Hello, I don’t know exactly what we are dealing with in the land of the “cheerful orange tree,” as we used to call our little Greece in the past, but in reality, the whole of Europe (or rather, the whole world) is preoccupied with Trump’s shocking tariffs. What impact will these have on the European economy and, by extension, on us? Because while we may not have overexposure to the American market (in terms of our products), we are in Europe, so that is enough. Now, you might say, here in Athens, Antonis Kafetzopoulos was found with four blank-firing guns—if you catch my drift about what kind of country we are talking about.

Adonis

To stay on our own matters, let’s not forget that there was a phone call between K.M. and Adonis, breaking the ice after the last episode on Sunday regarding the payroll of uniformed officers. Of course, the string of misunderstandings didn’t start on Sunday but much earlier. However, I will say this: the “sources” of M.M. should certainly talk to journalists of all political shades, whether they lean one way or the other. But their job is to inform, not to snitch on their colleagues or ministers. Because it is mathematically certain that, in the end, the bill will land on their boss’s desk. That’s all—end of story.

A Bartzokas at Maximos

Don’t get carried away—I’m not referring to Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas but to the “Mitsotakis-aligned” MP of Imathia, Tasos Bartzokas, who walked through the prime minister’s office door the other day. T. Bartzokas is part of the new generation of MPs and is serving his second term while awaiting an opportunity for a ministerial position. Instead, he saw the third MP of the region, Tsavdaridis, become Deputy Minister of Development, and the first, Apostolos Vesyropoulos, be proposed as Secretary of the Parliamentary Group. However, I’m told that he left the prime minister’s office satisfied, with commitments regarding regional issues.

Gerapetritis-Fidan

Today or tomorrow (probably tomorrow), there will be a meeting between Gerapetritis and Fidan at the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Summit in Brussels. The schedule is quite packed, and the meeting has not yet been finalized, but both parties are willing to have a discussion. I must say that the Foreign Ministry believes that despite the turbulence caused by Imamoglu, the High-Level Cooperation Council could still take place by the end of April, so as not to give the impression that the dialogue process is stalling. Politically, however, I am not sure whether K.M. will go to Ankara with about ten ministers under these circumstances.

GEK TERNA repays a €120 million bond

Good news for GEK TERNA bondholders, as the company will proceed tomorrow, Friday, with the repayment of a €120 million bond issued seven years ago, at the end of March 2018. The market sees the repayment of this common bond loan as a sign of the listed company’s financial strength, as GEK TERNA is leveraging its strong liquidity, which has been further bolstered after the sale of TERNA Energy. The repayment also reduces GEK TERNA’s overall debt, enhancing its financial flexibility ahead of future growth moves.

€560 million investments in 2025 for Motor Oil

MOH’s performance last year was impacted, as expected, by the fire at its facilities and fluctuations in the dollar, but the group’s management is not lowering its expectations for 2025, planning a total investment expenditure of around €200 million for the company. The majority of this will go towards restoring the crude oil refining unit’s operations following the fire incident at the refinery, completing the works and commissioning the new 160,000-ton-per-year propylene production unit, which diversifies the refinery’s product mix, and the basic design and equipment procurement for constructing a new electrolysis unit for hydrogen production. The new unit will be Greece’s first large-scale renewable hydrogen production facility. At the group level, investments will amount to €560 million.

There’s nothing like Halkidiki for Goldman Sachs after all

When Goldman Sachs acquired three hotels in Halkidiki in 2022, many wondered whether they had miscalculated. It turned out that this particular investment choice was not the most ideal for Goldman Sachs Asset Management, as insiders say the investment giant expected one thing and found another at the three hotels. They later realized that the plan wasn’t working out (there were also some rumors about drilling and water supply issues at the hotels), and with construction costs skyrocketing in the meantime, they decided to sell them to the Sani/Ikos Group. The group will develop the Ikos Kassandra, set to open in 2029 as the first Ikos Grand Resort.

Revolut surpasses 1.5 million subscribers in Greece

Revolut is set to announce tomorrow that it has surpassed 1.5 million subscribers in Greece. This compares to 1 million subscribers a year ago. Across Europe, Revolut has exceeded 50 million subscribers, 600,000 of whom are businesses. The number of Revolut customers in Greece who opened investment accounts increased by 212%. Last year, the average size of a Revolut investment account in Greece reached €4,010, marking a 68% increase from 2023.

Germany’s Berenberg picks Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola HBC nearly closed at a new all-time high, hitting an intraday record of €42.5. The stock drew significant interest following a report by Berenberg, which initiated coverage with a “buy” recommendation and a price target of 40.68 British pounds. Based on the current exchange rate (1 EUR = 0.837159 GBP), the target price translates to €48.6. This implies an upside of over 15.6%, with the Hamburg-based firm seeing room for further re-rating.

Only 2% of transactions take place in bank branches

Two very interesting statistics provide insight into the state of retail banking in Greece, sourced from National Bank’s Retail Banking division. At National Bank—traditionally a major player in retail banking—before the pandemic, 30% to 35% of transactions were conducted at its approximately 330 branches. Now, that figure has dropped to just 2% and has stabilized at that level. In fact, this past February saw a record low, with only 1.9% of transactions taking place in branches. Overall, all systemic banks report similar figures, with only 2% to 3% of transactions occurring in physical branches.

The “No” to Mantouanakis

An interesting and certainly not an April Fools’ joke was the decision made on April 1st by Konstantinos Dimopoulos, General Director of Environmental Policy at the Ministry of Environment and Energy (ΥΠΕΝ). What makes this decision particularly interesting is the subject matter (“Environmental licensing of the tourist complex under the name ‘Grand Resort Lagonissi’ owned by the company ‘Attikos Ilios'”) and the clear “no” to a request from Attikos Ilios. On March 7, 2025, Attikos Ilios and Pantelis Mantouanakis submitted an “urgent request” regarding “a request for an extension of the deadline for submitting the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), which was set by decision no. ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΙΠΑ/95110/6646/17.12.2024,” followed by a supplementary request on March 21, 2025 (ref. ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΙΠΑ/32041/1897/24.03.2025). As it turns out, this was not the first, not the second, but the eighth request for an extension. The response from the General Director of Environmental Policy at ΥΠΕΝ states: “In response to your eighth request regarding the extension of the deadline for submitting the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), which was set by decision no. ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΙΠΑ/95110/6646/17.12.2024, we inform you of the following: I. a) The requested EIS concerns existing facilities, the operation of which was covered by decision 7.a and whose submission is required to include a study on the design and implementation of a system for reusing treated wastewater, in accordance with ministerial decision 145116/2.2.2011 (B΄2220), as well as supporting documents demonstrating compliance with new regulatory frameworks concerning critical environmental parameters (Athens-Attica Regulatory Plan, River Basin Management Plan, Flood Risk Management Plan, National and Regional Waste Management Plans, National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, and requirements of ministerial decision 1915/2018 regarding anticipated impacts from the project’s vulnerability to risks of major accidents or disasters related to the project or activity, etc.), so that the reuse permit, the aforementioned regulations, and the environmental terms for the operation of the existing complex are integrated into the EIS approval. b) The deadline set by decision ΥΠΕΝ/ΔΙΠΑ/85482/5641/07.09.2020 of the General Director of Environmental Policy at ΥΠΕΝ has already been extended twice (until 30.09.2025), considering any delays in completing procedures and approvals. c) The existing and currently operating facilities, for which, according to the eighth request, all approval procedures have now been completed (issuance of certificates, validation of plans, recording of installations, etc.), can be included in the EIS. Following the above points a), b), and c), the requested extension for submitting the EIS cannot be granted. II. The remaining facilities of the investment project, for which approval procedures are still pending, will be environmentally licensed after submitting a modification file for the new EIS approval, in accordance with Article 6 of Law 4014/11, as applicable.” If I understand correctly, the well-known hotelier—who has repeatedly taken legal action against the state (and banks) demanding hundreds of millions in compensation—has been requesting extension after extension for updating the environmental permits of Grand Resort. And yet, the authorities have been remarkably lenient in granting them—until now.

Business Mission to…Baghdad

Next month, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs is organizing a business mission to Baghdad. The newly managed Hellenic-Iraqi Business Chamber is playing a key role in coordinating the effort. The chamber is now chaired by MEP Nikos Papandreou, with lawyer Nikolas Kanellopoulos serving as General Secretary and businessman Vasilis Gavalas (ASININ Corp Ltd) as Vice President. For the first time, an Iraqi representative—Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and son of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (2006-2014)—will participate in next week’s Delphi Economic Forum.

Profile’s Maximalist Plans

The head of Profile made a presentation to institutional investors yesterday, presenting an investment plan of €100 million over three years and promising more than double revenue. Profile will increase its size at a rate of +20% each year and in 2028 it will have revenue of €130 million with operating profits of €40 million. Europe’s shift towards defense spending opens new horizons for Profile, which is constantly developing specialized software. B. Stassinopoulos explained that of the €130 million of expected turnover, €90 million will come from organic growth and €40 million from the acquisitions it has launched. Today, the company’s capitalization reaches €127 million, which means – according to B. Stassinopoulos – that Profile’s enterprise value amounts to 9 times the operating profits of 2025 (9x ev/ebitda).

Stock market: Victory in points

“Tomorrow is another day”. From today the global economy operates at different rates and with different targets. Yesterday, the markets were moved by fear. Today, the first hopes will be formed based on the new data. For Athens, the first mound is the companies that distribute high dividends within the next quarter. The fortress of 1,700 points was held upright but with transactions of only 134.31 million euros with 8.9 million in packages. The General Index initially followed the pan-European downward trend, fell to 1,690.65 points but in the end a few but brave buyers appeared to restore 1,708.89 points (+0.62%). It is characteristic that until yesterday at noon at 15:30 the “net” value of transactions did not exceed 60 million euros. Eurobank took control of the market with an impressive +3.92% to 2.598 euros. OTE found an opportunity to stand out (+2.09%) to 15.61 euros and Coca Cola (+1.25%) did its duty at 42.02 euros. The shares presented yesterday at the Wood conference maintained their positive sign, Ethniki (+0.78%) to 9.582 euros, Alpha (+0.67%) to 2.264 euros and Piraeus (+0.31%) to 5.17 euros. Aegean showed fear of tariffs on aircraft engines (-2.4%) at 11.79 euros, while IPTO with a new President and CEO I. Karabelas continued with another new historical high at 3.11 euros (+2.47%). All of this will be reassessed from today based on the measures, countermeasures and the willingness of the world’s political leaders to reach an understanding.

POTUS chose Recession

The American President probably believes that a “controlled (?) recession” is the only way to simultaneously reduce dollar interest rates and inflation. His decision is conscious. He wants to divert stock market money to financing his debt. In 2025, $7 trillion in US Treasury bonds mature. Every rate cut matters. Markets are already pricing in a recession in the US economy, and the recession virus will soon spread to the rest of the world. Over the past 11 weeks, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note has fallen by 65 basis points, while over the same period, 1- and 3-month annualized inflation measures have risen above 4%. Interest rates are falling while inflation is rising, and that will have an impact somewhere. For now, the victims of this contradiction are stocks, which are facing the possibility of a recession that will reduce demand and increase their operating costs.