Hello—today or tomorrow ND will file the text for establishing the Inquiry Committee that Marinakis announced yesterday (with detailed reasoning as always) and in surprise-attack mode. According to Maximos Mansion sources, Mitsotakis acted without waiting on the opposition, which was dragging its feet trying to pinpoint offenses for a possible Pre-Investigative Committee. Truth is, PASOK’s ship is slow to sail. For the Inquiry Committee, several “ammunition rounds” are in the works—like the ties of PASOK members to the OPEKEPE case. As I wrote recently, there’s the case of Rethymno MP Chnaris, who was deputy governor of Crete until 2021, and without regional approval, no one could even apply for grants. Also noted is PASOK member Moschos Korasidis, who came up with the “technical solution” in 2014 as general secretary of the Agricultural Development Ministry, along with other “green” figures centered in Crete.

Voridis–Avgenakis
– The PM’s decision, finalized in yesterday’s “morning coffee” at Maximos (which you read here first), wasn’t sudden. I hear there were talks with those involved, especially Voridis, who has a full legal rationale. He’s ready to join the Inquiry Committee—purely a political process—and will speak in Parliament when parties present their proposals. “Mitsotakis did what was right—not just politically, but legally,” Voridis reportedly said. Avgenakis is waiting for detailed positions from the parties before speaking.

Tours
– The OPEKEPE case won’t dominate the summer agenda. Mitsotakis is planning tours—e.g., tomorrow he’ll visit Karpenisi, sports centers, a school, a hospital, and will address local ND members. Toward end of July, he’s set to inaugurate 65 of 75 km of the Patras–Pyrgos road, as mentioned before.

MP Spokesperson “Split”
– Mitsotakis reassigned thematic—not hierarchical—roles to party spokespeople. Dimitris Kairidis (replacing Thanos Plevris) takes over Foreign and Defense Committees, and Public Administration, Order, and Justice. Notis Mitarakis takes Economic Affairs and Production & Trade. Makarios Lazaridis handles Education and Social Affairs.

With a Nudge from Hatzidakis
– From yesterday’s announcements on ministry secretariats, the big one is the transfer of successful DYPA director Spyros Protopsaltis to General Secretary of Agricultural Development. I’m told Vice President Hatzidakis, who worked with him at the Labor Ministry, played a key role.

Casino Construction in Maroussi Starts in August
– Countdown begins for the €250M entertainment and hospitality hub at Kifisias & Spyrou Loui in Maroussi. With approvals complete, METKA bulldozers roll in August to the 40-acre former Dilaveri estate. The project includes a 5-star hotel, conference/event venues, dining-entertainment options, and a casino—surrounded by green and public-use spaces, with ample underground parking. North Star Entertainment SA will also carry out major roadworks to ease the area’s notorious traffic burden.

Goldman Sachs’ Kolotoumba
– A U-turn worthy of the 2015 “proud negotiation” days: Goldman Sachs, which late 2024 predicted the Athens Exchange wouldn’t end above 1,475 points, and repeated that in early 2025—while the index was already at 1,500. Later, it upped its forecast to 1,700. Now, after a 35% year-to-date rally and with the index one of the world’s top performers, GS forecasts 2,100 by year-end. It cites Greece’s better risk-reward profile, cyclicality, and attractive valuations—especially in banks. Despite the rally, it says the market still trades at a discount to peers.

Theodoropoulos Eyes M&A and Real Estate
– Some €200M shy of surpassing €500M in turnover, Spyros Theodoropoulos’ Bespoke SGA Holdings needs that milestone to proceed with stock market plans. He’s still seeking acquisitions. He says it’ll take “a couple of years” to build scale and generate synergies and profit—which are currently lacking. Financial reports posted on GEMI show heavy lifting remains, especially with a net debt of €203M from acquisitions and factory investments (two for ION, one for Lavdas). Real estate sales by subsidiaries (to third parties or Bespoke Real Estate) eased debt but it’s still high and costly. Central issue: optimizing subsidiaries. Sales/distribution across Greece is now unified under Bespoke SGA Services. Moving real estate to Bespoke Real Estate aims to unlock asset gains. A dynamic trend: converting old industrial/commercial buildings—especially along Piraeus Street—into housing. The most ambitious? The old Keranis factory.

The First AKTOR Scholars
– In just 2.5 years, the AKTOR Group managed to multiply its size fivefold, join the Large Cap 25 of the Stock Exchange, and, as Al. Exarchou stated, is now aiming even higher—specifically, for a turnover of nearly €1.5 billion and EBITDA of €200 million. Today, the AKTOR Group employs approximately 1,500 engineers across various specialties, upon whom it relies for its growth, with Al. Exarchou supporting the Group’s talent incubator—not only financially. Yesterday, in a modest ceremony, the first wave of scholarship recipients from the AKTOR4TheFuture program gathered at the Group’s offices in Paiania. These top-performing students will begin their postgraduate studies in September in cutting-edge scientific fields at some of the world’s best universities, and afterward, a job at AKTOR Group will be waiting for them so they can bring the most modern international practices into Greece’s construction sector.

He’s “baking up” something in real estate too
– Manolis Karamolegos may have emerged as a market leader in bread and related goods, with his namesake bakery and the “Apollonion” chain, but it seems he’s also cooking up plans in real estate. Toward that end, the company “EMKAR Construction I.K.E.” was evidently established on Monday, July 14. The company’s main activity is construction work on residential and non-residential buildings, and it also includes land and property sales, building construction, as well as short- and long-term leasing services. EMKAR’s initial share capital is set at €50,000, divided into 50,000 capital contribution shares, each with a nominal value of €1. The participants are Vasilios Evangelou with €25,000 (50%), Emmanouil Karamolegos with €12,500 (25%), and his son Ilias Apostolos Karamolegos with €12,500 (25%). All of them, with Manolis Karamolegos front and center, are board members of Karamolegos Bakery S.A. The management of the newly established company has been assigned to Thanos Petros, also a board member at Karamolegos Bakery S.A., and its headquarters are located on Dorylaiou Street in Ampelokipoi. Let’s see what the resourceful baker is “baking” up in real estate this time.

Alpha Trust Andromeda’s Immobility
– For several months now, despite the dramatic rise in the Stock Exchange and the European Central Bank’s interest rate cuts (which amount to a tax reduction), Alpha Trust’s listed share has remained stationary, hovering just above or below a market cap of €26.7 million. The AIF Alpha Trust manages a €2 billion portfolio, which increases in value daily according to the broader stock market trend. Of course, investors can’t know what the portfolio’s valuation will be on December 31, 2025, but the distributable profits will surely exceed the €1.8 million paid out this year, based on last year’s performance. Moreover, the ECB’s base rate has dropped from 4% in 2023 and 3% in 2024 to 2% this year. This is important because AIFs have a fixed tax rate on assets: 10% x (ECB rate + 1). So, lower euro rates mean less tax burden for Alpha Trust.

Italian-British Inflows into ADMIE
– The management of ADMIE Holdings has been on a capital-raising spree, seeking new investors to support the Transmission System Operator’s new ventures. It seems the efforts are starting to pay off, as ADMIE’s stock stood out with a positive sign throughout yesterday’s session, closing up +5.36% at €3.34, hitting a historic market cap high of €774.8 million. Market sources say that Italian-British investment funds have started entering ADMIE’s shareholder base, though this will be confirmed in two days upon trade settlement.

ELVALHALCOR Wants to Join the Billionaire Club
– ELVALHALCOR’s market cap stands at €979.38 million, just a few million shy of joining the Stock Exchange’s billionaire club as the 26th member. Recently, it has become evident that the goal of reaching a €1 billion capitalization has been set “from above” by the Group’s top management. “Steadily and without rushing” is the directive…

Kyriakoulis: Sailing with the Tzortzis Brothers…
– Last Friday, Kyriakoulis’ stock posted a +10% rise, and yesterday—despite the general atmosphere of uncertainty—rose another +12.32%, bringing the share to €1.55 and market cap to €11.7 million. The only notable development likely justifying this investor enthusiasm is the entry of Indigo Marine, led by Panagiotis and Rigas Tzortzis, sons of Th. Tzortzis, former key shareholder of Alco Hellas. Kyriakoulis’ new CEO, Giorgos Koutsos, has hinted at aggressive moves in “search of new development areas” with a fresh business plan and new capital inflows, though there are no concrete steps or details yet. Just two months ago, Kyriakoulis—long struggling on the stock market—was valued at under €8 million. Now it’s headed toward €12 million.

Rotation in a Few Profitable Stocks
– Second consecutive session in the red, sparked by Trump’s tariffs but really a breather the market needed. Yesterday, 40 million shares traded on the Athens Stock Exchange, with 30 million of those in bank stocks. The trading volumes suggest that some investors took profits from Piraeus and National Bank, which closed down, and moved them to Eurobank and Alpha, which closed in the green. Alpha, with a trading value of €21.4 million, initially fell to €3.165 (-2.3%) but ended up +0.37% at €3.252. Eurobank (+0.03%) with €28.1 million in trades closed at €3.151. On the other hand, Piraeus (-2.26%) at €6.40 led in turnover (€45.9 million), followed by National Bank (-2.26%) at €11.77 with €37.6 million. AKTOR stood out with a third consecutive positive session (+1.03%) at €5.88. OTE (+0.72%) at €15.4 and OPAP (+0.56%) at €19.8 also contributed positively. With all this, the General Index weathered the storm in European markets, closing at 1,953.48 points with a slight drop of -0.34% and a total turnover of €214.19 million, €26.1 million of which came from block trades.

New Records Thanks to Rotation
– New stars emerged on the Athens Stock Exchange, helping it hold the 1,950-point line, stay close to multi-year highs, and keep losses at a minimum on Monday. As part of the rotation, buyers rushed into Jumbo, which climbed back above €30. That’s uncharted territory for the stock, reaching €30.14 yesterday, while the all-time high of €30.40 was recorded earlier this month. It’s up nearly 18% this year, with analysts seeing another 13% upside, predicting it will reach €34 within 12 months. CrediaBank is now just a breath away from the €1 mark, for the first time since its capital increase last November. In addition to yesterday’s 4.33% jump, this banking stock—resisting the sector’s two-day correction—has gained 8.22% in the past two sessions and has scored a solid 5 out of 6 positive days, returning 21.85% since July 4. It’s up over 43% in 2025, with a market cap nearing €1.6 billion. Profile also hit a new all-time high, closing at €7.26, peaking at €7.29 during the day. So far in 2025, it’s gained over €2 per share—about +38.3%.

After Gold, Now Silver Takes Off Too
– The price of silver is now just shy of $40/oz. Silver is at the center of global investment attention as it approaches 14-year highs. It last hit $49.50/oz in April 2011, during a period of intense investment demand and economic uncertainty. Today, since the start of 2025, silver is up roughly +34%, and +110% over the past three years. There’s rising demand for silver in industrial applications—especially solar panels and electric vehicles. New technologies require more silver per unit of production, with China leading the demand surge. Silver remains irreplaceable in fields like electronics, medical tech, and battery production. On top of increased physical demand, geopolitical uncertainty and tariff battles are also boosting demand for precious metals as safe havens. Supply remains tight, as silver mining (mostly a by-product of other metals) has decreased, and stockpiles have dropped to multi-year lows.

Cryptocurrencies Gaining Ground in the US – Bitcoin Reigns Supreme
– Donald Trump has declared he wants to be the “President of Crypto.” He’s offering institutional support for cryptocurrencies, and the new GENIUS law (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act), passed by the Senate in June, establishes the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S., radically changing the landscape for digital currencies tied to the dollar. Bitcoin has already surpassed $123,000—66% higher than last April. Its exchange rate jumped over $20,000 in a single week. Since the dark day of April 9, the overall crypto market has added $1.3 trillion in capitalization. Bitcoin’s market cap has now exceeded $2.5 trillion, while the total value of the global digital asset space nears $4 trillion. The GENIUS Act—soon to pass the House of Representatives—defines “payment stablecoins” as digital assets issued for payments and redeemable at a stable value (e.g., $1). It excludes “algorithmic stablecoins” and those offering yield or interest. Only specially licensed issuers—banks or approved non-bank entities—can issue payment stablecoins in the U.S., under strict conditions.