All News from Balkans
Bad loans rise to 33 pct of all credit issued
By Evgenia Tzortzi
Nonperforming loans to enterprises and households in Greece peaked in the first quarter of the year, exceeding 71 billion euros. This amounted to a third of the banks loan portfolios, which at the end of March added up to 215.9 billion euros, according to bank data.
Lenders plan for mortgages totaling 500-600 mln this year
By Alekos Lidorikis
Demand for new mortgage loans is still low in terms of quantity, but the quality of candidates is high, say competent banking officials.
Investments of 37.6 bln in two years
By Dimitra Manifava
Investments amounting to 37.6 billion euros have come to Greece since the change of government in June 2012, Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis announced on Wednesday, citing a survey by the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE).
Greek prosecutors ask for information on Saab executive suspected of kickbacks
Greek prosecutors have contacted Swedish authorities to request more information regarding a high-ranking Saab executive who is suspected of working with a middleman in Greece to bribe defense officials, Kathimerini has learned.
Tsipras sets sights on victory of 4-6 percentage points
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday gave the clearest indication yet regarding what kind of result in Sundays European Parliament vote would, in his view, give the opposition party the impetus to call for snap elections.
Gov’t suggests SYRIZA seeking to draw votes from Golden Dawn supporters
People wait at a bus stop beneath a campaign poster for New Democracy in central Athens on Wednesday.
With just a few days left before the crucial double elections on Sunday, party leaders intensified their campaigning on Wednesday with their position on the threat posed by neofacist Golden Dawn a key focus of much of the rhetoric.
Greece approves Enel bid to search for oil and gas
Greece on Wednesday approved a request by Italian energy major Enel to search for oil and natural gas in three onshore areas in the west of the country.
Other oil firms will now be invited to submit rival exploration offers for the same three blocks later this year, in line with Greeces open-door hydrocarbons licensing rules.
Euro slides against dollar on Greek concerns
The dollar gained against the euro on Wednesday amid concern the European Parliament elections starting on Thursday may shift the balance of power in the 18-nation region.
The yen reached a three-month high earlier after the Bank of Japan refrained from expanding stimulus.
Bank stocks send index to higher ground
Banks played the leading role in another bourse session as their gains buoyed the benchmark and the blue chip index higher, while the mid-cap slide resulted in declining stocks outnumbering those that rose on Wednesday.
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,119.30 points, adding 1.56 percent to Tuesdays 1,119.30 points.
Greeks send aid to flood victims in neighboring Serbia
The Greek branch of Doctors of the World said on Wednesday that the first shipping container of humanitarian aid for Serbian flood victims collected from donations is due to arrive in the Balkan country on Thursday.
The shipment contains medicines, food and clothes that will be handed over at a hospital in the town of Smederevska Palanka.
Biden in Cyprus for talks on peace, Russia
US Vice President Joe Biden gives a statement to the media in front of Air Force Two, after he arrives in Larnaca international airport, Cyprus, on Wednesday.
US Vice President Joe Biden flew in to Cyprus on Wednesday for talks on the divided islands peace process and on Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.
Citizen Advice Centers (KEP) to expand services from May 27
Citizen Service Centers (KEPs) will offer a range of new services from May 27, the Administrative Reform Ministry said on Wednesday.
Among these services is helping Public Power Corporation (PPC) customers who meet certain income criteria to apply to pay a reduced rate for the electricity they use.
Up to now, homeowners could only do this at PPC offices.
Suspected Attica boat thieves arrested
Two men suspected of being part of a gang that stole pleasure boats from southeastern Attica have been arrested, police said on Wednesday.
The pair, Albanian nationals aged 21 and 45, were arrested while driving a car that was towing a boat stolen in Koropi.
Man shot in Korydallos was suspected of GD killings
A 31-year-old man who was shot dead in a Mafia-style execution at a restaurant in Korydallos, near Piraeus, early Wednesday had been on a list of suspects linked to the murder last November of two members of neofascist Golden Dawn in Neo Iraklio, north of Athens, police sources said.
Greek armed forces on alert after spike in Turkish air violations
Greeces armed forces are on standby as Turkish aircraft have conducted a record number of violations of Greek air space over the past two days as part of a Turkish naval exercise in the Marmara Sea, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Kathimerini understands.