Hello, the news from the past weekend, earthquake permitting, since for now, it is unfolding smoothly, comes from a video that was submitted last Tuesday or Wednesday to the Tempi case file, and from this, it appears that in the first three wagons of the freight train, which they said contained flammable material, there seems to have been nothing! And this is because the wagons were open—non-roofed—and from the video, it is clearly evident that they were not carrying anything other than some iron. These videos (two, to be precise) have caused a great sensation, and the truth is that everyone is wondering why such an important piece of evidence, which greatly limits the possibility of the presence of flammable material, had not been submitted earlier! That would have put an end to this theory, which until the day before yesterday was the main argument for government cover-up. The private security company of OSE that provided them to the investigative authorities responded that they found them only now, which is difficult for public opinion to believe but not impossible, because let’s not forget that the Tempi issue was “reborn” only 15 days ago due to the massive gathering of people in Syntagma. Anyway, incredible or not, the one and only truth is that these videos do exist, they do not show flammable materials, and they are in the hands of Justice today.

The video is being examined…

So, I don’t know whether the security company searched and found them only now or for some reason didn’t hand them over earlier (I should note that the company has been responsible for OSE’s security since 2017, under SYRIZA), but in any case, if proven authentic, then—as my highly experienced judicial source says—the entire narrative about a cover-up changes drastically. So, from today, the relevant departments of the Hellenic Police will verify their authenticity and reach a conclusion. Personally, I highly doubt that those who submitted them to the investigator would dare to tamper with them, because they would simply get into serious trouble. However, let’s wait a few hours to see what the experts will say. In any case, be aware that the National Accident Investigation Committee, from which the Ghent reports also originate, has requested the video, because as is understood, some points from the expected report will need to be reassessed. It’s one thing to draw conclusions from a simulated image of an explosion and quite another to see related videos with the wagons passing through empty.

Opposition: From embarrassment to Waterloo

Now, the opposition is in a state of embarrassment (up to nervous breakdown), since instead of focusing on serious and glaringly obvious major issues and responsibilities that still exist today in the Tempi case—mainly regarding the state of OSE but also Hellenic Train, which, as far as I know, are highlighted by the competent accident investigation authority—they turned to extreme conspiracy theories. If we are talking about the opposition of Zoe and Velopoulos, I think that what actually happens versus what they generally say has little value. These people have their audience, which enjoys conspiracies anyway, so I don’t believe anyone can really shake them; they say whatever they want and always will. Note, however, that Latinopoulou, who is probably more cunning, appeared more reserved in all this monstrosity that developed over the past few days, and perhaps that’s why she is gaining more points.

And PASOK?

But let’s move on to PASOK, because beyond the fact that this party historically represents the “arch-rival” of the ruling party, it is now the main opposition. It is baffling how its leader, Nikos, can make so many mistakes in such a short period, from November when he was re-elected (triumphantly) until today. Even in the wiretapping case, for heaven’s sake, where the man had a solid case since he was being monitored, he ended up being legally pursued by a butcher because he highlighted him as a key figure in the case without serious evidence. Anyway, PASOK was measured by pollsters at 19.5% in late November and today is struggling at 15%. The way things are going with Tempi—one moment with the report on Triantopoulos, which…he didn’t even notice in Parliament, another moment with the firewood—eventually, Latinopoulou will surpass him, and we will laugh, because, in any case, it’s all just laughable.

Vote of Confidence?

In the past few hours, some considerations have taken place at M.M. about the government requesting a vote of confidence in the coming days after the election of Tasoulas (they say by the end of the week) to preempt Androulakis’ motion of censure, but they have not yet decided. They may be thinking that it would be better to do it all at once after the submission of the Tempi report on the 27th of the month.

Mitsotakis-Macron-Cabinet

Reshuffle At the AI conference starting today in Paris, where Mitsotakis will also be present, he may have a brief discussion with Macron about the Meteor missiles that he is supplying to the Turks, which greatly disrupt the defense balance in the Aegean. Regarding other current affairs, the much-discussed cabinet reshuffle—due to circumstances (Tempi, motions of censure, Preliminary Investigation Committee, etc.)—will start to become a real issue in about a month. Until then, K.M. will continue speaking with ministers and reflecting on it. The question is whether he will opt for drastic changes, what alterations he will make to his close circle at M.M., and whether this political maneuvering will improve the final outcome for society.

Macron, the METEOR Missiles, and the Dinner

Returning to the visit to France and the Meteor missiles, during the AI Summit organized by France, K.M. will have the opportunity this afternoon to discuss a wide range of topics with Macron, obviously including issues that concern Greece, such as the specific missiles that Turkey wants to purchase. France is a co-producer of the missiles that Turkey wants for its Eurofighter jets, and Mitsotakis and Macron already had an initial discussion on the matter a few days ago in Brussels. The message from Paris is that it is not a given that the Turks will receive the missiles, but that remains to be seen. Of course, the two leaders also have a series of international and bilateral topics to discuss, primarily geopolitical matters, especially in light of Trump’s presidency, which is “testing” the resilience of slow-moving Europe. Apart from that, Macron—who is hosting a grand event—has scheduled the AI Summit for later in the evening, followed by a dinner with European and other international guests, including India’s Modi.

Vance in Paris and then Munich

Interestingly, the new U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance will also participate in Macron’s AI conference. Vance is the highest-ranking official from the Trump administration to meet with Europeans, and there is both curiosity and apprehension surrounding this. It is understood that at tonight’s dinner gatherings, there may be an initial acquaintance with K.M., who, in any case, has scheduled meetings with key players in the tech sector. Vance, however, is on a European tour, as he will also attend the Munich Security Conference—often called the “Davos of security”—at the end of the week. Munich is on K.M.’s agenda, but it remains to be seen if he will attend. Vance will also be accompanied by Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, while Ukrainian President Zelensky will also be in Bavaria. As you can imagine, there will be a lot of behind-the-scenes discussions, and it is clear that the “bargaining” over Ukraine has already begun in earnest.

Sarakiniko, Urban Planning, and Mysteries…

Now, in light of the Sarakiniko case, we have already reported that a meeting will take place at M.M.—with or without K.M.—with the responsible ministers to get a grip on the situation and determine what to do about areas of natural beauty, like Sarakiniko, that are not protected, and there are many of them. Also under discussion are the urban planning offices, which currently fall under municipal control, with all that entails, as well as local urban plans, which, by the time they are completed, will have turned the Cyclades into Dubai. From ongoing reporting in Milos, what also struck me is that the head of the urban planning office in Milos, Elli Chorianopoulou—who nearly allowed an ecological and cultural crime to take place at Sarakiniko—is also the island’s regional governor! So here we have both the Mayor and the Governor, two politically affiliated figures, approving a hotel permit inside Sarakiniko. And this is not the only one—there are others as well. What more can be said?

Skylakakis

I hear that one of Skylakakis’ ideas is to suspend all building permits in areas where it has been stated that construction should not be allowed in old or still-developing local urban plans, in order to prevent such environmental crimes. But we shall see how feasible this is.

Hospitals and Expenses

A few days ago, we mentioned public organizations and agencies that do not prepare financial statements. I will now complete the picture by saying that no public hospital in the country prepares a financial statement under the terms at least as they are done in the private sector. Although under P.D. 146/2003 public hospitals are required to prepare a balance sheet and income statement audited by certified public accountants, typically their evaluation and decision-making are based on cash accounting data (IOBE study 2023). In other words, cost data such as equipment and infrastructure depreciation, material and pharmaceutical consumption, etc. are not included in the annual resource consumption. In fact, the total expenditure is split across three ministries: Academic doctors are paid by the Ministry of Education, employees by the Ministry of the Interior, and other expenses (medications, consumables and non-materials, supplies, providers, etc.) by the Ministry of Health, and good luck figuring that out. The total expenditure may reach or exceed 8 billion euros. So, here lies a bright field for reforms.

Transfer: A. Sakellariou to Piraeus Bank

And I move on to market news with a pleasant one for Piraeus Bank, which is now in full negotiations with CVC for 70% of Ethniki Insurance, having secured a two-month exclusivity. I say it’s a pleasant piece of news because, let’s face it, it’s always nice to see executives return to the market. The column’s information is that Anastasia Sakellariou is joining the staff of Piraeus Bank. There is no need for me to mention positions, titles, etc., as the bank will announce those in the coming period. I imagine her colleagues will be happy as well, as A. Sakellariou had previously served at the bank before taking on the role of CEO at the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

The Stadium in Votanikos Moves Forward

There’s some mobilization happening around the project in Votanikos for the new Panathinaikos stadium, where foundation work began… in a celebratory manner with an on-site visit a few days ago by all the representatives and parties involved in the Double Regeneration project, including banks and the construction consortium. Further updates, with more details, are expected this week, when the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, will provide an update on the overall progress of the Double Regeneration project at the municipal council meeting on Wednesday, February 12th. At the same meeting, the plan along with its specific terms for the memorandum of understanding and cooperation between the City of Athens and the Ministry of Culture regarding the archaeological investigations and works in the construction of the new Panathinaikos stadium will also be discussed for approval. This was preceded by a formal letter sent on January 20th, 2025, from the municipality (signed by Haris Doukas) and the Panathinaikos Amateur Club (signed by Panagiotis Malakates) to “AEP Elaiona S.A.,” the banking consortium with the unfinished commercial center of Vovos in Elaiona, requesting the latter to assume the agreed contractual obligations, including financing.

Gianos’ Daughter

Many new companies, of all legal forms, are being founded daily, most of which concern the real estate market or are holding companies to “accommodate” almost everything. One such company that was founded in recent days is “FAZ Investments Single Member I.K.E.”. This company began its journey on Friday, February 7th, and its purposes include, besides holding, providing business management consultancy services, as well as services related to trusts, funds, and other similar financial instruments. The manager and sole shareholder is Daphne Papantoniou, daughter of the former PASOK Minister Giannos Papantoniou. As for the initial share capital, it was set at 4,395,000 euros, divided into 439,500 company shares with a nominal value of 10 euros each. Of these, Daphne Papantoniou contributed 40,590.31 euros in cash and received 4,059 company shares. At the same time, she contributed in-kind 17,523 shares from the company “Real Estate Zaf I.K.E.,” valued at 4,354,409.69 euros, which correspond to 435,441 company shares with a nominal value of 10 euros each. This is how the initial share capital was covered. “Real Estate Zaf I.K.E.” was established in 2018, with Daphne Papantoniou as the main shareholder, and by 2023 it had an annual turnover of 142,800 euros. According to an appraisal report from December 2024, an increase in turnover was expected for the upcoming years. Daphne Papantoniou and her brother Nikitas are the two children of Giannos Papantoniou from his first marriage to Lia Kartali, who passed away prematurely. She studied Sociology and Social Sciences at the University of Cambridge and later obtained an MBA from the Polytechnic School of Paris. She worked for two years at Lehman Brothers before it collapsed and later at Merrill Lynch. From 2004 and for five years, she worked at the GEK-TERNA group before branching out on her own. It is worth mentioning that in 2018, she and her brother sold the property at 102 Vasilissis Sofias Street, where the “Kyano Stavros” clinic was located, to Ten Brinke Hellas for around 6 million euros.

A Titan on Wall Street

Titan’s subsidiary in the USA completed its IPO, and shares of Titan America started trading on the NYSE. The offering price for the 24 million shares in the company’s initial public offering was set at $16 (the proposed range was between $15 and $18), and the stock debuted on Friday at $16.70. Its market capitalization stands at $3 billion, while the public offering technically concludes today. In the period leading up to the IPO, a lot of good work was done in terms of publicity, and Vasilis Zarkalis, CEO of Titan America, spoke, among others, on CNBC and other financial channels from the NYSE floor, having already rung the bell to open the session alongside Dimitris Papalexopoulos, Chairman of the Board, and other senior executives of the Group. Net proceeds for the Titan group from the IPO amount to $364 million, but the underwriters of the offering have the right, within the next 30 days, to sell an additional 3.6 million shares of Titan America. Should they do so, Titan Group will have sold 84% of its U.S. subsidiary, raising approximately $400 million. Tomorrow evening, we will learn of changes to the MSCI Index composition at the Athens Stock Exchange, following the regular quarterly index review. The chances of Titan’s return to the benchmark index of the Greek market are 50-50. Titan America’s sales amount to $1.6 billion.

Large Portfolios in ADMIE Holdings

In the past month, approximately 12 million shares of ADMIE Holdings have changed hands on the Stock Exchange. The daily trading volume has exploded, with sessions seeing trades of 800,000 shares, and even 2.3 million shares in a single session. Reliable information indicates that the buyers of these shares are the “large portfolios” of UBS, JP Morgan, Barclays Capital Securities, and Goldman Sachs. The electrical connection between Crete and Attica has been underway since the summer, while the interconnection of Crete with Cyprus seems to be progressing, despite Cypriot hesitations. However, even if it does not ultimately proceed, ADMIE’s investment expenses for this specific project are fully covered.

The Party at the Stock Exchange

The party continues at the Stock Exchange, although no one knows how long this euphoria will last, as the international environment has become completely unpredictable. The Greek market has completed seven consecutive bullish weeks, equaling the streak of 2024 (from January 19 to March 8, 2024), with the General Index setting a new multi-year record, climbing to 1,557.83 points, a level not seen since March 2011. As part of the rotation that keeps Athens in a profitable trajectory, banks have passed the “baton” to other blue chips, with the large-cap index reaching 3,800 points for the first time since September 2014. Coca-Cola HBC extended its historical record, reaching 36.36 euros, with an intraday high of 36.54 euros, and its market capitalization is now over 13.5 billion euros. DEI also achieved a 15-year high, closing at over 13.4 euros for the first time since August 2010, with its valuation now close to 5 billion euros. Titan also set a new high at 45.75 euros, thanks to the IPO of its subsidiary Titan America.

A Difficult Stock Exchange Week Begins – Announcements on Tariffs

The international environment is unpredictable due to the Trump factor. Currently, 200,000 European companies employing 36 million workers depend on exports to the U.S. The “tariff game” initiated by President Trump is reaching Europe, which, given the current situation in Germany and France, lacks the leadership to even negotiate a delay, as Canada, Mexico, and Japan’s prime minister managed to do, rushing to Washington to buy time. In the press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump stated that he would likely announce the details of the tariffs on Monday or Tuesday and that the charges would aim to match the tariffs other countries impose on U.S. imports, as opposed to a “flat tariff.” “I think this is the only way to do it,” said POTUS. “They charge us. We charge them.” Immediately afterward, the major index of Wall Street, the S&P 500, closed down by -0.9%, with all sectors in the red. The industrial index Dow Jones dropped 444 points in a day or -1%, while the Nasdaq lost -1.4%. All indices closed with a weekly drop. The profits of Big Tech weren’t quite the relief some investors had hoped for. In Europe, the only certainty is that Lagarde is under pressure to cut interest rates, and the euro-dollar exchange rate is sliding, making European equities cheaper.

A New Market Is Being Created on the Stock Exchange

I won’t commit to the deadlines they gave me (by Wednesday at the latest), as the Capital Market bill has been to and fro even at the Cabinet level and we still haven’t seen it. According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, it has been finalized, and we know the following: It will not include taxation on cryptocurrency transactions for now. A new market is being created on the Stock Exchange, the Growth Market, which will operate with looser criteria than the Alternative Market. Without capital or other requirements, the Growth Market will include -with streamlined processes- small and dynamic businesses, with at least 75 shareholders, aimed at facilitating private equity funds and venture capital to support innovative business initiatives while allowing them to easily liquidate or increase their positions. The issues related to omnibus accounts, the taxation of Real Estate Investment Companies (REICs), Mutual Funds, and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) are being regulated by the new bill, although there’s still no consensus among the relevant stakeholders, despite extensive dialogue.

Why Greek Mutual Funds Prefer Luxembourg

To expand the market for institutional investments on the Stock Exchange, there must not be a “tax handicap” for Greek institutional portfolios compared to their European counterparts. For example, in Money Market Funds and Bond Mutual Funds, in an environment of falling euro interest rates, even small fractions of over-taxation drive fund managers out of Greece. Luxembourg offers a tax advantage of around 40 basis points. It is noteworthy that in the “Target to Maturity” Bond Mutual Funds, a “Greek market” of about 6.5 billion euros has been created, all of which have moved their headquarters to Luxembourg for purely tax reasons. If we want to strengthen institutional players in the market, we need to offer a competitive tax environment.