There is stagnation with the farmers and the blurred picture continues in terms of communication and channels with the government, it is not the easiest thing because even those who are at the blockades are not behaving in a coordinated manner. However as long as they stick to the attitude they have so far and open the roads to facilitate Christmas travellers things will be better. With some inconvenience… holiday travel for both Christmas and New Year will be done and then everyone will go to work, as is done every year with the farmers in January. However, with a careful eye one will see that the government gave the farmers 70% of what they asked for and the farmers 90%, my source in Maximou told me.

The rumours of elections and K.M.

-On the occasion of the farmers’ case and since we are now entering a “long march” to elections from 2026, I hear more and more often several political actors (and not) arguing that “Mitsotakis should not go all the way, he has nothing to gain, everyone will ask for something and something will always pop up, so let’s go to elections in the spring and get it over with as long as it is in these numbers poll-wise that we see today”. I don’t know if I agree with the assessment or not, what I do know is that K.M. is just… not that kind of guy, that’s not the only way he thinks, so I don’t see it as likely, as it seems to me unlikely, that he would “tinker” with the election law. Now of course you will say that in politics unexpected things happen that lead to developments, but this is true over time, but I repeat – under normal circumstances – I don’t see early elections.

The 2026 targets

-Mitsotakis, however, is investing in deliverables, which is why Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting will focus on the ministries’ central priorities for 2026. Schematically, there are 20 reforms and 20 projects that the government is basically required to complete in the next year. I hear that detailed details will be made public in the New Year, possibly at a press conference to be held by Hatzidakis and Skertos, who have also done the basic preparation for the ministers’ dossiers.

Gathering at the Megaron

-On Saturday, a joint political initiative by Kostas Tasoulas and Kyriakos Mitsotakis to support … classical music was unannounced! The President and the Prime Minister stood side by side in the VIP box at the Megaron to attend the concert with works by Brahms and Dvořák by the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra (ELSON) under the direction of conductor Dionysis Grammenos and with Leonidas Kavakos on violin and Timotheos Gavrielides-Petrin on cello as soloists. Joining them in the same box were the President’s wife Fani Stathopoulou, the Prime Minister’s wife Mareva Grabovski, Nikos Dendias, Lina Mendoni and the US Ambassador to Athens Kimberly Guilfoyle accompanied by her son Ronan Anthony. Other well-known guests, such as Alexis Patelis and the shipowner Panos Laskaridis, joined the celebratory drink during the break. Mitsotakis was so impressed by the orchestra and the talent and dynamism of the young children that he asked Mendoni to have the Ministry of Culture support the orchestra on a regular basis, which the minister did immediately, announcing at the end of the concert that the conductor would receive an annual sponsorship of 150,000 euros. We recall that the Parliament, initially with Mr. Tasoulas as its President, and now with Nikitas Kaklamanis as its President, has supported the ELSON.

Dendias -Kairidis

-That Dendias in recent months has been attempting a “differentiation within”, in the context of the next day, is, I think, obvious, although I personally doubt that it is politically visible at the moment. Anyway, everything is evidence of it, moving from the Unknown Soldier monument case to his public appearances at events of unfriendly media (Democracy, EFSYN). Anyway, everything has its little or big semantics, although I personally don’t consider such events important, since the media should host all voices and politicians should express their views everywhere as well. But I learned that regarding the episode of Deputy Minister of Defence Davakis with Kairidis – the latter spat on Dendia’s absence from the committee responsible for the Ministry of Defence bill – in the M.M. they were not happy at all and of course they were completely unconcerned. I am told that even K.M. himself, though he was not thrilled with the idea of Dendias’ absence from the competent committee – even though the minister was between Lorian and Athens due to Belharra – did not like Kairidis’ move in the logic of “the in-house not in the house”. Well, he didn’t whip him!

The Pierrakakis arrangement for the Swiss and the 600 million bill.

-The Swiss franc loans, a case that tormented some 70,000 borrowers and their families, came to an end with the Pierrakakis regulation that passed the Parliament. The appreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro from 2010 to 2025 is around 45% and this highlights the scale of the problem that was created. The Pierrakakis regulation concerns all borrowers without exception, who are offered for the first time a favourable opportunity to get out of the deadlock, as the haircut is scaled according to asset criteria and reaches up to 50%. Another important aspect of the arrangement is that it does not affect Hercules’ guarantees, thereby placing a burden on the State. On the contrary, the banks estimate the loss from the regulation at 600 million, a not insignificant amount.

On energy deals at the Ministry of Energy, Kimberly

-Christmas visits with energy content will be made today at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. Specifically, in the Mesogeion building, Stavros Papastavrou will receive this morning the US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, who adds yet another ministry to her list of visits. 2025 could not have ended any other way for one of the faces of the year – it’s true – as energy deals were at the core of her mission and at the forefront of government priorities.

First quarter draws for Euroxx

-We now turn to the market, starting with the Piraeus Group’s moves. Well, in terms of Euroxx and its integration into the Piraeus Bank Group, things are progressing and progressing well. The deal, which will take some time to close, is estimated to be reached in the first quarter of the year. This is not a simple undertaking, as in this case, the aim is for the entity that will be created to integrate all investment banking services. “It follows in the footsteps of Alpha Bank with AXIA Ventures. The agreement with Euroxx is dictated by the complexity of the developments created by the acquisition of the Greek Stock Exchange by Euronext, which requires large schemes.

30 December signatures for Egnatia Odos with GEK TERNA (75%) – EGIS (25%)

-The management of the Yperta Fund is counting the days until next Tuesday, December 30, when the “financial closing” of the 35-year concession contract of Egnatia Odos to the consortium GEK TERNA (75%) – EGIS Projects (25%) will be signed. The Yperta Fund will immediately receive EUR 1.3 billion. Immediately after the holidays, the management of the Yperta Fund will present to the Prime Minister the study completed for the 22 airports, so that the tender procedures can start in early February. Regarding the ports, after the Prime Minister meets with the Minister of State for Transport and Communications. After the meeting with the Minister of Shipping and the Super Fund Management, he was instructed to prepare the sub-concession tender for Elefsina, as well as the maturation for the implementation of the business plan for the Port of Alexandroupolis. The one-dimensional model of majority privatisation has been abandoned, and a more flexible approach is being adopted, with a single management system, targeted public-private partnerships (PPPs), and concessions of specific activities, instead of a full management assignment.

The… old lines at National Insurance

-With 40 plus – probably approaching 50 years of career experience each – two executives who are the living history of the insurance market in our country have joined the board of National Insurance. These are George Kotsalos, who assumes the position of non-executive chairman of the company’s Board of Directors, while Triantafyllos Lyssimachou is expected to participate in the Board of National Insurance from the side of Piraeus Bank. The latter is the one who “combines” the experiences of both entities. G. Kotsalos, among others, was CEO of the INTERAMERICAN Group for many years, where he played a central role in its operation and strategy. A former Chairman of the Hellenic Association of Insurance Companies, with more than one term of office, he is familiar with the issues of the insurance market, which, although they have changed, retain the same core. Triantafyllos Lyssimachou had served for several years as General Manager of Insurance Operations at Piraeus Bank Group, while he had served for 15 years previously at National Insurance, including as Senior Director of Information Technology and Commercial Director of the company.

As a Senior Vice President and Head of the Corporate Finance Department, he was also a Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Finance at the Bank.
The Christmas fight…

-Tomorrow – on the eve of Christmas – early in the morning, at the Athens Single-Member Court of First Instance, the injunction filed by the main shareholder Chrysa-Lemonia Koutla (16.08%) against the Board of Directors of the listed construction company PROODEVITIKI S.A., founded by her father and managed by her brother until his death, will be heard. This is a stunning case that reveals all the pathologies of corporate governance in our market. In September 2022, the Board of Directors of Progressive signed an agreement with an offshore company, LDA Capital Limited, which would fund Progressive with up to €20 million over 3 years. The shareholders approved the contract. Years have passed, and Progressive has not received a single euro. Why? The Board never submitted a request for financing! Suddenly, despite the lack of cash flow from the contract, the Board decides to give a fee (!) of 400,000 euros to the “investor” along with some warrants. The shareholders were never fully informed about the fee. The “investor” will receive €400,000 + 1,216,000 shares from the warrants. Today, Progressive “owes” LDA Capital €221,000, with the contract providing for the execution of a pledge on the shares of Vice President Anargyros Tsadimas. However, instead of executing the pledge, the Board of Directors, on October 17, 2025, decided to increase the share capital by 222,399.90 euros with capitalization of liabilities and exclusion of the pre-emptive right of the existing shareholders. In simpler words, it shifts the obligation to the shareholders. Koutla argues that the AGM never gave such an authorisation. But there is a corollary. On July 12, 2024, the Board unilaterally extended the contract for one year by reducing the price of the warrants without AGM approval. Koutla reasonably asks: how will the company collect in one year what it did not collect in three, especially after exiting conservatorship in April 2025?

…and the Progressive mess

-LDA Capital Limited declares itself a “global alternative investment group. It specialises in private placements in companies with “high risk” profiles, from blockchain and cryptocurrencies to cannabis and indebted small listed companies. The operating model is interesting. It provides “capital commitments” that are executed in stages, with the company initiating the request but the investor retaining veto power over approval. The question is, why did PROODETIKI insist on this contract when its bank debts were paid off by arrangement, using almost €4 million of liquidity left by the previous management of Koutla’s brother Konstantinos? The contract allows LDA to acquire up to 20% of Progressive. The main shareholder, who alleges a number of illegalities and omissions, has appealed to the supervisory authorities and is asking the judiciary to annul the Board’s decisions before the AMC is completed. The Board was obliged to call an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders on 5 January 2026, only at Koutla’s request. The agenda includes a legality check, an update on the obligations to the LDA, and an update on the authorizations. Tomorrow, the Court will decide whether the proceedings should be temporarily halted. The question is, how does a Board sign a financing agreement, fail to execute it for 3 years, owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees, and ultimately choose to pass the cost on to shareholders through a “dilutive capital increase”

Stegos is building in the southern suburbs and partnering with Tr. Piraeus.

-The Steggos group of Techniki Olympiakios seems to have found a brilliant field of glory in real estate, with a big “opening” in the residential sector, especially in higher-end houses. In fact, one of the ongoing new, large projects of the group is the one in Pigadakia of Voula for the residential complex that will be completed, in good faith, in 2027, having even proceeded for this purpose last October in the issuance of a common implicitly secured bond loan with a total nominal value of up to 25 million euros, five-year term. Indicatively, the houses in this project, in an area of 7,328 sq.m., on Fleming and Karkavitssa streets in Voula, will be sold at around 13,000 euros per sq.m. Now, at the end of 2025, the latest move by Stegos is the establishment of Vesta Asset Partners S.A., a company active in the development of real estate for residential use. The interesting element in this case, apart from the large share capital of 7.37 million euros that the new company has, is the shareholding structure where the Steggou Group, through its subsidiary Premier Capital Investments, owns 80% and the remaining 20% belongs to Piraeus Bank. The participation in the company’s board of directors is similar, where George Steggos is the chairman, while Nikolaos Vezyrakis, from the Strategy and Data Analysis department in the real estate sector of Tr. Piraeus. At the same time, last week the company announced that it is moving forward with the other project of consideration (a related process had “run” in 2023) for a church property in Vouliagmeni with the signing of the relevant contract. This is the property of 1,342 sq.m. at 6 Alekos Panagouli Street for the construction of 4 residences, while the share of consideration is 43%.

The Rear Admiral and the Commander-in-Chief of the Greek merchant marine

– “Greek shipping does not just follow the developments in the country’s defence, but actively participates in their formation. Not with statements, but with deeds. This phrase is heard more and more often in the corridors of the Pentagon and could hardly fail to refer first to Panos Laskaridis. Rear Admiral of the Navy with honor, contractor of the frigate “KIMON” and President of the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation, he has established himself as a benchmark of a new, practical benevolence to the Armed Forces. The donations of the Laskaridis brothers’ family are neither fragmentary nor communicative. From the state-of-the-art V-BAT drones to the ASDEN and the diving watches to the DYK, to the “KYKNOS” programme of more than 23 million euros for the upgrade of “S” type frigates and the Fleet General Support Ships, the footprint is measurable and operationally critical. The construction of a new Squadron at the Icons School in Dhekelia, in collaboration with the GAF, is in the same vein, meeting a real need of tomorrow’s Air Force officers. In this context, the recent proclamation of Ioanna Athina Martinou as an honorary Commander of the Navy, on the occasion of the donation of a navigation simulator to the Naval Cadet School, came to be “snapped”. Movements with a common philosophy: support with substance, not with words. And in the background, a clear message that modern national defence is now also being built by those who know what the sea, responsibility, and durability mean.

From knitting to investing

-Hellas Cotton S.A., owned by the Theodorides family, founded in 1996 and based in Thessaloniki, is one of the largest companies in the knitted fabric sector and one could say that it is one of the few in the industry that… survived after successive crises. Its current shareholders want to expand into other ‘fields’ of the market. Thus, they proceeded to set up a Holging company called Artexa Holding & Investments S.A., which aims to establish companies or participate in existing ones, as well as to engage in investment activity through all forms of investment. The initial share capital is set at EUR 24 600 000, of which EUR 24 584 671,03 is a contribution in kind and EUR 15 328,97 in cash. The ‘in kind’ is none other than shares in both Hellas Cotton and Mercury Corporation-Export Clothing Manufacturing. The total value of their shares was estimated at EUR 24 584 671,03 (EUR 4 183 307,50 for Hellas Cotton and EUR 20 401 363,53 for Mercury Corporation). The three shareholders, namely Dimitris Theodorides, Elias Theodorides, and Nikolaos Petronikolos, each hold 37,5 % of the new company, the first two, who have also assumed the positions of Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, and 25% by the third.

Peter G’s return to the New York Stock Exchange

-The … subtext behind Peter G’s move is simple: shipping is returning to the US capital markets not as it was, but as it needs to be. If the venture succeeds, it will not just open up a deal, but a path that in recent years has seemed closed. If it fails, it will confirm that Wall Street remains selective about shipping. Peter Georgiopoulos’ return to New York via Spac is neither accidental nor nostalgic. From Wall Street’s perspective, it is a cold reading of the timing and tools available. The traditional IPO market remains closed to shipping, not out of ideology, but out of investor fatigue. Spac, by contrast, offers flexibility and timing – two elements that matter more than the narrative. GPAC’s $230 million is not a huge amount by market standards, but it is sufficient for targeted moves into assets in transition. The issue’s oversubscription shows that Georgiopoulos’ name is still “on the books” for institutional investors, mainly because it comes with a track record of execution rather than promises. The presence of Leo Vrondissis and a proven financial staff reassures the market that this is not an experiment. At the same time, opening up to data centres, maritime tech and digital infrastructure is not a fashion; it is an adaptation. Wall Street is no longer just asking for ships; it’s asking for cash flow predictability and a technology upgrade narrative. To give you an idea for those who don’t… SPAC is a shell company that goes public without having a business. Its purpose is to raise capital from investors and, within a specified period of time (usually 18-24 months), merge with or acquire a private company.

Greek stock market nears 16-year high

-Near this year’s highs are back with Athens Avenue, with five more “bends” left to be completed by 2025. The General Index closed Friday at 2,112.46 points and was at its highest point since August 25, when it closed at 2,116.10 points. This is immediately followed by a year high of 2,126.18 points, and should there be another breakout, the stock market will claim the levels it has not seen in 16 years, namely since March 2010. In this effort, the market has several allies, as apart from the banks, there are a dozen stocks that are trading at record levels. Among them are PPC, GEK TERNA, Titan, Motor Oil, Viohalco, Aktor, Cenergy, Athens International Airport, ElvalHalcor, EYDAP, as well as mid-cap papers such as ABAX, Kri Kri, Profile, Trade Estates, and newcomer Qualco. And if 2025 is characterized as successful based on strong returns, 2026 is considered special overall for the Greek stock market ecosystem. First, it will complete its acquisition by Euronext through a squeeze-out for the shares it does not currently own, fully integrating HA into the pan-European group’s team. In addition, an upgrade from the FTSE Russell to developed markets will come into effect in September, signalling similar moves by other index providers, most notably MSCI.

The end of the crypto euphoria

-In the coming days, many analyses and reports will be published on the most profitable investments of the outgoing year. One thing is certain: 2025 was a year of surprises and upheavals in the commodities market (Commodities). Investors showed a clear preference for tangible assets with industrial utility, significantly reducing positions in promising digital speculative bets. Silver emerges as the champion with a +130% return this year, more than double that of gold (+65%). Traditional commodities dominate: copper (+35%) benefits from infrastructure development and electrification. Traditional stock market indices, Nasdaq (+20%), S&P 500 (+16%), Russell 2000 (+13%) continued to offer good returns. Cryptocurrencies disappointed their fanatical fans. Bitcoin (-6%) and Ethereum (-12%) are losing ground, but altcoins (-42%) are experiencing a full-blown massacre. The wild party is over, regulatory oversight is tightening globally, and the “digital gold” narrative is becoming less believable in the face of the explosive rise of real precious metals. Institutional investors have sold their profits to ambitious retail investors and turned to safer assets. This time around, we are witnessing an apocalyptic shift in physical values. “Tangible assets, industrial demand, real value.

Trump’s holidays and Wall Street’s expectations

-For the first time in many years, the US President “gave” a full week’s vacation to public employees for Christmas. Christmas Eve (12/24) will be a holiday for all federal employees, as will the day after Christmas – Friday (12/26). Along with December 25, an unprecedented five-day holiday is created to give the US State a rest from the two-month shutdown. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq were quick to announce that they would not follow suit and would remain open. The holidays apply only to federal employees, not the private sector. Trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and NYSE will close early, at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. The markets will be closed on Thursday in observance of Christmas. Friday, back to work. The reason for this choice is clear: Dec. 24 marks the start of the much-anticipated Santa Claus Rally. Wall Street tradition wants stocks to rally on the last five days of the year and the first two sessions of the New Year. In theory, starting Wednesday, Wall Street enters its best two-week period of the year. The truth is that, with all we’ve lived through, traditions and customs are neither fully observed nor believed…

The over-indebted Pentagon and the most powerful army on the planet

-For the 8th consecutive year, the US Pentagon has failed its annual financial audit. Assets of $4.65 trillion against liabilities of $4.73 trillion, but without the ability to certify their accuracy. The world’s largest defence organisation cannot present auditable financial figures and certainly cannot be held accountable to Congress for the US defence budget, which exceeds USD 850 billion a year. A negative net position of $80 billion would cause panic in any other agency or public body. At the Pentagon, however, the situation is considered “improved” because the percentage of accounts that cannot be verified has been reduced. Congress continues to “approve” increasing defense budgets without basic transparency. The confrontation with China and Russia creates a political cover for unaccountable spending. The inability of the US Pentagon to control its finances underlines the need for enhanced European defence autonomy, not only militarily, but also in the management of defence resources. Increased defence spending must be accompanied by strict control mechanisms. But then strategic advantage is lost.