OTE: Kostas Nembis refused to disclose details regarding Nova. The Organization’s Chairman and CEO was asked on the sidelines of yesterday’s regular general meeting about reports that the group was in negotiations with Nova regarding the acquisition of the fixed-line telecommunications infrastructure network, and replied that he had no comment on the matter.
On the other hand, he added that “as long as there is something available on the market, we are in a phase where we are trying to expand our coverage. When the opportunity with Terna arose, we acquired the UFBB. If this asset becomes available, we will look into it at some point, but I have nothing else to say.”
As expected, Mr. Nebis was asked repeatedly about competition and specifically about PPC’s participation in the EETT consultation regarding the 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies.
“Do you understand what DEH wants to do?” he remarked, noting that the messages are confusing. In fact, as he said, there was no relevant mention of this in the business plan ahead of the major capital increase.
“On the one hand, they officially say they’re not interested. On the other, they’re sending comments to the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT), where they’re more or less asking for preferential treatment so they can build a fourth network at the expense of other providers,” he added...
PASOK: The official opposition has launched a flurry of meetings across the country in an attempt to reverse its poll numbers before they solidify—and before pollsters shut down for the summer.
It is telling that 13 regional council meetings have been scheduled for the next two weeks, aimed at mobilizing its more than 3,500 officials across the country and… reaching out to the public.
In fact, to keep the electoral momentum alive, it plans to present 70% of the party’s candidate lists by early July—that is, in a month from now.
And, no, they don’t believe they’ll be trailing Tsipras in the polls for long: “PASOK isn’t a hydroponic party; it has deep roots in society,” declared Secretary Yannis Vardakastanis with confidence.
Given that hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, the implication regarding the newly formed ELAS is obvious: it has been created on some kind of substrate, has no roots in society, and therefore its future is uncertain—even… non-existent.
PASOK II: And because, as this column has noted, PASOK’s biggest problem is Attica, beyond the regular meetings of party officials, MPs, politicians, and local government representatives, Nikos Androulakis’s speeches in its neighborhoods will continue.
Following Nea Ionia last week, it is now Drapetsona’s turn, since PASOK has not elected a member of parliament in Piraeus B since as far back as 2012.
However, since Alexis Tsipras is also “making his move” in Piraeus B, with a speech he will give in Nikaia next Monday, it appears that the race for first place in the left-progressive camp will be… a head-to-head contest.
As we said: until the next polls are released in the last days of June and the first days of July, the race will be particularly fierce.
PARLIAMENT: If there is one parliamentary session that will set the place ablaze (from within), it will be that of the Committee on Institutions and Transparency.
This is because the opposition appears to be gathering the required number of signatures from two-fifths of its MPs under a joint motion to summon the former Secretary-General of the government (and the Prime Minister’s nephew) Grigoris Dimitriadis, and retired Israeli officer Tal Dillian, whose company Intellexa sold the illegal Predator spyware.
The new evidence the opposition will cite is Mr. Dimitriadis’s recent statement that he “took it upon himself” to address the wiretapping issue for the good of the party, as well as Mr. Dillian’s statements that his company sold Predator to governments/national agencies and not to private individuals, along with the documents he reportedly possesses.
If the request is submitted, the Speaker of the House is required to convene the Committee.
What is considered certain? That it will set a date sometime in late July, when summer vacations will have further diminished the public’s interest in anything beyond the cost of living…
MARKETS: We’ll start with a chart showing that the U.S. stock market is currently valued higher than at any other time in its history.
As shown in this chart, the Tobin’s Q Ratio has reached 2.11, the highest level since records began in 1900, and is 149% above its long-term average of 0.85, according to an analysis by Advisor Perspectives.
The Q Ratio measures the total market capitalization of all U.S. companies relative to the replacement cost of their physical assets.
A ratio above 1.0 indicates that the market values companies higher than the cost it would take to rebuild them from scratch.
At 2.11, investors are paying more than double the replacement cost of these companies—the highest level ever recorded.
MARKETS II: However, this index is not a short-term tool for market timing.
High readings can persist for long periods, especially when intangible assets, software, brand value, and profitability are not adequately reflected in replacement cost calculations.
Given the levels it has reached, however, the question “how expensive is the dream” of artificial intelligence is certainly justified.
Of course, with major upcoming IPOs like those of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, valued at trillions, it’s hard to believe that the “big players” in the U.S. markets would now spoil the… party.
Only if they have no other choice.
TRANSPORTATION: For those of you planning a flight today or tomorrow, arm yourselves with plenty of patience.
This column has heard that from yesterday through tomorrow, Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority will be conducting inspections from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. using a special aircraft on four precision approach aids at Athens International Airport.
Consequently, aircraft traffic is reduced, and as a result, scheduled flights—both arrivals and departures—are experiencing an average delay of one hour.
As is to be expected, these delays are having a domino effect on the rest of the network’s airports, with passengers counting down the minutes of their wait.
Patience…
DIVIDENDS: The path to the cashier opens today for shareholders of National Bank and Eurobank, as the stocks will begin trading without the right to dividends for the 2025 fiscal year.
National Bank is paying out €0.294 per share (€0.2792 net), with a yield of 1.9%. Together with the interim dividend paid in November, the total distribution to shareholders amounts to €0.515, with the corresponding yield at 3.5%.
Eurobank is paying out €0.07187 per share, with the net dividend in shareholders’ pockets at €0.06828. Combined with the November interim dividend, the total payout to shareholders amounts to €0.119 per share, with a yield of 3.1%.
Both banks are implementing share buyback programs, further enhancing returns for shareholders.
DIVIDENDS II: In addition to the two banks, shares of Motodynamics will be traded without dividend rights. The amount is €0.1446 per share (net amount: €0.1374).
In the case of Mermeren, the dividend is €1.60 per share (net amount: €1.20).
Finally, Galaxy Cosmos Mezz is distributing €0.06 per share.
VIOHALCO: Some market circles attribute the sudden pressure that emerged yesterday at noon on both the parent company and the group’s subsidiaries to profit-taking by a major player. After all, all of them were trading very close to multi-year highs, having delivered “robust” returns in recent months.
In the case of Viohalco, the stock closed at €19.90, with the decline limited to 1.49%by the end of the session. During the session, it even traded as low as €19.24, or 4.75% lower. Even after the decline, the stock is up 51% for the quarter.
For its part, Cenergy closed yesterday at €23.66, down 3.59%, with intraday trading at €7.18. Its quarterly gains stand at 31%.
Elvalhalcor landed at €4.90, with the decline reaching 3.35%. In this case as well, the rally over the past three months has led to a return of 29.6%.
LAMDA DEVELOPMENT: Today, Odysseas Athanassiou is scheduled to ring the bell to open the session to mark the start of trading in the company’s bond.
Yesterday, the stock snapped out of its “slumber” of recent weeks, surging to €6.47, or 3.93% higher. Trading volume was the highest of the year (€9.85 million), driven by two block trades totaling €6.24 million.
Since early March, Lamda has traded within a narrow range, between €5.90 and €6.35. The year’s high stands at €7.56, set on February 5.