— The topic of adjustable income, not only for ADMIE but in general, is very “hot” and there are many interesting aspects. Many argue that a part of the regulated investments should gradually change to unregulated ones, as “normal” companies invest so as not to burden the regulated asset base, i.e. consumers.
In Cyprus, the Board of Directors of Alpha Bank
The Board of Directors of Alpha Bank is in Cyprus, in the presence of the head of the group, Vassilis Psaltis, and will participate today in a joint meeting with the Board of Directors. of Alpha Bank Cyprus. The joint meeting of the Boards of Directors follows the great mission of Alpha Bank to Cyprus last February where the staff of Alpha had meetings with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis, the Archbishop of Cyprus, George, the Minister of Finance, Makis Keraynos and the Governor of the Central Bank, Constantine Herodotus. The joint meeting of the Boards of Directors reflects the special importance that Alpha gives to its subsidiary and the strengthening of its position in the local market. It is clear that after the release from the HFSF, which was achieved with the strategic agreement with UniCredit, the bank’s management is focusing its attention on business and the development of the bank’s operations inside and outside of Greece.
German attack on the Recovery Fund
Determined to close the debate on a new Recovery Fund before it even opens, the German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner appeared. In remarks he made to Bloomberg on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank meeting in Washington, he laid out the entire German argument against the continuation of a common lending program in Europe to make investments. He, of course, insisted on the legal argument that it is illegal to continue the Recovery Fund, given that Germany’s Constitutional Court has allowed the joint borrowing program as an emergency measure and only to deal with the consequences of the pandemic. But he cited two economic arguments, in addition to the legal ones: that member states should now take responsibility for their own financial affairs, without relying on common loans, but also that it is doubtful, based on the evidence that exists so far , that the Recovery Fund has the effectiveness originally expected. Such positions from the German side made Kostis Hatzidakis lose his temper a few days ago and remind the Germans that a large part of the joint loans guaranteed by Germany return to Germany through the participation of German companies in the Fund’s programs Recovery.
— However, as to whether the Germans will finally accept a Recovery Fund II, those who follow European issues closely say that it is too early to draw conclusions. In view of the European elections and with the percentages of the governing coalition parties under pressure, it would be unthinkable for a finance minister – and indeed the leader of the Liberal party – to open any “window” for new joint lending programs. After the elections and if the result is not too bad for the three-party government, maybe things will change.
The “miracle” with the Greek FBI
Lively doubts may be expressed as to whether we have a rudimentarily functional police force in this country, but the political leadership of the Ministry of Citizen Protection is attempting to overcome all this with a leap forward: They want to create the Greek FBI! The information from the police report, in fact, says that the plan that was processed very recently is already ready to be implemented in the near future. Of course, it did not take a miracle to create the Greek FBI in no time. Some individual police services that are already in operation and that deal with the most serious crime will simply be brought together and placed under the orders of the Police Headquarters, forming – according to the plan – a large task force that will even be able to stand up to the Greek Mafia.
— All this is fine and dandy, but unfortunately in football it has been proven that it is not enough to change player positions and tactics in a constantly losing team to suddenly become… Real Madrid. Also, many will think that in a Police that Michalis Chrysochoidis himself has stated that he keeps 65% of his forces in the countryside and only 35% in urban areas with high crime, what is important is a redeployment of forces to transfer police officers where they are needed. If all this is done, we will be able to think about FBI but in Greek.
Digging for fiber optics
Until recently, Greeks resented slow internet speeds and huge delays by companies in investing in fiber optic networks. Now the pendulum has swung to the other side and we may soon be saying “no more fiber investments”. In many areas of Attica, there has recently been disruption from OTE projects to pass the fiber optic cables, with digging, dust, noise, traffic problems, etc. As soon as the residents calmed down and many rushed to connect to the fast networks, a new round of projects began, in the same places, this time by PPC, which wants to become the formidable rival of OTE in the wholesale market. And then again digging, dust, noise, traffic difficulties. Let’s at least hope that when all these projects are finished, the competition of the two parallel networks will bring not only very high speeds, but also very low prices.
IMF: Beware of “inflated” valuations
Tobias Adrian, head of the IMF’s Capital Markets Department, rang the “bell” for the excessive valuations of some listed companies. Speaking to CNBC, the top executive of the Fund argued that the valuations of some companies are not based on fundamental data and can not only prove to be wrong choices for investors but also endanger the stability of the markets. As he notes, the “inflation” of valuations started in 2023 in the technology sector, but is now starting to spread to others, while he noted that there are several imbalances in the corporate bond markets as well. As for the sector he is most concerned about, it is none other than Rea Estate, as he described rising prices, mainly in commercial real estate, as “worrying” for some markets, with the possibility of aggressive corrections if there is even a negative shock. .
The “fire” of Telegram
Russian-born Telegram is emerging as a rising power in the social media space, estimated to surpass one billion active monthly users in 12 months from now. Naturally, its creator, Pavel Durov, appears particularly satisfied, claiming that “Telegram is spreading like wildfire”. Of course he manages this, having made sure to leave his.. motherland, namely Russia and move the headquarters to Dubai. Nurov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with authorities’ instructions to “delete” opposition communities from the platform. At the same time, he notes that despite the pressures he has received from other governments, the application is finally gaining the trust of the users, which is what is needed. However, it still needs a lot of effort to “catch” its big rival, that is Meta’s WhatsApp, as it already has more than 2.5 billion monthly users. As for Durov’s next goal, according to the Financial Times, it is none other than making an IPO and indeed on Wall Street, if, however, first the company manages to show profits in addition to active users.
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