Hello, before we get to current affairs, a comment on the stance of the opposition—almost all of it—as well as on that open sewer of social media, where people, anonymously or not, insult and viciously attack anyone and anything they dislike. It’s bordering on psychopathy. I do not wish to refer to the grieving parents—and I have never done so—for obvious reasons. However, if you are a politician or a lawyer, etc., you should know that highly serious cases are assigned either by order of the Prime Minister or by order of the Supreme Court to appellate judges for better investigation and trial. Nor should we suddenly be discovering that the President and the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Executive Branch. In any case, if Androulakis and Famellos align themselves with Zoe (who has returned to her worst) and Velopoulos, they will soon be equated with them, and naturally, the original extremists will surpass them. Just keep in mind that the report of the National Accident Investigation Authority will be released on the 27th of the month—the date is apparently fixed by the EU—and it will state the real causes of the tragedy, not mere fabrications. It would have been simple for Androulakis to set himself apart by declaring, “We will wait for the truth,” but instead…he went to the butcher shop.

Seismologists lost in translation

Now, moving on to daily matters, the intense seismic sequence in the Cyclades is becoming an equation with many unknowns, as the seismologists on the Risk Assessment Committee did not significantly enlighten the political leadership of the Ministry of Climate Crisis during the long (very long) meeting on Tuesday. They cannot say with certainty whether a larger earthquake will occur, how long the sequence will continue, or if smaller faults have also been activated. As for the discord, while on Tuesday afternoon they decided not to appear on TV channels, by Wednesday, they had done so anyway. Meanwhile, their internal rivalry continues—this time, we had a new match between Gerasimos Chouliaras and Akis Tselentis. The tension remains high, and they are expected to decide on Saturday regarding the operational status of schools in the Cyclades.

End of hotel project in Sarakiniko – Meeting at the M.M. today

Yesterday, the urban planner of Milos, Ms. Chorianopoulou, who also happens to be the regional governor (and a close associate of the blue party’s regional governor, Chatzimarkos), suspended the permit for the infamous hotel in Sarakiniko, Milos. She cited “procedural reasons,” I hear, but this came after worldwide backlash against her, as she had allowed the crime to happen—it was under her jurisdiction as head of Urban Planning, as well as under the mayor’s, of course. And they both knew everything very well. This afternoon, a meeting is scheduled at the M.M. to discuss all these urban planning and environmental issues, which I foresee soon exploding in the government’s face if they don’t take action.

All the President’s people

Kostas Tasoulas was receiving congratulations yesterday from ND MPs, as well as from members of other parties, for his election to the position of President of the Republic. He welcomed several MPs to his temporary office, some stopped him in the hallways, and he even took a stroll through the parliamentary lounge. Now, he must begin forming his team, something he had previously avoided out of tact. The director of his private office at the Presidency will be Vasilis Davonis, his closest confidant for 26 years, and along with him will transfer his personal secretary of 15 years, Vivi Chaniotaki.

Gerapetritis at Maximos

A contact of mine saw Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis entering Maximos Mansion on Tuesday, so I looked into it, as many are whispering about a reshuffle, etc. “No connection,” my source at M.M. responded. “He came to brief him on his tour in the Middle East—he visited seven countries in one week and met a king, a president, three prime ministers, and five foreign ministers,” my source added, emphasizing that Greece’s diplomatic capital is strong and that the country is actively present where it needs to be, given its historical ties with the Arab world. Now, whether K.M. didn’t discuss anything at all with Gerapetritis about the impending reshuffle yesterday… I’ll only believe that if they recently met and exhausted the topic then.

BGR and lobbying in Washington

The government seems to have made a strategic move in the fluid new environment of Washington by signing a contract with the public relations and lobbying firm BGR, which has strong connections both within the Trump system and among the Democrats. It is considered one of the top five lobbying firms on K Street and has long represented India’s interests in the U.S. To give you an idea of its level of influence, my American source tells me that Trump’s new Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, was until recently a senior executive at BGR. The firm was founded by Haley Barbour and Ed Rogers, who were officials in the Reagan administration, and it has offices not only in Washington but also in Florida, London, and Beijing. Recently, Cyprus has also signed a similar agreement with BGR.

The miracle of Praktiker and Watsa

A soul involved in American mysteries claimed that Prem Watsa does not have the best relationship with the Trump administration. I don’t know, but even if that is the case, I don’t think it affects the business of the Fairfax boss. However, things for Watsa in Greece are going better, and I’m not only referring to Eurobank, which has found its path, or the capital gains from the stake in Metlen. The miracle happened at Praktiker, which returned to profitability after many years of losses. In fact, due to the good results of 2024, CEO D. Galanis’ contract was renewed for three years in recognition of his efforts that turned the company around. Where Watsa’s business in Greece is currently lagging, at least for now, is in the hotel sector, as Grivalia as a hotel owner, to put it politely, has not had the same brilliant trajectory as his other investments in the country.

There is a lot of money in OLTH

After the extension requested and received until 2030, OLTH is now at the point where its shareholders must act regarding the mandatory investments related to the port’s upgrade and modernization. Following the approval of the master plan with the issuance of a Presidential Decree, the Belterra (Savvidis) – CMA CGM (Terminal Link) consortium, which controls approximately 73% of the listed company, is now called upon to implement the significant investments of 180 million euros it had committed to as part of the port’s privatization in 2018. The flagship of these investments is the expansion of the 6th pier, an intervention that will multiply the port’s capacity. This investment will allow the port to accommodate mainline container ships of up to 24,000 TEUs. Additionally, the restoration and utilization of the old customs station must proceed, along with projects for the improvement, repair, upgrade, and reconstruction of existing port infrastructure. The required capital is therefore significant, and it remains to be seen which capital structure OLTH will choose to finance this heavy investment plan. However, the company maintains a strong financial position and generates new positive cash flows while remaining debt-free. At the same time, the acceptance period for the public offer submitted by LeonidsPort of the Louis-Dreyfus family for up to 21% of OLTH expires next week (20/2). However, for many sessions now, the stock has been significantly above the 27 euros offered by the Franco-Swiss billionaires, and it remains to be seen what their next steps will be. If they do not wish to settle for the small percentage they have already gathered, they will need to significantly improve their offer.

Continuous underground negotiations

And the 180 million euro investments are not the only challenge OLTH faces. According to information, there are continuous underground negotiations among the major shareholders, while other sources indicate that TAIPED raises serious objections to OLTH’s acquisition of 67% of the shares of the Volos Port Authority (OLV), which is controlled by businessman Ivan Savvidis. Returning to Thessaloniki, it should be reminded that apart from the 7% of OLTH shares held by TAIPED, the Greek State also controls an additional 3% through EFKA. Swiss and French shareholders of OLTH have their own views on the orientation of Thessaloniki Port; the question is what the Greek State will say and at what price.

AVAX at a 15-year high

The rally for AVAX stock continues unabated, closing above 2 euros, with a 35% return since the beginning of the year. It is now at a 15-year high, gaining momentum from the start of coverage by Euroxx, which sets a target price of 3.4 euros, an upside of 62% compared to yesterday’s closing. The impressive rise was supported, among other things, by the group’s performance, and as the stock had lagged behind other construction stocks on the board, it rushed to close the gap. The listed company’s valuation now exceeds 300 million euros.

The bonuses of Kopelouzos at Damco

The management of Damco Energy of the Kopelouzos Group proceeded with the provision of bonuses to its employees. Specifically, at an extraordinary General Assembly held in late December 2024, the company’s head, Christos Kopelouzos, taking into account the contribution of employees to its positive trajectory, proposed the distribution of profits amounting to a total of 240,143.16 euros, which will be paid from the profits of previous years. The proposal was unanimously accepted. Okay, it’s not exactly… Karelias, but better than nothing… This was preceded in November by a related amendment to the company’s articles of association, which now stipulate that “the remaining net profits, as well as any other profits, are freely disposed of by decision of the General Assembly, either as remuneration to the members of the Board of Directors, or as remuneration to the company’s employees for their services in this capacity, or for the formation of an emergency reserve, or for the distribution of additional dividends to shareholders, or for increasing capital by issuing new shares, which are granted to shareholders free of charge instead of an additional dividend.” Let me remind you that Damco in 2023 had a turnover of 230.95 million euros, compared to 122.22 million euros in 2022, with pre-tax profits for the group reaching 46.5 million euros compared to 71.26 million euros in the previous year (due to the completion of several projects). Damco, which shows accumulated profits of 63.8 million euros, in addition to energy projects and the “fleet” of Power Generating Pairs it leases, has undertaken the major project of constructing a new power plant with a capacity of 840 MW in Alexandroupolis, a 400-million-euro investment, with shareholders PPC, which now holds 71% after acquiring 20% of Damco for 27 million euros, and DEPA Commercial with 29%. At the same time, its subsidiary, Redex, continues a very good trajectory in the field of construction, renovation, and maintenance of buildings. In 2023, the subsidiary completed a series of major projects, closing the year with a construction backlog of 31 million euros.

The…restoration of order

Yesterday, the column wrote about the “secret reshuffle” at Attikos Ilios of the Mantonanakis Group, as – according to a relevant entry in the General Commercial Registry (G.E.M.I.) – the Board of Directors on February 4 decided that “the company continues to be represented and bound by a) Anna Mantonanaki, daughter of Konstantinos, President and CEO, b) Panteleimon Mantonanakis, son of Konstantinos, Vice President and Executive Director.” This overturned the previous arrangement, as the President and CEO was Pantelis Mantonanakis, and Vice President and Executive Director was his sister, Anna Mantonanaki. However, the “reshuffle” was ultimately invalid. Less than 24 hours after the previous entry, a new one yesterday put things back in place. As stated in the new entry regarding the Board’s change, “the company continues to be represented and bound by a) Panteleimon Mantonanakis, son of Konstantinos, President and CEO, b) Anna Mantonanaki, daughter of Konstantinos, Vice President and Executive Director. All powers and responsibilities of the Board of Directors are assigned to the aforementioned acting jointly or separately, except those that by law or statute require collective action.”

The Greek-Czech consortium and Viohalco

The decision of the Council of State to reject ONEX’s request for interim measures aimed at annulling the decisions of the General Assembly of Hellenic Defense Systems for the establishment of a consortium with the Slovak company MSM of the Czech group CSG appears to pave the way for the implementation of the agreement. Rumors in the market suggest that the consortium has already started discussions with SIDENOR and ElvalHalkor for the supply of necessary raw materials so that the production of ammunition from the Hellenic Defense Systems unit in Lavrio can commence immediately. After all, Viohalco itself, when it first started its journey in the Greek business scene, began with the manufacturing of shells and bullets.

Stock market like a crab

Two steps back and one forward is the movement of the Stock Market, which insists on going against international trends. Yesterday, when markets were hit by the cold shower of rising inflation in America with all that entails, the General Index rose to its highest point in the last 167 months at 1,562.04 points, with gains of +0.85%. Trading value increased to 154.9 million euros, with 16.2 million euros in block trades. Banks took the helm again, responsible for half of yesterday’s trading volume, with Piraeus (+2.26%) at 4.485 euros, Alpha (+1.5%) at 1.79 euros with 13.7 million shares traded, National (+1.47%) at 8.3 euros, and Eurobank (+1.39%) at 2.4 euros despite a negative start. Attica Bank rose to 0.732 euros (+3.1%), and Bank of Cyprus closed above 5 euros (5.02€). TITAN showed its disappointment again yesterday at not being included in MSCI Standard Greece, retreating -1.27% to 42.6€. PPC took a break after four consecutive upward sessions, closing yesterday at -0.59% at 13.51€. Offsetting previous negative signs were Sarantis (+2.63%) at 11€, Jumbo (+2.19%) at 27.08€, Motor Oil (+1.77%) at 21.86€, Ellaktor (+1.78%) at 2.29€, and Metlen (+1.2%) at 35.3€. In smaller capitalizations, standout performers were AVAX (+4.59%) at 2.05 euros, HELEX (+3.34%), PPA (+22.71%) at 32.9€, and Kri Kri (+2.13%) at 16.75 euros.

Greek shipowners, the new U.S. government, China, and India

Greek shipowners possess the largest commercial fleet in the world, have a presence on Wall Street, yet continue to repair and maintain their ships in Chinese shipyards. The new U.S. government seeks to shift the center of global trade from Chinese ports to the Indian Ocean. The Trump administration has begun discussions with Greek shipping magnates to relocate their ship repairs to three specific ports in India, where new state-of-the-art ship repair zones are rapidly being developed. “Move your ship repair activities to India, and there will be significant incentives,” promises the U.S. government. That’s why a top government minister recently traveled to New Delhi.

The New York Stock Exchange expands to Texas

Yesterday morning, the New York Stock Exchange officially announced plans to launch NYSE Texas, a new fully electronic stock exchange based in Dallas. The Chicago-based New York Stock Exchange will be integrated into Texas and renamed NYSE Texas, offering companies the opportunity to list their securities there. Texas is considered the state with the highest number of companies listed on Wall Street, with a combined market capitalization exceeding 3.7 trillion dollars. With 230 years of experience in stock trading, the NYSE believes that NYSE Texas will provide listed companies a trading hub centered around the dynamic economy of the southwestern U.S. The NYSE Texas will list companies not only from Texas but from around the world. Texas has recently attracted many Americans relocating due to its strong economy and business-friendly legislation.

When gold yields more than…bitcoin

Unbelievable but true. Since the beginning of the year, the price of gold has risen by almost 11%, trading just below the milestone price of 3,000 dollars. During the same period, bitcoin has yielded +4.4%, the S&P 500 +2.5%, the Nasdaq +2.3%, and 10-year Treasury Bonds +2.6%. Silver has followed gold’s return, also rising +11% since the beginning of the year. Silver’s price is above 32.4 dollars per ounce, platinum is priced at 1,014 dollars per ounce, palladium surpassed 977 dollars, and copper stands at 4.6 dollars per pound. Investing in gold yields 41% in one year, 59% in three years, and 84% in five years. Better than stocks…