Greetings, in the midst of summer and strong winds in the Aegean. This coming week, K.M will decide what the ruling party will do in Parliament regarding the OPEKEPE case. In fact, my source from M.M told me that Mitsotakis might even announce today which of the two options he will choose: 1. No to PASOK’s Preliminary Investigation Committee, yes to an Inquiry Committee that will go back a decade to cover the actions of both PASOK and SYRIZA. 2. Yes to a Preliminary Investigation Committee for both ministers, but for a misdemeanor, which during the examination of witnesses etc. will very likely not lead to prosecution, because no legal expert sees a criminal issue. Both scenarios have pros and cons.

Response to PASOK on direct awards

Today, M.M will also respond to PASOK, which, through an amendment, wants to reduce the threshold for direct contract awards from 30 to 20 thousand, and also impose a cap on the number of such awards. M.M will respond as follows: even though the number of contracts awarded through the direct award process is very high (around 70%), the total expenditure corresponding to these contracts is much lower, accounting for only about 15% of total expenditure (first half of 2024 data). The remaining direct awards concern Local Government and the Regions. The amendment will not be accepted.

Changes in General Secretaries

Changes in the government’s general secretariats are a matter of days – they may even happen today. One expected “swap” is at the Ministry of Environment, where Telis Aivaliotis resigned to seek the presidency of RAAEY, and Despina Paliarouta, current General Secretary of Transport, will take his place. Stelios Sakaretsios, who comes from the Land Registry and is a trusted person of Kyranakis, will take over her position. There will ultimately be no changes at the Finance Ministry, but in the Vice Presidency of the government, former Shipping Minister Kostis Mousouroulis, a retired EU Commission official, will be appointed as coordinator for the EU budget negotiations for 2028–2034. A change will occur in the Education Ministry, as General Secretary for Primary Education Giorgos Katsaros is stepping down and returning to his permanent post, while Thanasis Nikolopoulos, until recently Regional Director of Education in Attica, is being considered for the role. Changes are also certain at the Ministry of Rural Development, where the position vacated by Giorgos Stratakos due to the OPEKEPE case remains empty, and the exit of the “party man” Konstantinos Baginetas is also being discussed. General Secretary for Information Dimitris Galamatis is also stepping down, heading for the Decentralized Administration of Central Macedonia, and former General Secretary Dimitris Kirmikiroglou seems “locked in” for the position.

Hydra – Tables

Last Friday, a meeting was held at M.M with all relevant ministers and deputy ministers to discuss the incredible chaos with restaurant tables occupying public spaces. Especially on the islands, during summer, pedestrians have to “surf” through the tables, a disgraceful and also dangerous situation in case of emergency. One of the dozens of such cases is Hydra, where in recent days some order has been restored, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem like it will last. The municipality is under pressure from two or three “professionals” addicted to illegality and is preparing to roll back the measures it implemented just three weeks ago, under police pressure. And this despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of residents support even the partial order recently established – at least to be able to pass through the street with a baby stroller. The time of the Prosecutor is probably coming, since illegality and vested interests believe they will always win.

Structure in Crete proceeding as planned

Local leaders in Crete may have performed the expected heroics in front of TV cameras after Friday’s meeting at the Ministry of Migration, claiming they don’t want a closed detention center on the island, but the structure will proceed as planned. The difference is that it won’t be a closed facility where migrants stay for a long time, but an identification center, which will, however, be strictly guarded.

Meeting under the shadow of 30% tariff threats

A difficult day dawned for European markets and, of course, the Athens Stock Exchange, following Trump’s Saturday letter threatening the EU with 30% horizontal tariffs on exports to the U.S. – significantly higher than the 20% he had announced on April 2 – if a trade deal is not reached by August 1. Whether markets have become accustomed to Trump’s tariff threats will be revealed today. All last week, the White House was sending letters to trade partners with Trump’s new tariff list, with tariffs reaching up to 50%. Markets largely ignored them. Wall Street saw two of its three main indices hit new highs. Then came the threat from Canada, one of the U.S.’s closest trade partners. After that came the announcement of 30% tariffs on the European Union. There is a prevailing perception that these announcements are far from the final outcome of events. In trade, the TACO policy (Trump Always Chickens Out) does not fully protect investors from market volatility. The market’s last hope lies in the earnings reports of 38 listed companies on Wall Street. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo report earnings tomorrow. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group, and Morgan Stanley follow on Wednesday. US Bancorp reports on Thursday, and American Express and Charles Schwab close the week with reports on Friday. Outside the banking sector, other large-cap companies reporting next week include Johnson & Johnson on Wednesday, and GE Aerospace and Netflix on Thursday.

Orange alert at the Bank of Greece for the Chania Bank

Despite the reassuring assurances of the Management at yesterday’s Annual General Meeting of shareholders of the Cooperative Bank of Chania, where the entry of the Czech-based investment fund Wenger Capital Sicav into the share capital was revealed, the Bank of Greece is operating under a climate of increased vigilance and supervision. At the end of June, a special meeting took place at the Bank of Greece with the management of the Chania Bank, during which the high percentage of “non-performing loans” (40%) and the low Capital Adequacy were highlighted. It was there that the Czech “white knight” was introduced for the first time. Yesterday, the management of Chania Bank presented a statement from Karel Hlaváček, Director of Wenger Capital Sicav, who reportedly is willing to initially invest €9 million, followed by another €22 million for a significant and substantial “strategic alliance.” Obviously, the new management team must pass the evaluation of the strict Scottish economist Heather Denise Gibson (former spouse of Euclid Tsakalotos), who heads the Credit System Supervision Directorate of the Bank of Greece, as well as that of Yannis Tsikripis, a close associate of Yannis Stournaras, who is the General Director of Prudential Supervision & Resolution at the Bank of Greece. Subsequently, the “fit & proper” assessment must be issued for the new management team that will be formed, timelines must be agreed upon, and the intentions of the fund must be thoroughly investigated. Experience shows that funds usually invest to gain cheap and immediate access to a European Banking License. However, before approving a nationwide license, the Bank of Greece is interested in safeguarding the health and balance of our financial system.

Stress test for three banks

The results of the stress tests to be announced on August 1 concern three of the four systemic banks, as Eurobank is not included. The reason is that the bank underwent a large-scale restructuring due to its acquisition of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus and will be stress-tested by the supervisor in the next round, in two years. There is a provision that if a bank proceeds with a significant merger, demerger, or other crucial organizational change, its participation in the stress tests may be delayed due to changes in key metrics. In Eurobank’s case, it is expected that the bank will normally participate in the next exercise.

Construction records (on the Stock Exchange)

The shares of construction companies present an excellent picture, despite the correction in the Athens Stock Exchange due to the preceding eight-day upward streak. GEK TERNA continued on an upward trajectory for the fifth consecutive day and closed on Friday at €21, a level not seen at closing since February 11, 2000. Following the sale of TERNA Energy to Masdar, an energy deal with Motor Oil added further value to the group, with concessions serving as a strong driver. Aktor closed at a new 16-year high, with ambitious targets for revenue and profitability in 2025 and plans to distribute dividends starting in 2026, attracting a “wave” of buyers to the stock. Over the past two days, it has gained at least 8.5% and is approaching €6 for the first time since mid-October 2009. It is also nearing a market capitalization of €1.2 billion. AVAX has seen five consecutive gains, rising over 10% during this period. This streak brought it back to the €2.3 level, very close to this year’s intraday record of €2.42. The next higher prices for the construction firm’s stock date back at least 15 years, specifically to mid-January 2010. This year, it has jumped 51.9%, having started at €1.52 and now standing at €2.31.

Almost all airports showing growth

The performance in the first half of the year at the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece showed that the summer started rather “mildly” in June, with an increase in total passenger traffic (domestic-international, departures-arrivals) of 1.3%, reaching 5.35 million passengers. The half-year recorded a higher increase, at +1.9%, totaling 12.95 million passengers, with declines at the airports of two premium destinations, Santorini (-21.5%) and Mykonos (-3.5%). Thessaloniki recorded the highest growth, with 3.49 million passengers due to increased connections and frequencies by airlines. For June alone, four airports saw a drop in total traffic: Santorini, which has been affected this year by seismic activity, experienced a decline of -17.2% over the winter; Mykonos remained close to last year’s levels with a slight drop of 3–4%; Samos was down 5%; and Kos was down 0.3%. Kavala (+10%) and Thessaloniki (+7.35%) had the largest increases in the first month of summer. However, now in mid-July, especially in Mykonos, you can barely walk due to the crowds.

Bespoke: Reshuffle with a…coffee aroma

There was a mini-reshuffle at Bespoke SGA Holdings, owned by Spyros Theodoropoulos, which even had a…coffee aroma. The corporate investment scheme of the SEV President operates with an 11-member Board of Directors. Since last February, Giannis Papachristou resigned to become CEO of the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations (HCAP). His position remained vacant, as it was decided not to replace him at that time. At the General Assembly held on June 25, the time seemed ripe, and the new Board features two “fresh” faces, while Angeliki Oikonomou stepped down. The “new” members are Spyros Theodoropoulos’s son, Giannis, and Alexis Pantziaros. Why did I mention a coffee aroma earlier? Alexis Pantziaros, along with Marios Vlachogiannis, founded and runs Coffeeco, an ambitious startup from Patras that invests in the circular economy around coffee waste and was selected in May to participate in the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator 2025. Giannis Theodoropoulos also holds an investment position in Coffeeco. Additionally, Nimbus Capital IKE—owned by Evangelos Liolios and Konstantinos Konstantopoulos, founder and CEO, respectively, of the coffee chain Coffee Island—controls 27.31% (with K. Konstantopoulos also being a member of the startup’s board). Thus, the new Board of Bespoke consists of Spyros Theodoropoulos as Chairman and CEO, Maria Georgalou as Vice-Chairwoman, and as members: Ileana Antypa, Sotirios Folias, Ioannis Theodoropoulos, Antonios Theodoropoulos, Themistoklis Makris, Artemis Nousia, Niki Smyrni, Aikaterini Maggana, and Alexis Pantziaros. Whether the participation of Pantziaros signals something more remains to be seen.

How many Starlink subscribers does Elon Musk have in Greece

Achilleas Kanaris, the new CEO of Vodafone Greece, estimated last week that the number of subscribers to Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink in Greece amounts to “about 60,000.” At the end of February, the CEO of the OTE Group, Kostas Nebis, in response to a similar question, estimated that Starlink subscribers were “about 30,000.” If the estimates of the two top CEOs in our telecommunications market are accurate, the doubling of subscribers of their main competitor in high-speed internet within four months introduces new dynamics to our market. For its part, Starlink, from July 1, 2025, has reinstated in our country a previously offered deal, albeit with a break, for the Starlink Mini. The new offer, valid from July 1, 2025, provides the standard Starlink Kit v4 entirely free of charge. This is powerful equipment for home use, especially in areas where the fiber optics of the main telecom providers in our market do not reach. It offers speeds of up to 350–400 Mbps with a service cost of €40 per month, without any data caps or speed throttling.

Q&R’s Acquisitions and Strategy

“What comes after the Recovery Fund?” is the primary concern of all IT companies, which are rushing with strategic alliances and acquisitions to discreetly distance themselves from public sector projects and expand into the significant needs of the private sector. Included in this “next day” planning are also the strategic moves of the listed IT company Q&R (Quality & Reliability), which has already, in the first six months of 2025, completed significant acquisitions, strengthening its position in the fields of SAP technology operations, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. It acquired 60% of SysteCom S.A. to enter dynamically into the cybersecurity market, 51% of the Belgian Squaredev B.V. for Artificial Intelligence (AI), 76.19% of Alexander Moore for SAP business solutions, and 51% of Alpha Cons Intelligent Tech for specialized business software solutions. These acquisitions were accompanied by investments exceeding €1.65 million, aiming to bolster digital transformation activities. All these moves brought the stock to €1.2, reaching a capitalization of €32.8 million, marking an increase of +129% over the past two years. Now, however, Q&R is called upon to prove it can “play ball.”

Reveal of “House of NYNN” and the New Aegean

The sudden press conference scheduled for the day after tomorrow by the AEGEAN management aims “to present current news and developments regarding the company’s future plans.” The press conference will take place at the House of NYNN – the new space “The Ilisian,” created in the old Hilton, aspiring to become “a modern, private members’ club that shapes a contemporary urban lifestyle.” It is no coincidence that the chairman of TEMES, Achilleas Konstantakopoulos, is one of the significant minority shareholders of AEGEAN (with 5.54%). Of greater interest, however, is the reason AEGEAN is holding the press conference, just days after having raised €250 million from the market through a 7-year “retail bond.” AEGEAN has filled its treasury with €750 million and – additionally – has built a discreet equity position in the Athens International Airport, whose stock market value has exceeded €3 billion. It seems that for AEGEAN, the time for announcements has come – not just for new destinations, but also new goals.

AI Transfers Resemble Football

When Meta hired Jiahui Yu, a top researcher from OpenAI and architect of GPT-4o’s visual capabilities, it didn’t just make a good addition – it signed the “Ronaldo” of artificial intelligence. Transfers in the world of AI have started to resemble transfer windows of major football teams: it’s not enough to improve your team, you must sign the player who changes the game. In recent months, Meta has hired top scientists from OpenAI, DeepMind, and Apple, offering packages exceeding $100 million, while it invested $14.3 billion to acquire 49% of Scale AI. This strategy intensifies competition with OpenAI and Google, focusing on talent acquisition for faster progress in AI. The parallel is clear: just as a football team acquires a star to contend for titles, tech giants acquire top minds to compete for the lead in the race toward superintelligence.

Norway Produces Oil but Loves TESLA

In Europe, sales of TESLA electric cars are not going well at all, especially after Elon Musk’s active involvement in politics, having spent nearly $300 million to support Donald Trump’s election campaign and then distancing himself from the White House after leading an initiative to cut federal agency spending. Tesla sales in Europe are down across the board, except in oil-producing Norway, where TESLA recorded a +54% annual increase in new car sales in June. According to data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), there was a +115.3% annual increase in registrations for the refreshed Model Y. Tesla sales in Germany fell 60% in June compared to the previous year, while sales also declined in France. Norway is set to become the first country to fully transition to electric vehicles and has long been recognized as a global leader in sustainable transportation. Electric vehicles in Norway are exempt from VAT, enjoy reduced road and parking fees, and privileged access to bus lanes. The government has also heavily invested in public charging infrastructure, and many Norwegian households are able to charge their cars at home.