Economy of Greece

Greece has picked two former business leaders to run the fund it set up last year to speed up privatizations and make the best use of the country's assets to comply with its international bailout.

Just a couple of days after the signing of the concession of railway service operator Trainose to its Italian peer, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, the government is speaking about the creation of a new state railway company through Gaiaose, the railway properties company supervised by the Transport Ministry.

This time the main index of the Greek stock market lost its grip on the 640-point level on Friday, posting losses of just over half a percentage point at the end of the session on prolonged uncertainty regarding the completion of the second bailout review and the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the Greek program.

The benchmark of the Greek bourse recovered most of the day's losses on Thursday to close above 640 points, but traders remained reserved.

Vocalist Giorgos Christodoulou presents tracks from his new CD-book, "Attik in Paris," at the Ianos bookstore in Athens on Friday, January 20, and Saturday, January 21. Released by Mikri Arktos, the new project includes well- and lesser-known works composed by Greek songwriter Attik (Kleon Triantafyllou, 1885-1944).

The sale of 100 percent of railway services operator Trainose to Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FSI) was formally signed in Athens on Wednesday, in the absence of any cabinet members or journalists, completing a crucial privatization project that rids the state of a loss-making entity.

It was another mixed day for Greek stocks at Athinon Avenue on Wednesday. While the benchmark edged higher after three days of losses, the majority of stocks, as well as the banks and small-caps indices, still ended lower. Turnover remained below the 30-million-euro level.

The Greek stock market had a mixed session on Tuesday, in line with most of its European peers, with the majority of stocks posting gains while the benchmark and blue chips declined for a third day in a row. Trading volume remained very low, with observers fearing the Athens bourse has attracted the law of gravity that affects markets deprived of any significant news to keep them going.

The decline that began on Friday continued on Monday on the local stock market as uncertainty over the course of Greece's second bailout review and the country's future funding showed no sign of dissipating.

ATHEX blue chip company Jumbo reported yesterday that its sales volume in the July-December 2016 period (the first half of its financial year) increased by 8.11 percent to 401.9 million euros on an annual basis.

The toy and homeware retailer said it expects sales to rise between 4-7 percent for full-year 2016-17.

[Reuters]