POLITICS: How many titles and refrains will the Greek repertoire provide to the political clash until the elections? Kyriakos Mitsotakis started it from the TIF, describing Tsipras-Androulakis as “Twin Moons” (from the song of the same name) to show, as he said, that they express the same policy.
The next day, he was answered by Alexis Tsipras’s close associate and ELAS official, Giorgos Vassiliadis, referring to “the fake big words” from the legendary “Rembetiko”.
Well, yesterday it was also Nikos Androulakis’s turn because he obviously did not want it to be thought that he is not… a music lover: mocking the prime minister over the letters he sends to Ursula von der Leyen asking for a European agreement on measures for fuel price hikes, he referred “to Dimitra Galani’s song "Your Blue Letters"”. With the note that it also includes the lyric “all my life I wait but miracles do not happen”.
That the president of PASOK chose the floor of Parliament for the… singing competition is (yet another) indication of how we will get to the ballot boxes.
All singing together “Difficult Moons”…
TSIPRAS: With a few words on social media and the relevant photos, Alexis Tsipras made known his visit to Mount Athos - the “private visit”, according to his associates.
“You chant at Simonopetra and it is heard in Hades…”, he wrote, speaking of a “journey into history” and “cultural treasures”.
Those with a good memory recalled that he had made a similar visit to the “Garden of the Virgin Mary” some twelve years ago, when the signs had then begun to show that he would soon become prime minister.
The current signs do not (again) show anything of the sort, but the road to the elections is long and no one knows the sign of the omen, nor whether he saw yesterday’s trip as a lucky charm…
Pavlos Polakis, however… thundered and raged over this visit, because the ELAS president was accompanied by Athina Linou’s husband, Dimitris Linos, who, although an emeritus professor at the Athens Medical School, was recently ordained a priest.
The Cretan MP is in a major feud with the couple (also in court) over the accusations he has addressed to them. “The issue is who accompanies you… shame and disgrace” he wrote on social media.
Sending arrows everywhere…
PARLIAMENT: And yet, Parliament was preparing to discuss increases in the earnings… of MPs, but the planning proved extremely difficult.
As reports insist, there was “some discussion” on the sidelines of the last Conference of Presidents about whether the “committee meeting attendance allowance” should be doubled to 150 euros (i.e. per meeting) from 75 euros, to which it had been reduced in the first memorandum years.
The opposition parties made it clear that they would not accept it, Zoe Konstantopoulou… exposed the relevant sounding-out, and everything shows that the increase will go down the drain.
“There is neither a decision nor an announcement. We had five minutes of dialogue after the end of the conference”, explained one of Parliament’s vice presidents, Paris Koukoulopoulos (PASOK). But it still remains a mystery who or whom opened the discussion.
The mere fact that each MP is already paid 75 euros for every committee meeting in which he participates, even though this falls within his duties, raises questions.
And just think that before the memoranda this remuneration exceeded 200 euros and MPs… chased participation in active committees, such as the Finance and Social Affairs committees.
MARKETS: Two days ago we wrote that alarm bells are ringing in the bond market. Yesterday this was also confirmed by the so-called “Bond King,” Bill Gross, co-founder and former chief investment officer of PIMCO.
Gross made history, not only with his returns, but also because he created a powerful bond house, which even after his departure, with Allianz as owner, remains among the top in active bond management.
Writing “don’t buy bonds and be careful with stocks” and extending the issue to the huge debt-funded investments being made in the AI space, Gross came to join the ranks of very experienced investors who view with awe what has been happening for many months now. You can read his article in the related topic on Euro2day.gr.
Some will say that these are market veterans who are getting on in years, … “has-beens”, as is Mr Big Short, Michael Burry, who are unable to understand that “this time things are different”.
Obviously everyone —even Warren Buffett— makes mistakes. But when such a big name as Gross takes such a clear position, it is good to take it into account.
Especially when France’s 10-year is heading full speed toward a 5% yield, Britain is around 5.4% (when they… threw out Prime Minister Liz Truss, in October 2022, it had reached as high as 4.6%) and the US is moving at 5.3%, with 30-years hitting highs of decades!
Stocks are holding up so far, but the risk equation is changing before our eyes…
BANKS: Three of the four systemic stocks were included yesterday in the top ten titles with the biggest losses, something rarely recorded on Euronext Athens.
Eurobank recorded the biggest drop, with the stock closing at 4.7 euros, with losses of 4.86%, while 22.89 million shares were traded, worth about 110 million euros.
It was followed by Alpha Bank, which closed at 4.650 euros, lower by 4.32%, with volume of 9.62 million shares and transactions worth about 45.5 million euros.
National Bank completed the session at 17.095 euros, down 4.23%, as 5.32 million shares changed hands, worth about 91.8 million euros.
Piraeus was not on the list but also came under pressure. The stock closed at 10.65 euros or 2.92% lower.
EURONEXT ATHENS: There has always been a paradox in the domestic economy: while Greece dominates global shipping, the domestic stock exchange lacks a large, purely shipping company with a primary listing on the Greek board.
This historic pending matter is being closed by Vangelis Marinakis, making through Capital Maritime Finance Corp. (CMF) a checkmate move: the first exclusive shipping listing on the Athens Stock Exchange (Euronext Athens).
After a multi-year and extremely successful course on the stock exchanges of New York (NASDAQ, NYSE) and Oslo, Vangelis Marinakis is choosing Athens to raise capital.
This is a vote of confidence in the upgraded domestic capital market, which gains access to an international shipping platform with an ultra-modern fleet, about 4 billion dollars in secured revenues and an established dividend policy on adjusted net profits.
The Public Offering is expected in the coming period.
ALTER EGO MEDIA: At the same time, the already listed company of Vangelis Marinakis achieved a new record yesterday, against the negative climate in the stock market.
The stock closed at 6.69 euros, with the rise reaching 4.3%, while transactions exceeded 1.5 million euros.
The column had timely conveyed the messages from management’s contacts with the investment community in London. It is recalled that Edison has given a fair value for the stock of 7.3 euros.
NAFPAKTOS TEXTILE INDUSTRY: What assessments could arise after the publication of the listed company’s half-year financial statements?
First, that from this year’s second quarter the condition of the sector has begun to improve internationally, after the historic lows of many, many years that it had recorded until then.
Prices in cotton and yarn recovered from the… depths where they were, while at the same time the surge in the price of oil helps European spinning mills, not only because the transport cost of competitors from Asia rises, but also because the competing polyester becomes much more expensive (since 2022 many Europeans choose polyester clothes because they are cheaper than cotton ones).
And second, with the problem of energy costs troubling the sector and causing new sources of uncertainty, the listed company is seriously examining the possibility of investing in “smart” energy storage systems (Energy Management Systems), following the -albeit delayed- recent passage by the government of the required institutional framework.
Such a move could, on a medium- to long-term basis, significantly mitigate the comparative disadvantage of Greek spinning mills, which face extremely high energy costs compared with their international competitors.
In other words, the listed company can hope not only for the continuation of its operation, but also for growth in its performance, since beyond the high capacity it has, it has made very significant efforts on the front of European Cotton and the production of sustainable products, something that has been communicated to several major foreign houses.
DIMAND: The listed company activated its new share buyback program. The program started on October 1, 2026 and will last 12 months, until October 1, 2027.
It provides for the acquisition of up to 200,916 treasury shares, corresponding to 1.07555% of the paid-up share capital. The purchases will be carried out through Euronext Athens, in a price range from 5 to 20 euros per share.
The stock closed higher yesterday, at 14.05 euros (+0.36%) and is close to the record of 14.2 euros that it achieved on September 25.
MEZZ: The securitizations Galaxy IV and Vega I remain the only ones that still generate income for holders of mezzanine securities.
In this case, in the listed Galaxy Cosmos Mezz -which holds 46.3% of the mezzanine notes bonds of Galaxy IV as well as of the securitizations Cosmos, Galaxy II, Galaxy IV and Orion- and correspondingly in Phoenix Vega, which holds the mezzanine notes of the securitizations Phoenix, Vega I, Vega II, Vega III.