airport to the Greek islands of Myconos and Santorini for the high season starting on May 3. The airliner has also added a Thessaloniki-London Gatwick Airport service four times a week.

In response to recent reports in the media claiming that unreliable statistics were published by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, ELSTAT and Eurostat, regarding Greece’s annual fiscal figures for 2013 as these showed surpluses in social security funds and local government, the former sought to clarify matters in a statement released on Wednesday.

The last session of April saw blue chips stage a rally that saw the benchmark reclaim 1,230 points and turnover exceed 250 million euros, including several prearranged transactions.