TSIPRAS: With a blunt “no” the head of ELAS responds (indirectly or directly) to some appeals/pressures from former SYRIZA MPs to… immediately put them on board with a “pre-booked” place on its ballots.
And this for two reasons, according to his interlocutors: first, he does not consider that their current parliamentary status automatically gives political capital to the new venture.
And, second, he strongly insists on the emergence of new faces, who, as he hopes, by the elections will have had time to “mature” politically and communicatively, in order to cope with the fierce media war, because “they possess the major thing: composure”.
The obstacle, however, to their daily… tutoring “is due to their main advantage: they are working people”.
And since the recipe for combining obligations is a personal matter, it remains to be seen who (and whether anyone) will… run out of steam, given the long pre-election period.
As for the old ones? “Decisions in due time and after they have first resigned as MPs”. Which means that resignation by itself does not constitute a ticket for ELAS ballots…
PASOK: The popular saying “appetite comes with eating” is brought to mind by the activity at Charilaou Trikoupi.
After the (small) breather that PASOK got from the September polls, it is preparing for a… barrage of amendments in Parliament, which will be supported from the podium by Nikos Androulakis himself.
With the first amendment, which is based on the Italian model, it will try to challenge the government to legislate a mechanism for adjusting the Special Consumption Tax on gasoline and diesel.
As those in the know say, with the proposed mechanism “the additional VAT revenues generated by energy inflation do not automatically remain as an additional tax benefit for the State, but are returned to consumers through a temporary reduction of the SCT, and ultimately through a reduced price at the pump, without additional burden on the state budget”.
The second amendment concerns Mr. Androulakis’ …favorite issue: abolishing the granting of permanent investor residence permits (Golden Visa) through the acquisition of real estate.
Also, the reorientation of investment incentives toward the national economy and entrepreneurship, with the Angel Visa and the implementation of the ban on short-term rentals in properties of existing Golden Visas when the time comes for the 5-year renewal.
These two amendments are ready, while a third is also being prepared, to be submitted next week, concerning private debt.
The column has long pointed out that PASOK will now place great weight on initiatives within Parliament in order to capitalize on the absence of ELAS from the benches (still extra-parliamentary)…
SYRIZA: SYRIZA is pointing to the prime minister with … ever greater clarity as the one who ordered the cover-up at the site of the Tempi tragedy, which (order) was carried out by H. Triantopoulos, K. Agorastos and the others being referred to the Special Court.
“The first person who stepped on the rubble of Tempi is Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The contractor states that at 4:36 in the morning the covering-up and removal of wagons and other works began”, said the party’s spokesperson, Giorgos Panagiotopoulos.
And he added: “A few hours later, the prime minister himself, who had the authority to do anything and first of all to prevent the continuation of the works, makes sorrowful statements next to the bulldozers and cranes. Didn’t he see the machinery? Why didn’t he give an order for the immediate stoppage of the works?”.
Koumoundourou could not accuse the prime minister more clearly. Hoping, obviously, for a loud reaction…
SMUGGLING: There are times when a policy may begin with the best intentions, yet end up producing the exact opposite results. Anyone who doubts it need only ask what is happening with cigarettes in Australia.
For years, the country followed one of the most aggressive tax policies in the world against smoking. The logic was simple. The more expensive cigarettes become, the more people quit and the fewer young people start.
Except that they… overdid it
In 2010 the special tax was increased at once by 25%. From 2013 to 2020, eight successive increases of about 12.5% annually followed, while from 2023 to 2025 another 5% annually was added, all this beyond the inflation index adjustment of the tax.
The result is impressive: the tax per cigarette, from about 26 Australian cents before the 2010 increase, now stands at… 1.5 Australian dollars.
In short, it has almost sextupled!
SMUGGLING II: So, a legal pack of 20 cigarettes now costs between $40 and 50 Australian dollars, depending on the brand, that is about… 24.5 to 30.5 euros! On the black market, by contrast, cigarettes can be found at the bargain price of 9 to 15 euros!
With these prices, it is no surprise that Australia’s statistical service now estimates that 80% of the total nicotine consumed in 2025 came from… illegal sources.
Nor that with the tax surge, revenues collapsed, as an ever larger part of consumption moves outside the legal market.
The conclusion is simple and of course does not apply only to Australia. Beyond a certain point, “special taxes” on consumption (see also our own excise tax on fuels) become the… smuggler’s delight.
CONCERTS: The reactions over tickets for Anna Vissi’s concert at OAKA open up a broader and probably more serious issue.
Official sales were taking place through the multinational Ticketmaster, while tickets were also appearing on the secondary market, through platforms such as Viagogo.
And this is where the questions begin. How do tickets from official sales end up on resale platforms? What mechanisms exist to prevent mass purchases for the sole purpose of resale, and what responsibility does an international ticketing giant assume for the integrity of the system it manages?
But there is also an institutional gap worth attention. Who supervises the secondary ticket market in Greece, who monitors the transactions, and who ensures that the related profits are declared and taxed?
Perhaps the Ministry of National Economy and Finance and the competent authorities should take a closer look. Because the market is growing, and with it the questions are growing too.
PPC: The Company acquired a new liquidity pool of up to 675 million euros after the re-securitization of receivables from two portfolios: one including receivables overdue by more than 90 days and one up to 60 days.
As issuer of the transaction acts SPV Rhea DAC, which issued senior notes subscribed by Deutsche Bank AG and Eurobank SA.
The junior notes are held by PPC, which also acts as servicer of the receivables, with sub-servicer Qualco Intelligent Finance, a joint subsidiary of PPC-Qualco. The transaction provides for an initial revolving period of two years, with the possibility of extension by another two years.
It is recalled that, within the second quarter, PPC repaid the senior notes of the previous securitization of receivables overdue up to 60 days and more than 90 days, taking back the receivables, with the signing of the termination and release agreements of the securitizations.
SPYROU: Agricultural House Spyrou more than doubled its operating profits in the first half of 2026. Based on the financial statements, the company’s consolidated turnover increased by 5.3%, to 10.65 million euros from 10.12 million euros. Gross profits strengthened by 12.8% and reached 4.4 million euros.
EBITDA amounted to 2.21 million euros, from 935 thousand euros, an increase of 136%.
However, net profits attributable to shareholders decreased by 43.8%, to 1.57 million euros from 2.78 million euros.
The decline is due to the comparison base. The first half of 2025 included non-recurring financial income of 4 million euros from the discounting of interest-free liabilities, as well as positive exchange differences from the Turkish lira. Thus profit before tax fell to 1.53 million euros from 3.8 million euros.
The group’s equity increased to 4.63 million euros from 3.03 million euros at the end of 2025. Net borrowing decreased slightly to 9.85 million euros.
The company’s shares are trading again on the Main Market of the Stock Exchange since July 17. Despite the retreat after the initial jump from 0.13 euros to 0.65 euros, the stock records the highest performance on the entire board with an increase of about 135% in the year. Yesterday it closed with gains of 9.3% at 0.35 euros.
DAA: “Eleftherios Venizelos” closed the session triumphantly. The stock was at 12.6 euros at 17:00, or 3.28% higher. In the auctions, however, it jumped to 12.96 euros, with the rise widening to 6.23%. Turnover surged above 69 million euros.
Thus, it posted yet another record, lifting gains for September to 24.25%.
At the same time it became known that DAA is among the three interested parties in the tender for the 22 regional airports.
ELVALHALCOR: National Securities estimates that 2026 will be a year of return to growth for ElvalHalcor. After three consecutive years of decline, adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase by 4.8%, to 247.4 million euros.
The rise is expected to accelerate to 8.3% in 2027 and to 14.3% in 2028, when EBITDA will reach 306.4 million euros. Net profits are estimated at 136.6 million euros in 2028. The group is targeting EBITDA of 350-400 million euros in the medium term.
It is noted that the brokerage raised the bar for the stock to 5.1 from 3.2 euros, with the upside from current levels standing at around 35%.
The copper sector has the greatest room for improvement, with its EBITDA expected to grow by 10.7% per year through 2028. EBITDA per ton in copper rises from 509 to 638 euros. The main driver is recycling: scrap processing will increase by 84% and reach 375 thousand tons. Thus the company will depend less on metal prices.
On dividends, National Securities forecasts a dividend per share of 0.11 euros for 2026, 0.12 euros for 2027 and 0.13 euros for 2028. In 2023 the dividend was just 0.04 euros. The group’s new dividend policy provides for distribution of 35%-45% of distributable profits.
The brokerage itself states in its report that it participated in the capital increase of ElvalHalcor.
IKTINOS MARBLES: Material uncertainty regarding the continuation of operations is pointed out by the certified auditor signing the company’s half-year results.
He draws attention to three elements: the pre-tax losses (1.35 million for the parent), the negative working capital (24.27 million euros) and the overdue debts to banks and social security funds.
The company, in order to address the situation, proceeded with price adjustments from the beginning of 2026 in the range of 10-15%, which concern specific markets and product categories and are expected to strengthen turnover.
At the same time, it has assigned to PwC Advisory Services the support of the restructuring process of the existing borrowing, as well as the exploration of possibilities for access to new financing.
Management estimates that the impending sale of the investment property of Iktinos Technical will effectively address the company’s liquidity problem and will allow the completion of the required investments.
Finally, it submitted an application to the Out-of-Court Settlement Platform for the settlement of principal debt of 6.31 million and the related surcharges. Last week the debt restructuring agreement was issued, which provides for repayment of the amount in 240 monthly installments.