Very Strong earthquake to the South of Crete, Greece Earthquake Report Update 16:36 UTC : We are in the tourist season in Greece at the moment. For many tourists such an event is something extraordinary, which it is of course. Please read our BE PREPARED FOR AN EARTHQUAKE while residing on the island. Update 16:33 ... 5.9-magnitude earthquake shakes Crete island in southern Greece, no injuries Greece Earthquake Today 2013 - 6.2 Strikes Pirgos Earthquake of 5.9 Magnitude South of Crete |
Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Very Strong earthquake to the South of Crete, Greece
Greece suspends state broadcaster to save money
Greece suspends state broadcaster to save money Daily Star Online The Greek government shut down the public broadcaster ERT on Tuesday, calling it a “haven of waste”. It ran three domestic TV channels, four national radio stations, as well regional radio stations and an external service, Voice of Greece. Viewers ... |
A week shy of its 1st anniversary in office, Greek coalition in crisis over ...
The Guardian | A week shy of its 1st anniversary in office, Greek coalition in crisis over ... Washington Post ATHENS, Greece — Greece's prime minister has raised the stakes in a fight with key government allies over his decision to shut “sinful” state-run TV, offering a minor compromise while suggesting he would risk early elections unless they back him. ERT shutdown: EBU urges EU leader to overturn Greek government decision Europe TV chief: Turn Greek channel on Greek State Media Air Live Pirate Broadcast Using Satellite In Defiance Of ... |
No compromise on Greek TV closure
Earthquake of 5.9 magnitude in the Mediterranean Sea south of Crete; no damage reported
Michael Wilson: Greece is not the word
Stuff.co.nz | Michael Wilson: Greece is not the word Stuff.co.nz OPINION: Greece. DO you remember how close it came to plunging the world into an economic maelstrom? If the Greeks hadn't voted in favour of austerity then the euro zone would have split asunder and the world economy lurched into a prolonged ... |
Troikas Chance To Do Better On Greece
Public against ERT shutdown snap elections polls show
Has Greek austerity finally gone too far
Corralling Golden Dawn Fortifies Greek Democracy
Greece Plans Big Corruption Fines
Another 800 Greek Workers On Firing Line
Azeri energy firm SOCAR says close to buying Greeces DESFA tender is over
BAKU, June 15 (Reuters) - Azeri state energy company SOCAR said it has started talks with the Greek government on purchasing the country's natural gas grid operator DESFA, after being the only bidder in a failed tender for the asset sale.
"The tender procedure on the privatisation of DESFA is over and SOCAR has started talks with the ...
Should Canada Trust Greek Politicians
Malaria Risk in Xanthi and Evros
More Greek Museum Archaeology Visits
Greeks owe 4.3 mln pounds for student loans in the UK
World media keeping their eye on Greece
Kathimerini | World media keeping their eye on Greece Kathimerini In 2011, queries had already observed an increase of 22 percent compared to 2010. In 2012 the government agency received 393 applications from international media. According to the bureau's data, 455 journalists visited Greece and made 987 requests. |
Greece's National Bank Avoids Full Nationalization After Capital Increase
Greece's National Bank Avoids Full Nationalization After Capital Increase Wall Street Journal ATHENS--Greece's leading lender, the National Bank of Greece (ETE.AT), has completed its long-awaited capital increase, raising enough money from private investors to avoid a complete nationalization by the state. The lender said Friday that 10.8% of ... |
ERT: BBC director calls on Greek government to reopen broadcaster
The Guardian | ERT: BBC director calls on Greek government to reopen broadcaster The Guardian In a petition to the Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, the directors general of 50 European TV and radio broadcasters including the BBC urged him to see sense pointing out that "public service media and their independence from government lie at ... |
Greek hackers steal Rs 13 lakh from Axis Bank A/cs
Economic Times | Greek hackers steal Rs 13 lakh from Axis Bank A/cs Economic Times MUMBAI: Jobless Greeks stole money from Mumbai policemen's Axis Bank accounts using cloned debit cards, exposing the vulnerability of account holders in India to rising crime across Europe and the US. Euro transactions in the automated teller machines ... Axis of Greek crooks leave 36 Maha cops in a spartan state |
Greek Yogurt In New York Generates Electricity Using Leftover Whey
Greek Yogurt In New York Generates Electricity Using Leftover Whey Huffington Post ALBANY, N.Y. — The Greek yogurt boom in New York is being harnessed to make electricity. More Greek yogurt production has meant more whey, a watery byproduct from the process. Yogurt makers commonly ship it back to farms for use as feed and ... |
Merkel tells Europe's youth to move for work
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the BBC that the eurozone's 3.6 million plus unemployed young people should be reado to move for work.
The Chancellor, who has come under fire by politician's and citizens alike in eurozone countries with troubled economies like Greece and Spain told the British Broadcasting Corporation that their level of joblessness represents a "huge crisis".
However Merkel defended austerity policies implemented throughout the eurozone.
And The Azeri Gas Goes To... The Envelope, Please!
ANAVYSSOS, Greece – After intense preparation, Nabucco West and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) are waiting for Azerbaijan to announce its decision about the pipeline to carry natural gas to Europe on 28 June. The BP-led consortium, developing Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field, is expected to choose between the two projects to transport 10 billion cubic metres of gas annually to Europe.
FTSE 100 ends another volatile week on a calmer note
Leading shares edge higher but worries about an end to central bank stimulus measures continue
A volatile week of failed and new bids, banking resignations and fears that central banks would switch off the money taps supporting the markets ended on a calm note.
The FTSE 100 finished at 6308.26, up just 3.63 points on the day but down 103 points since Monday's open.
One of the week's biggest fallers was Severn Trent, down another 25p on Friday to £17.60 after a proposed £22 a share bid from the LongRiver consortium fell through. LongRiver, comprising Canada's Borealis, a Kuwait sovereign wealth fund and the UK Universities Superannuation Scheme, walked away just before a deadline on Tuesday after failing to persuade the water company to open talks.
Severn fell more than £3 over the week to well below the £18.25 level prevailing before the consortium's approach was revealed.
Still with takeovers, Vodafone confirmed long standing reports that it was interested in Germany's Kabel Deutschland, allowing it to offer customers television, broadband and fixed line services as well as mobile. After the German group reportedly rejected a €7.2bn (£6.1bn) approach, Vodafone was said to be preparing to increase its offer, perhaps early next week. Vodafone added 1.35p to 180.05p.
Meanwhile Royal Bank of Scotland was on the slide immediately after the surprise resignation of chief executive Stephen Hester, amid concerns of political interference at the state-controlled bank. But following a 3% fall on Thursday it edged up 1p to 316p on Friday.
Overall, the week was dominated by growing concerns that central banks would begin withdrawing their financial stimulus packages, which have been designed to boost global economic growth. With central banks pumping an estimated $12trn of extra liquidity into the system since the financial crisis of 2008, the prospect of this ending has unsettled investors, particularly in emerging markets, which have been major beneficiaries of this policy.
The Bank of Japan set the tone, disappointing traders by failing to unveil new measures after its meeting on Tuesday. With worries that the government's economic plan would not be enough, the Nikkei 225 went into a tailspin and slumped firmly into bear market territory - a 20% decline from its recent peak. Comments on Friday from Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe promising no let up in his drive to improve growth helped to undo a little of the damage.
The US Federal Reserve's future plans also came into focus, with talk it might consider reining in its bond buying programme at next week's scheduled meeting, although some reports overnight suggested this was unlikely. Mixed US economic data, including unchanged industrial production in May and disappointing consumer sentiment figures, gave little clue to the Fed's likely intentions.
Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, said:
Despite the fact that it remains unlikely that either the Fed or the Bank of Japan are likely to start reining back on their stimulus measures any time soon, investors appear to have decided that the mere prospect of an exit strategy is enough of a reason to look at pulling money off the table on a fairly comprehensive scale.
Political tensions in Greece, where the government made the controversial decision to close state broadcaster ERT, and in Turkey added to the general uncertainty.
Mining shares recovered ground yesterday on Friday, helped by analysts at Citigroup changing their view on the sector from bearish to neutral given recent share price falls. Glencore Xstrata ended 9.8p better at 315.9p after it signed a new $17.4bn credit facility, while Randgold Resources rose 122p to £48.81.
Property groups were among the risers, with Hammerson up 10.5p to 507p and British Land climbing 12p to 595.5p. Great Portland Estates added 20.5p to 548p after UBS moved from neutral to buy:
Recent acquisitions should deliver short-term income streams which will boost earnings but these also form the longer-term development pipeline. Management sees more opportunities to exploit within, rather than outside, its portfolio and has facilities of nearly £300m to fund it, more than enough for the next two years.
Tullow Oil added 15p to £10.48 despite a sell note from Investec. Analyst Brian Gallagher said:
On the 3 July Tullow will release a trading and operational update. Ahead of the event, we take the opportunity to highlight pending catalysts and reiterate our bearish stance. We continue to view the FTSE 100 explorer as overvalued, with a suboptimum balance between [exploration and production]. This dynamic, in our view, has the potential to put continued upward pressure on net debt as Tullow seeks to negotiate farmdowns at capex heavy projects in Ghana and Uganda. We reiterate our sell and 930p sum of the parts derived target price.
Compass slipped 1p to 839.5p even though the City gave a positive reaction to its first investor day in five years, with analysts suggesting it could do a £1.5bn buyback over the next three years. Compass gave presentations on Thursday about its global operations and their growth prospects. At Morgan Stanley, Jamie Rollo kept his equal-weight rating but raised his target price from 810p to 830p. He said:
Compass hosted an impressive investor seminar yesterday. While it gave no targets, we were very encouraged by its assessment of the structural outsourcing opportunity, the scope for further efficiencies, and the various case studies, which all gave us a feeling for the depth of management.
Among the mid-caps Unite, the student accommodation specialist, rose 18.8p to 353.9p in the wake of this week's £51m placing at 320p a share. Espirito Santo said:
The placing proceeds will be used to part-fund the development of around 2,500 new beds in regional markets with exposure to Russell Group or 'rising star' universities suffering from a lack of purpose-built student accommodation. Unite has delivered around 34,000 beds over the past decade meaning we are relaxed over its ability to source and deliver 2,500 beds in 2015/16. We have increased our fair value by 10p to 381p and remain buyers.
Finally WH Smith edged up 1p to 716p as a weak performance from its high street stores revived talk of a possible break-up of the retailer. In chief executive Kate Swann's last trading update on Thursday, the group reported a 7% decline in high street sales with a 4% fall in sales at its travel business, which covers airports, railway stations and motorway service stations. Analyst Nick Bubb said:
[New chief executive] Steve Clarke will no doubt have to... listen to all the hard-working investment bankers from the City anxious to secure the mandate to demerge the travel Division. Conventional wisdom has it that if you spin off the good bit of the group, nobody would want the bad bit and that shareholders would be no better off if the high street [division] was de-rated, undermining the re-rating from travel. Well, arguably, the implicit rating of the high street part of WH Smith is so low anyway, despite its free cash flow generation, that nothing might be lost if it was demerged/or sold off. And maybe a private equity company (who wouldn't have to keep reporting its like for like sales every few months) might be a good owner for WH Smith high street. The great irony here, of course, is that Kate Swann has pursued a classic private equity approach to running WH Smith in the high street in recent years and highly successful it has been too, even if it has offended the retail purists.