Financial Mirror

SEE PAGE 23

FinancialMirror

â‚Ź1.00 Issue No. 971 March 14 - 20, 2012

2 NEWS

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

Fitch lifts Greece out of default territory after debt swap Fitch lifted Greece’s credit rating out of default territory on Tuesday, becoming the first major rating agency to take the widely expected move after Athens completed a debt swap that cut its debt by about 100 bln euros.

This is the first time Greece’s rating has been upgraded since the debt crisis exploded at the end of 2009 and the first Fitch upgrade since 2003.

The three major rating firms have repeatedly slashed Greece’s rating throughout the debt crisis, cutting it to default over the debt deal in which private bondholders lost most of their investments in Greek government bonds.

Following the debt swap deal and a new EU/IMF rescue plan, Greece’s debt is expected to fall to under

120% of GDP in 2020 from 160% now.

“The agency considers that significant and material default risk remains in light of the still very high level of indebtedness post-PSI,” Fitch said in a statement, referring to the debt swap deal.

It said the implementation of reforms needed to bring Greece’s debt down would be a challenge.

“Moreover, in the near term, the prospect of a general election and uncertainty over the composition and commitment of a new government to the EU-IMF programme also poses a significant risk,” it said.

Greece is scheduled to organise general elections in end April or early May. The new B- rating has a stable outlook.

Eurozone okays Greek aid, demands deeper Spanish cut Euro zone finance ministers gave their final approval to a second bailout for Greece on Monday and turned their fire on Spain, demanding it aim for a tougher deficit target this year in order to get back on target in 2013.

Greece swapped its privately held bonds at the weekend for new, longer maturity paper with less than half the nominal value, a move that cut its debts by more than 100 bln euros.

The exchange paved the way for euro zone ministers to give the final political go-ahead to a 130 bln euro package that aims to finance Athens until 2014. The decision will be formalised by junior officials on Wednesday.

Thanks to a high take-up of the bond swap offer, Greece’s debt would fall below a target of 120% of GDP in 2020, reaching 117%, from 160% now.

As Greece’s financial problems have lost some urgency, Spain has raised a new challenge. After announcing the previous government had missed its 2011 budget deficit target by a significant margin, the

new administration said it would not meet the EU-agreed deficit goal for this year either.

Spain was supposed to cut its deficit to 4.4% of GDP this year, but said it would only aim for 5.8% as it heads into recession. Its deficit in 2011 was 8.5%, far above a 6.0% goal.

In a statement, the Eurogroup said Spain should strive for a 5.3% deficit target this year, cutting it some slack from the initial goal but keeping the pressure on.

The euro zone is keen that Spain, a far bigger economy than Greece which has so far avoided the need for a bailout, gives the financial markets no whiff of backsliding after Athens has been taken off the critical list, for now at least. “It will be the responsibility of the Spanish authorities to choose the initiatives that will have to be taken in order to bring down the budgetary deficit in 2012, what is most important is what is the target for 2013,” Juncker said. “What is less important, but nevertheless important, are the avenues chosen in 2012.”

UK’s Lib Dems target the rich in pre-budget gambit Britain’s Liberal Democrats proposed targeting the rich with a “tycoon tax” only days before they and their Conservative Party coalition partner present an annual budget, in a high stakes gamble to revive the party’s flatlining poll ratings.

The last-minute proposal is one of several levies on the rich the Lib Dems want included in the budget to pay for the party’s key policy of additional tax cuts for the lower paid.

But Clegg is unlikely to get all of his tax plans adopted.

The widely publicised plans look set to strain ties with the Conservatives, the senior party in the coalition, who may block or water down the moves and make the Lib Dems look ineffectual.

The Conservatives are traditionally the party of the wealthy, but are on the defensive as bankers continue to receive millions in bonuses even as state spending is cut to bolster a faltering economy.

The Lib Dems hope to harness public fury over soaring executive pay amid harsh austerity measures to pressure finance minister George Osborne, a Conservative, to take on their proposals when he presents the budget on March 21.

“The sight of the wealthiest scheming to keep their tax bill down to the bare minimum is frankly disgraceful,” Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg told party members in Newcastle on Sunday at the end of the Lib Dems’ annual spring conference.

“So, we will call time on the tycoon tax dodgers,” he said.

The centre-left Lib Dems have seen their popularity slump in coalition government, and have been abandoned by many supporters amid accusations of ignoring party values to share power with the Conservatives, ideological opponents on many issues.

Clegg hopes targeting tax avoidance and the wealthiest will fund a flagship budget proposal

to speed up a plan to cut taxes on poorer workers, clawing back grassroots support and distinguishing the Lib Dems from the Conservatives.

“The budget in ten days time ... must offer concrete help to hard-pressed, hard-working families,” Clegg said.

A Lib Dem source close to Clegg said: “To raise the stakes like this, ten days out from a budget in a conference speech, shows the personal attachment Clegg is putting to this fundamental front page manifesto policy.”

“INDUSTRIAL SCALE TAX DODGING” The Lib Dems want four key levies on the rich, but the so-called tycoon tax - inspired, Clegg says, by reports U.S. presidential candidate and multi-millionaire Mitt Romney only pays 13.9% tax - is likely to grab the most headlines.

Clegg said he expected the levy to tax the overall income of wealthy people by at least 20%, a move similar to U.S. President Barack Obama’s “Buffett Rule” proposal to tax at least 30% of the income of people making more than $1 mln.

The Lib Dem source said the proposal would close loopholes and the use of tax relief to prevent the rich “tax dodging on an industrial scale by paying an army of fancy accountants”.

He said initial research had found that hundreds of Britons with annual income over a million pounds paid less than 20% tax overall. Britain sets thresholds for increasing rates of tax with 50% being the top rate.

Yet the plan, aired for the first time on Saturday, is preliminary and seems unlikely to be included in the budget, with some of the party’s top ministers still vague on details.

Lib Dem party heavyweight Business Secretary Vince Cable told Reuters he knew little of the new tax: “I haven’t seen the details of the proposals, so I can’t give you a very informed comment ... (but) the idea is an interesting one.”

The proposal may be aimed at filling a gap made by the Conservatives’ likely rejection of the Lib Dems’ cherished “mansion tax” proposal, a levy on expensive homes.

Clegg told a British newspaper the property tax was a “sensible” idea but it was better to focus on tax avoidance.

The two remaining levies - reducing tax relief on pension contributions for wealthier people and tightening tax rules on property sales, known as stamp duty - are less controversial.

CYPRUS

Akel wants a ‘super rich’ tax The ruling communist Akel party wants to slap a ‘super rich’ tax on luxury goods such as large cars, yachts and private jets, as well as a tax on assets worth more than 1.2 mln euros.

The proposal is expected to be tabled for discussion in parliament, with some of the measures headed for an outright rejection by the majority opposition parties, while other proposals may be watered down or incorporated within the government’s package to spur growth.

However, the communist party has not yet realized that taxes curb growth and taxing the rich (many of whom are precious foreigners) could result in them leaving the island for more favourable tax havens.

Akel has also rejected the opposition Disy’s proposal to cut VAT on electricity from 17% to 8%, especially as it should not be considered as a consumer or luxury goodm, but rather a necessity.

The government also refuses to implement a radical cost-cutting programme that would see the number and wages of civil servants drastically reduced, for fear of repercussions just 12 months away from the next presidential elections.

Akel’s ‘super rich’ tax proposal includes a 0.5% levy on assets valued from 1.2 mln to 5 mln, 1% on assets worth 5 to 10 mln, and 1.5% on assets worth more than 10 mln euros.

Does wage indexation push up Cypriot unemployment?

The Cyprus construction sector was worth EUR 3.1 bln in 2010 measured in gross output current market prices according to the annual Construction and Housing Statistics report from the Statistical Service, but this was 9.7% lower than the EUR 3.4 bln recorded in 2009.

In terms of value added, the construction sector fell in real terms by a provisional 7.0% compared with a drop of 18.6% in 2009.

Yet despite recessionary conditions, the much loved wage indexation mechanism meant that labour costs continued to climb, rising by 3.5%, after an increase of 4.8% in 2009.

Input costs also rose, with the price index of construction materials recording a rise of 2.7% compared with a decline of 3.5% in 2009.

Not surprisingly, this led the sector to shed labour.

Employment in the sector fell from 36,384 in 2009 to 34,937 in 2010 and accounted for 9.3% of the gainfully employed population.

l

Construction labour costs rise despite recession The number of registered unemployed in the sector increased from 2,598 in 2009 to 3,497 in 2010. By February 2012 that number had climbed to 6,232.

According to business sources, two-thirds of the unemployed are Cypriots.

The politicians say that wage indexation is said to have secured peaceful labour relations.

Yet all it seems to have done is push out Cypriot workers in favour of non-unionised, cheaper ones from elsewhere.

Fiona Mullen, Director Sapienta Economics Ltd.

Card spending ex-auto rises 5% in February Local card spending excluding auto licenses rose by 5% over the year earlier in February, according to JCC payments systems, the dominant card provider.

The overall figure showed a fall of 3%, but this was skewed by the dates for renewal of motor vehicle licenses.

In 2012, the official date for the renewal of licenses (before it got shifted) was 1 February, whereas in 2011 the date was 15 February.

This mean that spending this year was concentrated in January.

For the first two months of the year, card spending was up by 11% compared with the year earlier to EUR 411.2 mln.

Spending by Cypriots abroad rose by 12% to

l

License renewal skews data

EUR 221.4 mln in the first two months of the year, despite a 4.2% fall in outbound tourism in January. This may be because card spending abroad includes internet purchases from nonCypriot suppliers.

Spending by foreigners in Cyprus rose by 7% to EUR 42.0 mln. Total revenue from tourism rose by only 0.7% over the year earlier in January. www.sapientaeconomics.com

Turkish Cypriot card spend drops for eighth month Card spending by Turkish Cypriots south of the Green Line dropped for the eighth consecutive month in February, based on analysis of JCC Payments Systems data by Sapienta Economics.

Spending in February fell by 8.7% compared with the year earlier to EUR 1.34 mln, after a drop of 8.6% in January.

For the whole of 2010, card spending by Turkish Cypriots fell by 7.8%.

All of the major items were affected in February. Spending on clothing fell by 16.8%, DIY by 12.2%, department stores by 19% and supermarkets by 8.9%.

Austerity measures in the north have seen a freeze on wage indexation since the beginning of 2011.

Meanwhile, Greek Cypriot spending in the

l

Greek Cypriot spending rises

north rose compared with the year earlier by 4.6% to EUR 379, 484, although this was after a sharp fall of 12.2% in January.

The main increase was in spending on airlines, up 44% to EUR 93,785, although this might be related to methodological changes.

There was also an increase of 13.2% in spending on hotels, reaching EUR 165,971.

Following a similar pattern from last year spending on entertainment, which includes casinos, was down by 33% at EUR 44,038.

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

CYPRUS

3

Moody’s cuts Cyprus to junk on Greece worries

BOC, Laiki test local market for fresh funds The island’s three main banks are expected to try to raise more than 2 bln euros in fresh funds to ensure high liquidity rates and reduce their exposure to toxic Greek government bonds, which is the main reason why they have been subjected to continuous downgrades by the leading rating agencies.

If any of the capital increase exercises fail, the banks may resort to the Central Bank of Cyprus for support, even though the Governor and the Finance Minister have already stated that the three Cypriot banks are “solid”.

The Bank of Cyprus rights issue ends on Monday, March 19, hoping to raise some 400 mln euros in fresh funds as part of the new cushion demanded by the EBA to cover the bank’s 1.56 bln shortfall in Core Tier 1 capital.

Laiki has an AGM on April 2 where shareholders and potential new investors will be asked to contribute some 1.8 bln through a rights issue, while older convertible bonds will be returned and reissued, possibly with warrants attached. One of the names being mentioned as a potential new investor is the Russian statecontrolled VTB colossus, owner of the Russian Commercial Bank that already operates in Cyprus.

Hellenic Bank, that has maintained a conservative approach to investments in Greece, and at the same time has refrained from expanding its retail operations there, may also proceed with some capital raising exercise, but at a smaller scale. The Churchcontrolled bank has already written off about 70% of its 110 mln exposure to Greek government bonds, while it has no other significant losses in Greece.

Canadian Jewish investors seek natgas parcel Triple Five, the Canadian energy-to-transport conglomerate owned by the Ghermezian Jewish Iranian family, plans to invest in the Cyprus natural gas sector, and, as a sweetener, has shown interest to buy some 500 mln euros of government bonds.

In a meeting to take place with President Christofias on Wednesday afternoon, Nadir Ghermezian is also expected to suggest that Triple Five could even take over the Qatar project in Nicosia that l has failed.

The Qatari investment would have involved a 50 mln investment to build a luxury hotel and residence/office complex in a joint venture with the government that would be putting up the land as its contribution.

Triple Five executives will be meeting with Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias in the morning and will be received by President Christofias later in the day. Their meetings in the past have also included visits to the Central Bank of Cyprus as they plan to set up an investment bank on the island as well.

Triple Five is also active in the retail sector and owns the world’s largest mega-mall – the West Edmonton Mall – as well as the Mall of America, the biggest in the United States.

Offers €500 mln bon sweetener; keen on Qatar plot

Petroleum sales up 4.3% y/y Total sales of petroleum products rose by 4.3% compared with the corresponding month of the previous year, while there was a drop of 4.4% compared with the previous month.

The Statistical Service said that there was “a considerable decline” compared with the previous month in the provision of gasoil for marine use and in the sales of aviation kerosene, asphalt, light fuel oil, unleaded motor gasoline and gasoil low sulphur.

An increase was recorded in the sales of kerosene, gasoil, heavy fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gases.

The total stocks of petroleum products at the end of the month were 13.5% lower than the previous month.

Moody’s Investors Service cut the Cyprus sovereign ratings to junk on Tuesday, saying there was a heightened risk the government, shut out of debt markets, would have to support its banks that have been battered by exposure to Greece.

Moody’s cut the rating by one notch to Ba1 from Baa3. The outlook was negative, it said.

It is the second ratings agency to cut Cyprus to junk, after Standard and Poor’s, which has Cyprus at BB+. Fitch rates l Cyprus at BBB-, one notch above junk.

Among other euro zone countries, Portugal is rated junk by all three rating agencies, Ireland has one junk rating from Moody’s, and Greece is either rated junk or in default by all three.

Moody’s said there was an increased risk the Cypriot government would have to prop up banks. It said the level of recapitalisation required could exceed 20% of the island’s GDP. The finance ministry once again rejected the rating move and said it believed the downgrade was unjustified because conditions had not materially changed since Moody’s last cut its ratings in November.

It said that it would continue to work to meet fiscal targets and cooperate with the central bank to meet challenges in the banking sector.

Not a frequent borrower on international markets, its borrowing costs are nonetheless prohibitive. It turned to close ally Russia for a 2.5 bln euro bilateral loan which authorities say will cover its needs this year.

The yield on a 10-year bond was quoted at 13.04% on Tuesday, according to Reuters data.

Bank of Cyprus and Marfin Popular posted record losses after taking a writedown on Greek sovereign holdings. Marfin Popular, which held 3.0 bln in Greek government bonds before the writedown, needs to boost its capital by 1.35 bln euros by the end of June.

Although some of the fresh capital is included in present bank recapitalisation plans, Moody’s said there was a “very material risk” that the private sector would not be able to provide all the capital needed.

“Overall, the fragile market confidence in Cyprus, which has already led to a loss of access to international debt markets, is likely to continue, with a high potential for further shocks to funding conditions for the sovereign and the domestic banks,” Moody’s said.

Its decision to assign a negative outlook was a reflection of “very significant risks” that continue to emanate from the Greek sovereign crisis. It said its downgrade was limited to one notch, acknowledging a government fiscal consolidation programme and the discovery of substantial gas reserves off the island’s shores.

Although authorities are likely to realise some one-off gains from the sale of licences to tap reserves, it will probably take nearly a decade for the island to realise the most significant and sustained benefits, Moody’s said.

Outlook negative; says Greek-exposed banks may need govt aid

4 CYPRUS FINANCIAL MIRROR FORECASTS, Q4 2011 Alexandros Apostolides Bernard Musyck George Theocharides Fiona Mullen Marios Christou (mid-range) Maria Zambarloukos (mid-range) Michalis Florentiades Yiannis Tirkides FINANCIAL MIRROR CONSENSUS

FINANCIAL MIRROR March 14 - 20 , 2012 2012 0.0 0.0 -0.5 0.0 -0.75 -0.8 -1.0 0.1 -0.4

2013 0.8 0.3 0.5 1.3 0.3 1.5 0.5 1.5 0.8

Economic conditions will be worse in 2012 than in 2011, according to all of the eight panz ellists on the quarterly Financial Mirror Consensus Forecast, but there is also consensus that things ought to get better by 2013.

The panel, launched not long after the Mari explosion when there was widespread confu-

Yiannis Tirkides

ECONOMIC RESEARCH, LAIKI BANK

Negative impact throughout 2012 Real economic activity through 2012 will continue to be impacted negatively by tightening financial and credit conditions and weak domestic demand.

Public consumption will remain subdued amidst ongoing fiscal consolidation as would be expected.

Private consumption, on the other hand, which proved quite robust last year, will likely decline as a result of accumulated income losses following consolidation and partial restructurings.

Investment spending will continue to be impacted negatively by tight credit conditions, weak housing and continued corporate restructurings. However, the start of reconstruction works at Vassiliko power station and other infrastructure projects will benefit investment activity. The recent foreign interest for direct investment, if it comes through, will start to provide a much needed boost to the economy and result in investment having a small positive contribution to growth in the year.

The conclusion of negotiations between Greece and its lenders for a second EUR 130 bln package, the successful completion of the private sector involvement in the country’s debt write down and the timely recapitalisation of the banking sector will strengthen the stability of financial markets and will work to improve both consumer and business confidence.

The risks going forward are heavily weighed by developments in Greece but for the current year these will be muted by the new bailout and by the strengthened crisis management framework in the European Union.

Thus the risks for the year may be tilted a bit to the upside which tends to make us more inclined to argue that growth will return positive more quickly than initially anticipated and pick up in the second half.

In short, we would expect real GDP to virtually stagnate in 2012 or come very marginally positive, and accelerate to about 1.5% in 2013. Inflation will decelerate but not considerably if the effects of the VAT hike are factored in, whilst the unemployment rate will remain elevated by Cyprus standards.

UCy downbeat for 2012 We add to our own panel of economists a short summary of the new report by the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre Council of Experts (CEERC) which is very downbeat for 2012, expecting GDP to record a negative real growth rate of -1.5% to -2%.

The forecast notes the slowdown in private consumption growth, significant and continued decline of investment, a slowdown in (retail and wholesale) trade and exports and imports as well as rising unemployment.

No growth until 2013 sion about its impact, comprises respected economists from the private sector and academia. Every quarter, panellists give their opinions about which way the economy is heading and why.

This quarter, we welcome two newcomers, George Theocharides from the Cyprus Insti-

tute of International Management (CIIM) and Marios Christou of the University of Nicosia, which brings our number to eight.

The latest official figures put the real GDP growth rate in 2011 at 0.5%, down from 1.1% in 2010. For 2012, the average of the panellists’ forecasts is a negative growth rate of

-0.4%.

After clambering out of recession in 2009, we are thus heading into a double dip, according to the consensus.

At the most downbeat end, Michalis Florentiades of Hellenic Bank expects a contraction of 1%, while at the most positive end, Yiannis

Alex Apostolides

Bernard Musyck

George Theocharides

ECONOMIC HISTORIAN, EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS

Situation remains uncertain Having to comment on the first quarter of the economy is difficult. Not enough data have been collected, but the general feeling has been negative, even more so than the previous quarter. Yet seasonally adjusted (i.e. first quarter of 2011 with first quarter of 2012), are we really declining faster than

2011?

I do not think so. Comparing 2012 to 2009, things are of course worse in terms of business and incomes, but in order for GDP to fall as much as last year, things in 2012 when compared to 2011 must be proportionally at least as bad, and I just do not see that yet. Hence I tentatively submit a forecast of 0% growth for 2012 and 0.8% in 2013, which actually means a reduction of average income of households as the per capita income is falling, and prices keep rising.

The reason of my hesitation is that there are too many uncertainties that can lead the economy into extremes: in economic parlance, the possibility of unpredicted shocks that can lead to outliers makes any prediction hazardous and frankly less useful as it is based on such events not taking place.

Some might be positive, such as the use of the newfound gas endowment, yet most extreme events could be negative for the Cypriot economy. It is clear that Greece has not secured a lifeline yet, while the suggestions in the press that the Cypriot government is looking for investors to buy government debt might indicate that the government loan from Russia is being run down faster than the Ministry of Finance predicted (which was expected to cover the government financing needs until 2013).

Finally, the banking sector is putting past wrongs into rights, yet how quickly banks can recapitalise and recover will be crucial to the growth of our economy.

It cites several negative risks for the economy in 2012. These include the worsening situation in Greece and the deterioration of the external environment generally.

Lower disposable income is having an impact on private consumption and households are adjusting savings. Lower credit is also affecting private consumption and investment.

CEERC warns that the government needs to prepare for a higher deficit in 2012.

On the positive side, there could be a confidence boost from the improving fiscal outlook, and prospects of natural gas extraction.

The CEERC also mentions the continued strong performance of tourism.

The fall in GDP could be minimised by structural reforms in the public sector, labour markets, improvements of institutions, policies to ensure financial stability, continued fiscal vigilance and fiscal structural reforms.

CEERC calls for an ongoing reform process, saying that “reforms must not be undertaken on the eve of deadlines”.

SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND ADMINISTRATION, FREDERICK UNIVERSITY

Growth will not be forthcoming

I forecast growth of 0% in 2012 and 0.3% in 2013.

The prospects for growth in the remainder of 2012 are bleak; the economy may avoid further contraction but growth will not be forthcoming. The Cypriot economy is experiencing a substantial contraction in manufacturing and construction, low consumer confidence (the number of vacant retail outlets in our cities is unprecedented), and a banking sector facing serious risks after suffering a huge blow as a result of the Greek crisis.

Unemployment has reached levels not seen before and young people trying to enter into the labour force are paying the heaviest price. Even the possession of higher skills does not guarantee a job any more, and there are probably scores of youngsters staying with their parents who are not recorded in the official unemployment statistics.

Another issue that has surfaced recently is the price of electricity; the Cypriot population is now faced with the highest Kwh rates in the EU. We have seen interest groups mobilising on social networking platforms to demand an end to the EAC monopoly while the authority has resorted to paid advertisements to defend its record. The time has finally come when the man in the street is picking up the bill for decades of indecisive and directionless energy policy by the State: total reliance on crude oil; union-led policy to protect privileges and monopolies; too few incentives promoting efficient energy use, and fines payable to the Commission for excess CO2 emissions.

Expensive energy is going to further erode the competitiveness of all sectors, including services. It remains to be seen if further liberalisation in the electricity sector planned for 2014 will improve the situation.

“Fortunately”, the newly discovered gas fields are still far down the road; hopefully, this will give our leaders a renewed chance to implement an energy policy to help us move away from decades of disparate ad-hoc policies mis-guided by various lobbies.

GDP analysis:

It was recession after all

By Fiona Mullen

Investment in housing sees steepest drop on record Revised national accounts data show that Cyprus did fall into recession at the end of 2011 after all. A technical recession is recorded when there are two consecutive quarters of quarter on quarter decline— that is when economic output shrinks compared with the previous quarter.

In the flash estimate produced a few weeks ago, the Statistical Service reported a Q/Q seasonally adjusted decline of 0.8% in real terms for the third

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FINANCE, CIIM

Negative trend to continue in first half The latest results on the fourth quarter of 2011 have indicated that Cyprus economy has officially entered recession, as we had two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Specifically, the country’s GDP shrank by 0.8% in the third quarter and 0.1% in the fourth quarter against previous quarters. These negative results have wiped out the rather positive performance of the first half of 2011, although the economy still exhibited a positive growth for the full year (0.5%).

The Eurozone debt problems and the inability of politicians to tackle effectively these issues, the uncertainty about Greece and the huge exposure of our banking sector to its public (Greek bonds) and private sector, as well as the delay witnessed by our government in taking drastic measures to tackle the fiscal imbalances as well as promoting development and growth, has led to continuous downgrades of our public and private sector by the rating agencies. Consequently, the public’s confidence has eroded, unemployment has risen to levels never seen before, and we ended up with negative growth rates for the last two quarters.

I expect this negative trend to continue for the next two quarters and conditions to start improving by the second part of 2012. On the negative side, the banks have an uphill battle to achieve recapitalisation and meet by June the requirements set by the European Banking Authority. Because of their woes, liquidity seems to have deteriorated substantially in the market and this has a huge negative impact to the survival of the rest of the private sector (construction, manufacturing, and retail trade). On the positive side, the discovery of substantial natural gas resources, the recent reported interests for foreign investments (energy and financial sectors), as well as some steps taken lately by officials for fiscal discipline and promoting development can help to improve the negative trends. Overall, I expect a negative growth for 2012 (-0.5%) but a positive growth (0.5%) for 2013. quarter but a zero growth rate in the fourth quarter.

On March 9 the fourth quarter figure was revised to a decline of 0.1% and the third quarter drop of 0.8% was retained.

There was growth for the full year, however. The real (inflation-adjusted) growth rate for the whole of 2011 was 0.5%. Compared with the same period of the previous year, however, GDP in the fourth quarter contracted by 0.6%.

Construction just keeps getting worse The breakdown of the figures shows that there was another very steep decline in construction valueadded, which dropped over the year earlier by 14.3% in real terms, after a fall of 12.3% in the third quarter.

This is largely as a result of investment in housing construction, which tumbled by 28% in the fourth

CYPRUS 5

FINANCIAL MIRROR - March 14 - 20 , 2012

THE FINANCIAL MIRROR CONSENSUS FORECASTS

We announce the best forecaster in 2011

Real GDP growth (%): consensus forecast 6.0

5.1

3.6

5.0 4.0 3.0

1.1

2.0

0.8

0.5

1.0 0.0 -1.0

-0.4

-1.9

-2.0

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012f

2013f

the Greek debt crisis.

The negative impact of high electricity prices and a VAT increase were also mentioned by some economists.

Every one of the forecasts expects conditions to be slightly better in 2013 than in 2012, with the forecast of all eight averaging

a positive 0.8%.

The prize for most accurately predicting the growth rate for 2011 goes to Yiannis Tirkides of Laiki. Last quarter he predicted 0.5%--the

same growth rate reported by the Statistical Service in its full national accounts last Friday.

In Cyprus as well as other countries, the official growth rate often changes as more data come in.

But we are still going to reward Yiannis by giving him first place on our panel this quarter.

Marios Christou

Maria Zambarloukos

Michalis Florentiades

Structural problems will continue

Recovery will depend on confidence

Turbulence in the short to medium term

I have revised up my growth forecast for 2012 to 0% from an expected 0.2% contraction last time, partly because growth in 2011 came in a little higher than expected at 0.5%. This forecast implies an average quarter on quarter growth rate of around 0.2% in 2012 (about the same as before the Mari explosion).

A pick-up to quarterly growth rates averaging 0.4% should yield an annual growth rate of 1.3% in 2013.

I still expect 2012 to be worse than 2011 because of the many negative influences on domestic demand.

On the consumer spending side, these include a historically high unemployment rate of 9.3%, the two percentage point VAT increase from March, soaring electricity prices and the cut of around 10% in public-sector take-home pay you if you include lost pay increases and the new pension payments. Banks are also cautious about lending as they try to meet stringent capital requirements. These factors have been reflected in an accelerating decline of retail sales, which fell over the year earlier by 6.5% in December.

On the investment side, there has also been a deep retrenchment in capital spending, both by the public and private sectors. Public finance figures show that government capital expenditure dropped by 5.5% last year despite all that roadbuilding, and gross fixed investment collapsed in real terms by 21.6% in the fourth quarter—its fastest decline on record.

Exports of goods and services are also unlikely to perform as well in 2012 as in 2011, as tourism was buoyed last year by the Arab Spring effect.

There are many downside risks for 2013, such as further turmoil in Greece, a regional blow-out of the Syrian crisis or Israeli military action against Iran. However, I am pinning my hopes on a recovery in Europe, some trickling in of gas-related investment and consultancy services, and a bottoming out of the deep depression in the construction sector.

The 2011 last quarter GDP results show that the economy is in a technical recession. Usually the last (fourth) quarter is a “strong” quarter for the Cyprus economy, due to the retail sector. This has not been the case for 2011, mainly due to psychological factors with a considerable proportion of the sector’s activity moving to January 2012 (in the sales period). Τhe retail sector is expected to continue suffering in 2012 with a slight possibility of recovery in the last quarter. This is due to the substantial decrease in the purchasing power of household income attributed mostly to the increasing costs of utility services (electricity, water, gas, fuel) and the increase in VAT. Τhe structural problems of the economy are expected to continue in 2012. The tourist sector has the highest growth prospects, expected to gain in new developing markets (Russian market). A question remains the performance of traditional markets (the UK).

Economic growth in the first and second quarters of 2011 was mainly due to the strong support of capital flows (savings) from Greece. Due to current risks the banking sector remains in a fragile position.

At this stage I consider that any discussion on the energy sector’s contribution to GDP is premature. It is anticipated that a period of at least five years is needed for the sector to contribute substantially to GDP. The only “current” contribution is through the sector’s infrastructure construction.

I believe that the recession will continue for at least the first two quarters of 2012 with a slight prospect of recovery in the third quarter. The “strong” retail sector’s performance in the fourth quarter remains a question. Given the current adverse psychology I expect that 2012 will contract by 0.5% to 1.0%. A possible return to zero or marginal positive growth of between 0.1% and 0.5% is forecast.

The Cyprus economy entered a recessionary phase in the second half of 2011 following the explosion at Mari that severely damaged the nearby Vassiliko power plant, and in view of a deteriorating economic outlook in the Eurozone, the escalation of the European debt crisis, the consecutive downgrades of the Cyprus economy, measures adopted to harness fiscal finances and rising unemployment.

This is expected to intensify during the first half of 2012, as the European economy is forecast to fall back into a mild recession, while domestic demand is shrinking, as a result of fiscal austerity measures, real wage reductions in many sectors of the economy, rising unemployment and tight liquidity conditions.

Economic activity is forecast to pick up gradually during the second half of 2012, as the impact of the Mari explosion on economic growth will be minimised, the high tourist season will set in and the economic outlook of the Eurozone improves.

The strength of the economic recovery will depend on the rate of improvement of both consumer and investor confidence. Factors that may affect this include developments regarding the European debt crisis, rating actions by rating agencies and progress in attracting significant foreign investments. As a result, the economy is expected to exhibit negative economic growth during 2012 of around -0.8%.

The same trends are expected to carry over into 2013 as the European Union and the Eurozone are forecast to return to positive economic growth. The Cyprus economy is projected to return to positive growth of about 1.2% to 1.8%.

The economy’s performance during 2011, with growth coming in at 0.5%, was not bad considering the severe challenges during the second half of the year such as the Mari explosion and the downgrades of the Republic of Cyprus and its exclusion from international capital markets. Some positive news towards the end of the previous year was the signing of the bilateral loan from the Russian Federation covering the government’s refinancing needs for 2012 and the positive indications for the existence of natural gas deposits in the island’s exclusive economic zone.

Overall, following the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 and the resultant recession in 2009, economic growth is expected to be weak in the next 3-5 years due to the need for deleveraging of the private sector, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms to boost competitiveness. Sectors that are geared towards external demand, such as tourism, exports of goods and international business services, are expected to continue to outperform domestic demand-led sectors such as retail trade and construction.

Elsewhere, the financial and public sectors should carefully manage themselves so that their problems--exposed mainly as a result of the debt crisis in Greece and the Eurozone--do not spill over to the rest of the economy. As an indicator of whether the economy is doing its ‘homework’ in order to become more competitive and boost economic growth in the longer-run, the further lowering of the current account deficit (estimated at around 7% of GDP during 2011) could yield some clues.

The economy will eventually find its way because of its inherent adaptability, dynamism and flexibility, but in the short to medium term some turbulence is to be expected. I forecast a negative growth rate of -1% for 2012 and a modest growth rate of 0.5% in 2013.

quarter. This is the steepest decline for housing construction investment on record. It also dragged the overall figure for fixed investment down to a contraction of 21.6%.

Industry continues to be hard hit, with a valueadded decline of 4.5% in Q4, although this was not as deep as in the third quarter (7.5%), which was affected by the Mari explosion in July that destroyed the country’s main power station led to temporary black-outs.

Consumer spending was also weak, with value added in retail trade, restaurants and hotels declining by 2%. This can also be seen in the figure for household expenditure, which dropped in real terms by 1.5% over the year earlier.

The decline in both consumer and investment demand led to a massive drop in imports, although

this seems to have been largely as a result of high transport-related imports in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Exports, which had been buoyant all year, also ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, with growth dropping to 0.1%.

driving the pace.

The next largest subsector is real estate, which grew by a fairly healthy 3.9%--barely any slower than its growth rate for the past two years. I find this frankly puzzling, since all indicators show a decline in new housing as well as real estate transactions.

The Statistical Service (Cystat) has only just started showing real estate as a separate item, so it could be teething problems, although Cystat has to follow strict EU rules on data gathering.

Pavlos Loizou, of Antonis Loizou and Associates, says it could be “specific, sizeable, projects that are disrupting the data”, such as the highway widening in Nicosia or the Limassol marina.

Financial and insurance activities, which are next in size after real estate, grew by 3.1%. I confess that I am not sure how interest income is calculated in GDP

figures, but the fact that the three biggest banks reported growth in interest income last year might explain this.

Professional and scientific services showed their fourth quarter of acceleration to 4.7%, underlining how important this sector—which now earns as much foreign exchange as tourism—is becoming for Cyprus.

The smallest services subsector, information and communications, was also the most dynamic last year, with growth of 3.4% in the fourth quarter and 4.4% for the whole year.

Fiona Mullen is Director of Sapienta Economics and a regular contributor to the Financial Mirror

Tirkides of Laiki expects stagnation or marginally positive growth of 0.1%.

The most common reasons cited for deterioration are weak demand, as a result of the negative impact on incomes of fiscal retrenchment and rising unemployment, and the situation of the banks, which have been hard hit by

Fiona Mullen

DIRECTOR, SAPIENTA ECONOMICS LTD

Better hopes for 2013

DEPT OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE, UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA

Still growth in services The more positive news is that a large part of the services sector is still growing, albeit at a slower pace than in the good years.

The largest services subsector after retail, hotels and restaurants is public services including health and education. These grew by 1.3%, pretty much the same pace that they had kept all year. And this came despite a 9.1% contraction in government consumption, suggesting that health and education are probably

The best forecaster of 2011

GROUP ECONOMIC RESEARCH DIVISION, BANK OF CYPRUS

ECONOMIC STUDIES, HELLENIC BANK PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED

6

COMMENT

EDITORIAL

The one-stop-shop saga…

After several attempts, failed starts, stalling and jump-starts, the one-stop-shop concept (you know, the one ministers promised us several years ago) is finally getting its lift-off from the Cyprus launch station. Or so, we hope…

Empty promises in the past have cost Cyprus millions in lost revenues, as simple procedures such as registering a company still takes eons to complete, despite some Baltic states doing it all in a day. At least we have cut delivery time from several months to a few days.

Foreign-owned companies still face difficulties to process some of the paperwork for their employees, with things improving there as well, although there is still a go-slow attitude at the Immigration offices.

Property registration and title deeds is still regarded as an anathema to potential buyers, who very often delegate the work to specialist services who employ retired civil servants with the patience to ensure the nerve wrecking visit from one office to the other.

Even some online services have improved, though the ones installed several years back, such as Social Insurance payments need to be updated and made more flexible.

A recent survey by PwC found that local CEOs are concerned about their human resources and are hesitant to invest more until Cyprus exits the current crisis. Another survey, however, this time by Baker Tilly, found that although business and government services were “satisfactory”, the quality of life factor still lagged the main reason for investors to move to Cyprus – taxation.

The one-stop-shop should have been implemented years ago, and when the Financial Mirror was critical of the slow pace of implementation of such a universal service, officials simply ignored the comments and continued with their heads in the sand. We hate to say it, but “we told you so!”

What makes the current administration so confident that it declared that the one-stop-shop will be a reality in the immediate future? Nothing seems to have changed in the government mechanism, so that leaves us with one conclusion – the human factor. It’s the same people who are manning the services today who did so several years ago. So, we can conclude that anything done today could have been done one, two or three years ago.

Let’s just hope that the latest attempt to start the one-stop-shop succeeds. There is no other choice.

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FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

The Current and Future Emerging Opportunities for Cyprus Christodoulos Angastiniotis President, Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency Cyprus is currently at the crossroads of fundamental change as the effects of the global financial crisis have also created a number of challenges. The Cyprus government is proactively taking the necessary economic measures to lower the public debt and to strike a manageable balance that will provide economic stability and ensure a moderate growth on a sustainable path that will enhance future growth prospects and attract further foreign investments.

One of the ways to achieve financial prosperity is to attract foreign investors. The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) is acting within its mission and strategy to enhance the investment environment and promote the country as a robust and even more attractive investment destination. The promotion strategy involves the creation of a modern institutional and legislative framework which allows Cyprus to be preferred to other competitive destinations and enhances the ease of doing business on the island.

The island has established a reputation as a springboard for international investors accessing the large EU markets as well as the emerging economies of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, North Africa, India and China.

Joining the EU in May 2004 and the Eurozone in 2008, was a landmark for the Cyprus economy, as the process of harmonization to the European rules and regulations has brought forward many significant reforms that contributed to a more attractive business environment. Cyprus provides a plethora of opportunities for investors.

Its thriving market-oriented economy operates within a transparent regulatory and legal system predicated on the Common Law of the United Kingdom, and fully harmonized with the collective framework of laws and regulations of the EU. Cyprus provides many advantages to the corporate sector, including the lowest corporate taxation rates in the EU (10%) and double taxation agreements with 44 countries.

Foreign investors are able to utilize an advanced transport and telecommunications infrastructure, a highly educated, skilled and multilingual human capital base as well as a high standard of specialist professional services. Moreover, Cyprus offers relatively lower operating costs with high quality services, including banking, tax, accounting, auditing, business administration, legal, investment and funds management. All these paired with the island’s enviable quality of life are the key ingredients that have made Cyprus stand out in the Global Investment Map. Cyprus economy is mainly based on the services sector which is about 80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is expected to remain the main driver of growth in the country. International business activities will continue to contribute significantly to the GDP, while at the same time key priority sectors are among the prime movers of the economy. The most attractive sectors that offer a wide range of investment opportunities include: Cyprus is an attractive Financial centre combining low costs and flexibility features while complying with EU regulations and international best practice. The country offers a regional platform for a variety of banking products and financial services including investment

funds business ranging from funds setup, management, administration and distribution. The commercial banks and specialized financial institutions offer full local, national and international services on a personal and corporate level.

Shipping, which has established Cyprus as an internationally renowned centre provides extremely attractive investment options.

Based on the register of ships, the merchant fleet of Cyprus is the 3rd largest in the European Union and the 10th largest in the world. More than 130 ship owning, ship management and shipping related companies maintain offices in and conduct international activities from Cyprus. The European Union’s approval of a fully revised and upgraded legislation (‘New Tonnage Tax System’) providing a favorable tax regime and covering the basic shipping activities offered today, opens new perspectives for investments in Cyprus.

The Energy sector with the massive stores of natural gas in the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus has brought the country to the forefront of the global energy market and a key player in the EMEA region. Proven discoveries may transform Cyprus and its energy grids as self sufficient for decades. Many foreign investors have already expressed interest in undertaking energy activities in Cyprus, focusing for the development of the necessary infrastructure concerning the exploitation of natural gas.

Moreover, the opportunities for domestic and foreign investment in the development of Renewable Energy Source (RES) and Technologies also result in a throng of new investors to the country.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is of strategic importance. The sector offers the potential for Research and Development (R&D), innovation and optimal utilization of human resources in activities to produce goods and services of high added value in knowledge and expertise.

Due to its strategic location, Cyprus can easily be utilized as a platform for investors focusing on Warehouse, Logistics, Distribution and Headquartering activities with the aim to reach either the European, Asian or African markets.

A number of large Development Projects, such as marinas, golf courses, as well as more integrated development projects which include residential, commercial as well as high-quality educational and health services, are currently available for foreign investment. Some of these projects have already begun construction and others are in the final stages of licensing.

Furthermore, Cyprus is offering attractive investment opportunities in the Health Tourism and Education sectors, both in collaboration with the local institutions, as well as for Greenfield projects.

An essential prerequisite for further development of Cyprus is the implementation of drastic restrictive policies to reduce the public finance and debt monitoring. All EU countries must take all the necessary measures to regain their competitiveness as well as their economic stability and predictability. Moreover, the reduction of investment risk as well as the safety and security for investments plays an essential role that will contribute towards the country’s economic recovery.

CIPA is working closely with the government, the regulatory and supervisory bodies, as well as industry experts in Cyprus to enhance even more the investment environment and to promote the country as an attractive platform and destination for foreign investors.

The landmark visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to Cyprus

By Dr. Andrestinos N. Papadopoulos, Ambassador a.h.

The visit of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Cyprus was the jewel in the crown of the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Israel and an indirect answer to Turkish threats against Cyprus in connection with its sovereign rights in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic. As stated

by Netanyahu himself, after the talks with President Christofias, he “came here to develop bilateral ties, economic ties in the field of energy.” The main issue of the talks was the future co-operation in the field of energy, and in particular the gas-sharing and exploitation of reserves, which fall on the maritime boundary between them (unitisation agreement). The political will for co-operation was, therefore, confirmed at the highest level.

If the visit of President Simon Peres, last November, was aimed at showing how good the Cyprus-Israeli relations are, the visit by Netanyahu, the one who takes the decisions, carries particular weight, as it gives concrete substance to the co-operation, by encouraging the two sides to plan their national energy policy. That covers, inter alia, joint exploitation of gas, export destinations (Europe-Asia), location of terminal or terminals, etc. Already two groups of experts discussed the joint exploitation of gas in the common maritime boundaries.

The Israeli Prime Minister also discussed energy issues with the President of the Democratic Rally, Nicos Anastasiades, the only party leader he met, thus recognising DISY’s contribution to the strengthening of the bilateral relations, by opening in 1993 the first ever Cyprus Embassy in Israel. Mr. Anastassiades, on this occasion, invited the Israeli Prime Minister to the Meeting of the European Popular Party, which will take place in Cyprus this December and will have as the main item on

its agenda energy security.

The Cyprus-Israeli relations are influenced by developments in the region. It is of interest, therefore, to take them into account. The gradual strategic withdrawal of the United States from the region (Iraq and Afghanistan in 2014), combined with what is happening in the Arab world, after the changes brought about by the “Arab Spring”, is offering to the two main players of the region, Turkey and Israel, more independence in their actions.

Turkey, seeking to strengthen her influence in the Middle East and the Arab world sided with the West and the Arab League against Assad, thus provoking the reaction of Iran, whose only ally in the region is Syria. Israel on the other hand, feeling that 2012 is a crucial year for its security, if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, seriously considers attacking Iran’s nuclear sites in the coming months. Although President Obama recently appealed to Benjamin Netanyahu to give sanctions and diplomacy more time to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel considers them as a matter of life and death. Whatever occurs in the region, it will certainly have an impact on the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, including Cyprus.

Within this framework, the improvement of relations between Turkey and Israel, proposed by some, is a distant possibility, especially if we take into account the mistrust of Israel towards Turkey and her ambitions, as well as the instability which prevails in the region.

If it happens, however, it will match the traditional friendly relations of Cyprus with the Arab world, which do not bother Israel. What matters is that at this moment Israel needs strategic depth and Cyprus can offer it. What strengthens, on the other hand, the relations between Cyprus and Israel is the fact that both countries have common security and energy interests which can develop into a mutually beneficial partnership of outmost importance and magnitude. It augers well, that this is what is sought after by both countries.

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

COMMENT 7

Greece should learn from California ELENA AMBROSIADOU The crisis in Greece is very serious. In the short term there will be little or no investment, with negative growth.

Why? Because insufficient cost savings make it harder to meet payment schedules, and there is no stimulus for demand, from Sunday shopping, to straightforward infrastructure developments.

What has Greece been doing wrong? Taking too long to act has made loans more expensive, has weakened asset valuations, has undermined confidence and increased fear.

Greece should have restructured 20% of its public sector workforce at the outset. Instead it has sacrificed private enterprise by overtaxing, thereby entering a death spiral of ever lower demand. It has not focused on protecting vital activities, in favour of appeasement, misplaced efficiency drives, and dangerous neglect and corruption.

An example of appeasement is the public TV and Radio. There are 3 broadcasting institutions. Only one is needed but no changes have been made. Similarly there are several institutions for managing public buildings from schools to courts. Essential public infrastructure is under-invested, often crumbling - a fact which makes many Greeks uncomfortable in their country. Just one institution with proper systems and technology, and a long term plan, would deliver a better result at a fraction of the cost. An example of misplaced and destructive pretence to efficiency is the disruption of the taxi sector in the middle of the tourist season last summer.

Corruption is effected through the building up of the oversized and over expensive public sector. Salaries have been high not because public sector workers are adding value to the economy through the application of technology and innovation, but because cash was available to employ them in exchange for political loyalty via a network of favours. Additions to pension and other ancillary benefits have created a disaster in at least three ways. Public sector employment starved the private sector of a high quality workforce, it made the private sector dependent on the public sector, and vulnerable to any economic crisis, and it prevented rationalisation of any industry, or ministry, or sector of the economy.

The corruption of Greece is not just in the tax collection system. Cash was not invested in laying the foundations of an efficient sustainable economy and was wasted through the lack of political will to implement a strategic plan.

In the current government scheme, elected politicians from across the spectrum have to work together, see the problem together and deliver a result together, which any party alone would not have been able to implement. Our politicians know that, and yet they keep offering elections without any ability to protect the safety of the citizens. The interim government has been created but it has not had the power to enforce the changes required. The plan and budget will have to be followed by whoever is in power without fail. This is what the people of Greece deserve.

Yet the real difficulty is the lack of political will to implement a strategic plan There is one other well-known state in the world where many citizens are rich but the public treasury out of balance. California, the state of innovation. But there is no talk of throwing it out of the USA or the currency not being the dollar, and the root of the problem is not a north south divide in production and demand. It developed and grew out of proportion by relying on balancing the budget through ever increasing bond issuance.

I logged on the internet to see the California government state budget. Here is what its Governor has written in his introduction: “The 2011 budget did ... lay the foundation for fiscal stability. It cut the annual budget shortfall by three quarters — from $20 billion to $5 billion or less. It shrunk state government, reduced our borrowing costs and gave local governments more authority to make decisions.

The budget that I am submitting today keeps the cuts made last year and adds new ones. The stark truth is that without some new taxes, damaging cuts to schools, universities, public safety and our courts will only increase. That is why I will ask the voters to approve a temporary tax increase on the wealthy, a modest and temporary increase in the sales tax and to guarantee that the new revenues be spent only on education.” And more detailed information is provided on the website about each sector of the economy and those services under government

control and their rationalisation as well as the growth plans.

When one looks at Greece, the private sector involvement and the international effort made for stability, one realises that Greek society has to change on an unprecedented scale. Like any people, Greek people do not want change, yet this could be helped if they are offered hope. Let us allow the spirit of improved management which controls the unions, eliminates senseless benefits, and delivers measurable contraction of the size of the public sector, together with a growth led approach to managing the economy, deliver What about the future of Europe and Greece within it? In the banking sector, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan with caution expect that the Euro will hold and Europe will hold whatever the pain and conceptual, structural, and political adjustment for all Europeans. The Euro is also here to stay for Greece; the borders of Europe are the borders of Greece; the population of Europe is the brethren of Greece.

Let us not be afraid to make that commitment to our future, to our allies, and to ourselves. It takes courage to accept what is wrong, and even more courage to subject oneself to the operating table without anaesthetic. But without it, there is no chance of survival.

The author is founder and chief executive of IKOS Asset Management.

Free Trade Ad Nauseam JAGDISH BHAGWATI NEW YORK – So much has been written, by so many, against the muddled ideas that have now overwhelmed good sense on trade policy in the United States government that one wonders whether there is anything left to say. Yet it is worth recalling what Pierre-Joseph Proudhon reportedly told the Russian intellectual Alexander Herzen: “And do you imagine that once a thing has been said, it is enough?... It has to be dinned into people, it has to be repeated over and over again.”

What we need now is a primer on the major misconceptions in the hope that, unlike Gresham’s Law, which says that bad money drives out good money, good economics will drive out bad economics. Four, in particular need to be corrected.

The first misconception is that exports create jobs, while imports do not – a fallacy that the great trade economist Harry Johnson traced to mercantilism, and which the US has resurrected.

In fact, in a world where parts and components come from everywhere, interference with imports imperils competitiveness. The success of parcel-delivery companies, for example, depends on imports, which must be brought from the borders inland, as well as on exports.

Second, the credo “Trade, not aid” has given way to the mistaken belief that trade matters less than foreign assistance. The labor constituency, ever fearful of import competition, has undermined trade policy. It has also shifted aid policy in directions that assign priority to areas where the returns to US efforts are relatively minuscule.

Thus, the US State Department has ceased being an advocate of multilateral trade liberalization, despite decades of massive gains from the removal of trade barriers. Instead, its aid arm, the US Agency for International Development, has now retreated into lowyield programs conceived as randomized experiments. That technique impresses Bill Gates, and the new USAID administrator, Rajiv Shah, has experience with it. But, even if all such programs succeeded, their benefits would not add up to a fraction of the documented gains that have accrued from trade and other macro-level policies in which the US has lost interest.

Third, many believe that manufactures deserve preferential support. This is practically the mantra of US President Barack Obama’s administration, and it has cost him the support not only of much of

the economics profession, but also of Christina Romer, who chaired his Council of Economic Advisers. In a recent newspaper commentary, she refuted virtually all of the arguments advanced by manufacturing lobbyists for special treatment.

Add to the critiques that of Nobel laureate Robert Solow, a staunch supporter of Obama’s Democratic Party. He agrees that there are activities that yield higher social returns than private returns. The problem, he notes, is that neither he nor anyone else can possibly know which ones they are, whereas the lobbyists claim that they know this precisely.

Proponents of a “manufacturing first” policy argue that “clusters” of businesses are more productive than individual businesses are. But big clustering effects are hard to find. The economists Glenn Ellison and Edward Glaeser have found that clustering is only marginally greater than if businesses are allocated randomly.

Besides, it is hard not to accept that, in the economist Frances Cairncross’s famous words, we are increasingly seeing the “death of distance.”

Finally, the financial sector has come to be viewed as the bane of morality. In a world of financial fraud and insider trading, it is easy enough to believe this, and to accept that the financial sector must be taxed. But morality cuts across sectors. There are plenty of honest people in all walks of life, and crooks as well.

The quasi-Marxist view that our morality stems from our economic position overlooks the moralizing role of family, religion, culture, and art.

Given these misconceptions, protectionism has re-emerged as a formidable foe. In 1999, when the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization erupted into bomb threats and mayhem, I asked then-Director-General Mike Moore whether we ought not to be prepared to die for the great cause of free trade. I should have said: we ought at least to be prepared to live for it.

Between old and new muddle, and the certain prospect that the demolition of each bad idea merely allows others to take root and grow in its place, the task of the free trader is never finished.

Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor of Economics and Law at Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of In Defense of Globalization. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

EUMA Cyprus 2012 Annual Training Day EUMA Cyprus is organizing a one-day interactive Workshop on:

“Non-verbal Communication Workshop” - Body Language By Dr Azaria Albertos Communication Consultant and Professional Adult Trainer PhD, MBA, BSc in Business Administration, BSc in Applied Informatics Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia

The Workshop will take place on Wednesday 4th April, 2012 at the HILTON Cyprus Hotel, Nicosia.

For more information please contact Ms Anastasia Christodoulou, EUMA Member, e-mail: achristodoulou@ltv.com.cy or you may visit our website www.euma-cyprus.org.cy The objectives of the Workshop are: 1. Identification of personal weaknesses in Body Language 2. Improvement of non-verbal communication through group exercises 3. Understanding the basic signals and postures 4. Behaviour decoding 5. Minimizing mistakes 6. Interaction improvement Participation Fee: €100 for Members, €120 for non Members and €60 for students (including seminar hand outs, coffee breaks and lunch) Last date for submitting applications: 30th March 2012

10 WORLD

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

Educated U.S. women quit work as spouses earn more Susanna Mancini cherishes a photo of herself at 27; a smiling face behind a pair of dark sunglasses. On it, she scrawled to her future husband: “Too bad you can’t see my eyes. I am so proud of my tough yuppie stare!”

Her professional pride propelled her early career as a lawyer. She was successful and well paid for it. She kept working when her first child was born and was promoted to a more senior position in Citibank after her second child arrived.

But her career eventually succumbed to something Mancini never expected would end her rise at the bank - her husband’s even bigger success. She quit in 2005 when her six-digit income was overtaken by his seven-digit one.

“At that point, it was clear that my wage had become family pocket money. There was a real opportunity to do other things that did not require being chained to a desk,” said Mancini, now 50.

She is far from alone, according to a new study from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

It shows that between 1993 and 2006, there was a decline in the workforce of 0.1% a year on average in the number of college-educated women, with similarly educated spouses.

That contrasts with growth of 2.4% a year between 1976 and 1992.

The result: the U.S. labour force in 2008 had 1.64 mln fewer such women than if the growth rate had kept up its earlier trend, slightly more than 1% of the total U.S. workforce in that year.

SKILLED EXODUS Stefania Albanesi, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and one of the study’s authors, said the loss may hurt U.S. economic growth at a time when the nation can ill afford to have highly skilled workers on the sidelines.

While the overall jobless rate remains high, the United States faces skill shortages in some areas and the unemployment rate for college graduates is just above 4%.

Albanesi links the decline in the number of well-educated, married women entering the labour force to a sharp rise in salaries for top earners in the U.S., and in particular, for men.

In 1975, college graduates of both sexes were making 43% more than non-college graduates. By 2008, the figure had risen to 92% for men and to 70% for women.

“In the last 20 years, wages for highly educated males increased so much that they dwarfed the family’s second income, usually the one of their wives,” said Albanesi, who coauthored the study with Columbia University graduate student Maria Prados.

In a previous study, Albanesi estimated that the rise of all women participating in the labour market boosted U.S. gross domestic product by 42% between 1920 and 1990.

Once the 2007-2009 recession hit, the female retreat from the workforce halted for a couple of years: women and men alike returned to the workforce when their spouses lost jobs or when their incomes fell, and also to make up for a loss in the value of housing and stocks.

But as the U.S. economy stabilised in the past two years, there have been signs that the retreat has resumed, Albanesi said. Of all working-age women, 58.6% were either working or looking for a job in 2010, down from 59.2% in 2009. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expected the rate to fall further by 2020.

According to Albanesi, it’s not the tug of looking after young children that makes most educated women give up their career. “These women usually give up their jobs when their children are school-age and not babies any more,” Albanesi said.

Studies by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Harvard support that view.

Albanesi plans further research to quantify how much the decline in educated women in the workforce is affecting the potential growth rate of the U.S. economy.

NOT JUST FOR A FEW Only a few households can afford to give up a good second income.

But the trend is not limited to top earners. It has been detected among households earning around $80,000 per year.

Julie Divita worked 18 months as an entry-level marketing assistant for a company that makes Hawaiian shirts before leaving to have a child.

“I was planning to go back to work, but ironically, on the first day of my maternity leave, my husband got a raise that was the equivalent to my salary. This was 25 years ago, and I have been a ‘stay at home’ ever since,” Divita said.

She is married to a partner in a property development firm in the San Francisco Bay Area and spends much of her time fund-raising for local schools as a volunteer.

The Public and Its Problems RAGHURAM RAJAN CHICAGO – On a recent visit to Europe, I found economists, journalists, and business people thoroughly frustrated with their politicians. Why, they ask, can’t politicians see the abyss that yawns before them, and come together to resolve the euro crisis once and for all?

Even if there is no consensus on what a solution might be, can’t they meet and thrash out a plan that goes beyond their repeated half-measures? It is only because of the European Central Bank’s bold decision to lend long term to banks that we have seen some respite recently, or so their argument goes. Politicians, in contrast, are failing Europe by being forever behind the curve. Why do they find it so hard to lead?

One answer that can be easily dismissed is that politicians simply don’t understand the gravity of the situation. Political leaders need not be economic geniuses to understand the advice that they hear, and many are both intelligent and wellread.

A second answer – that politicians have short time horizons, owing to electoral cycles – may contain a kernel of truth, but it is inadequate, because the adverse consequences of timid action often become apparent well before they are up for re-election.

The best answer that I have heard comes from Axel Weber, the former president of Germany’s Bundesbank and an astute political observer. In Weber’s view, policymakers simply do not have the public mandate to get ahead of problems, especially novel ones that seem small initially, but, if unresolved, imply potentially large costs.

If the problem has not been experienced before, the public is not convinced of the potential costs of inaction. And, if action prevents the problem, the public never experiences the averted calamity, and voters therefore penalize political leaders for the immediate costs that the action entails. Even if politicians have perfect foresight of the disaster that awaits if nothing is done, they may have little ability to persuade voters, or less insightful party members, that the short-term costs must be paid.

Talk is cheap, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the status quo usually appears comfortable enough. So leaders’ ability to take corrective action increases only with time, as some of the costs of inaction are experienced.

Calamity can still be averted if the costs of inaction escalate steadily. The worst problems, however, are those with “inaction costs” that remain invisible for a long time, but increase suddenly and explosively. By the time the leader has the mandate to act, it may be too late.

A classic example was Winston Churchill’s warnings against Adolf Hitler’s ambitions. Hitler’s plans were outlined in Mein Kampf for all to read – and he did not disguise them in his speeches. Yet few in Britain wanted to give them credence, and many thought that communism was the greater threat, especially in the bleak years of the Great Depression.

The Nazis’ dismembering of Czechoslovakia in 1938 made the sincerity of Hitler’s ambitions all too clear. But it was only after the invasion of Poland the following year that Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, and he

became Prime Minister only after the invasion of France in 1940, when Britain stood alone.

Britain might well have been better off had Churchill held power earlier, but that would have meant costly rearmament, which was unacceptable so long as there was a chance that Hitler proved to be a paper tiger. And, of course, it would also have meant entrusting Britain’s fate to a politician who, though now regarded as an indomitable leader, was widely distrusted at the time.

Non-linear costs of inaction are most obvious in the financial sector. At the same time, financial-sector problems may be particularly difficult to address: if politicians emphasize the need for action too strongly in order to get a mandate, they might precipitate the very turmoil that they seek to contain.

Between the Bear Stearns crisis and the failure of Lehman Brothers, the United States government could do little to get ahead of the growing problem (though, of course, the government-backed mortgage underwriters Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed under conservatorship in the interim). It took the post-Lehman panic for Congress to authorize the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which threw a financial lifeline to banks and the auto industry, among others. And only frenetic action by the Federal Reserve and Treasury (with authorities around the world joining) prevented a systemic meltdown. A subprime-mortgage problem that was initially estimated to imply losses of a few hundred billion dollars imposed far higher costs on the entire world.

Similarly, eurozone politicians have obtained a mandate to take bolder action only as the markets have made the costs of inaction more salient. Even setting aside Germany’s understandable attempt to limit how much it would have to pay, it is difficult to see how politicians could have gotten ahead of the problem.

While the ECB has bought the eurozone some time, the calming effect on markets may be a mixed blessing. Have Europeans seen enough of the abyss to tolerate stronger action by their leaders? If not, markets might have to deteriorate further to make possible a comprehensive resolution to the eurozone crisis.

Similarly, with government bond yields as low as they are in the US, the public has little sense of urgency about its fiscal problems, though some doomsayers, like Peter Peterson of the Blackstone Group, have been trying their best to awaken it. One hopes that the coming US presidential election will lead to a more enlightened public debate about tax and entitlement reform. Otherwise, a rapid escalation of yields in the bond market might be necessary for the public to accept that there is a problem, and for politicians to have the room to resolve it.

Don’t blame the leaders for appearing short-sighted and indecisive; the fault may lie with us, the public, for not listening to the worrywarts.

Raghuram Rajan is Professor of Finance at the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, and the author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

Japan’s Resilience Lessons MARGARETA WAHLSTRÖM NEW YORK – Buried in the coverage of last year’s Great East Japan Earthquake is a success story of which the world should not lose sight, because it tells us much about how we manage risk in the twenty-first century. It is the story of how the Japanese people, through centuries of memory and shared experience, have built up their resilience to natural disasters.

Indeed, as the sea reared up to ravage the country’s coast on March 11, 2011, more than 90% of the population in the affected areas had already fled to safety.

That safety was further endangered by the meltdown of nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, a catastrophe with which Japan is still coping. Nevertheless, the country can take heart that so many of its people, children in particular, are alive today because of early-warning systems, safety drills, and a strong emphasis on disaster-risk reduction in the school curriculum.

The world has been paying greater attention to reducing loss of life from disasters. And yet, while mortality risk relative to population size is falling, the lives of more than 200 million people continue to be disrupted each year by disasters. Moreover, economic costs are soaring, with insured losses reaching a record-high $380 billion last year.

Over the last 40 years, the world’s population has almost doubled, to seven billion, but global exposure to tropical cyclones has almost tripled.

More than 100 million people experience floods each year, and roughly 370 million live in earthquake-prone cities.

Given the rapid pace of urbanization, and the technology base that a well-resourced city requires, the risk of “synchronous failure” is growing constantly, as the Great East Japan Earthquake demonstrated. The earth-

quake disrupted critical sections of Japan’s electricity grid, including the power supply needed to cool the spent fuel at Fukushima, while the tsunami disabled back-up generators at the plant, resulting in the worst nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine in 1986.

The broader lesson should be clear: when a natural hazard wreaks havoc on a power grid, there is a high potential for cascading impacts on dependent systems, such as banking and finance, government services, transport and communications, and drinking water. Moreover, as new drivers of risk emerge and interact, longstanding assumptions about disasters are being called into question. In 2010, western Russia experienced July temperatures almost 8°C above the long-term average, which, combined with lack of rainfall, led to wildfires across 800,000 hectares of parched fields, forests, and peat lands.

Moscow and its surroundings, with a population of more than 15 million inhabitants, were covered by smoke for many weeks. People with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, the elderly, and the very young were particularly affected. During and after the wildfires, Russia’s mortality rate rose 18%.

Floods in Thailand last year threw 700,000 people out of work and had knock-on economic effects around the world. The Economist reports that American bank JP Morgan has estimated that the disaster set back global industrial production by a surprisingly large 2.5%. Economic exposure to floods is increasing faster than per capita GDP in all regions.

Human happiness and economic well-being are also being affected by climate change, which may be contributing to what could turn out to be a third consecutive year of drought in sub-Saharan Africa – and this amid growing food-security concerns in a world with one billion underfed people.

Much of the world was shaken from its lethargy on disaster preparedness by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. The following month, 168

countries adopted an international blueprint for disaster-risk reduction at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, hosted by the city of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, the scene in 1995 of one of Japan’s worst earthquakes, with more than 5,000 lives lost.

The resulting Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 was a watershed moment in establishing disaster-risk reduction and climate-change adaptation as hallmarks of good governance. Most of the countries that stand to benefit from the Hyogo Framework do not have Japan’s long historical experience of battling natural hazards. The Framework can help them to understand their exposure and vulnerability in today’s hazardous world, and to set priorities for action in developing a culture of prevention.

That is why, as the Hyogo Framework comes to an end, it is important to start thinking now about its replacement, which will guide us through the thicket of risks emerging in the urbanized, interdependent world of the twenty-first century.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has already started to talk with governments, local government partners, and a broad spectrum of civil-society organizations to prepare a new framework in time for the next World Conference on Disaster Reduction in 2015, which, not surprisingly, will again be hosted by Japan. The outcome will certainly reflect what was learned from last year’s earthquake and tsunami, and seek to encourage deeper political and economic commitment to disasterrisk reduction and resilience worldwide.

Margareta Wahlström is the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNISDR, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

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ΠρÞταση για κλιµακωτή επιβολή ΦÞρου Προστιθέµενησ Αξίασ στα είδη πολυτελείασ, καθώσ και φορολογία επί καθαρήσ περιουσιακήσ θέσησ, καταθέτει τισ επÞµενεσ µέρεσ το ΑΚΕΛ. Με στÞχο να βρεθούν χρήµατα για αντισταθµιστικά µέτρα προσ τισ ευπαθείσ οµάδεσ του πληθυσµού, για την αύξηση τησ τιµήσ του ρεύµατοσ, το ΑΚΕΛ καταθέτει τισ επÞµενεσ ηµέρεσ στη Βουλή δύο προτάσεισ νÞµου, επιδιώκοντασ να συνεισφέρουν οι έχοντεσ και κατέχοντεσ. Η πρώτη πρÞταση αφορά την επιβολή φÞρου πολυτελείασ 10% επί τησ φορολογητέασ αξίασ στισ ακÞλουθεσ κατηγορίεσ προϊÞντων: Τεχνουργήµατα και υποδήµατα απÞ δέρµα ερπετών και κροκοδείλων, Τάπητεσ που περιέχουν µετάξι σε ποσοστÞ άνω του 10%, Είδη χρυσοχοΐασ και άλλα πολύτιµα µέταλλα, Σκάφη κινούµενα που προορίζονται για αναψυχή, Αυτοκίνητα κυβισµού άνω των 3.000 κυβικών, Οικίεσ άνω των 300 τετραγωνικών µέτρων. Αξίζει να αναφέρουµε Þτι για την κατηγορία των αυτοκινήτων θα εξαιρούνται επιβατικά

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αυτοκίνητα που προορίζονται να κυκλοφορήσουν ωσ δηµÞσιασ χρήσησ, τα αυτοκινούµενα τροχÞσπιτα, τα ασθενοφÞρα, οι νεκροφÞρεσ, τα οχήµατα µεταφοράσ κρατουµένων καθώσ και τα αυτοκίνητα που παραχωρούνται σε παραπληγικούσ και για µεταφορά εµπορευµάτων. Ùσον αφορά την επιβολή φÞρου στην ακίνητη ιδιοκτησία, η φορολογία σύµφωνα µε την πρÞταση θα πληρώνεται µÞνο µία φορά απÞ τον ιδιοκτήτη και θα επιβάλλεται επί των τετραγωνικών µέτρων πέραν των 300 τ.µ. Η πρÞταση περιλαµβάνει επίσησ την επιβολή φορολογίασ 20% σε: Αεροπλάνα, Υδροπλάνα, ΕλικÞπτερα ιδιωτικήσ χρήσησ, Θαλαµηγούσ. Το ΑΚΕΛ διευκρινίζει Þτι ο φÞροσ αφορά στην τιµή των αγαθών προ ΦΠΑ για Þσα παράγονται στην Κύπρο και στη φορολογητέα αξία για τα ενδοκοινοτικÞσ αποκτούµενα και εισαγÞµενα απÞ τρίτεσ χώρεσ αγαθά. Σε Þσα εισάγο-

δωση του προσ τουσ τρεισ ηλεκτροπαραγωγούσ σταθµούσ. Θα στοιχίσει 65 εκατοµµύρια και τα 10 εκατοµµύρια ευρώ θα καλυφθούν απÞ την Ε.Ε Το τελικÞ κείµενο για το ρυθµιστικÞ πλαίσιο είχε ετοιµάσει ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ ΡΑΕΚ Γιώργοσ Σιαµµάσ. Η ΡΑΕΚ θα µπορεί πλέον να ασκεί κανονικά τον εποπτικÞ και ρυθµιστικÞ τησ ρÞλο για να εκτελεί τα καθήκοντα τησ προσ διασφάλιση του καταναλωτή. Η ΑΗΚ να θυµίσουµε δήλωνε απÞ το 2007 την ετοιµÞτητα τησ να παράξει ρεύµα απÞ το φυσικÞ αέριο ρίχνοντασ στην ουσία την ευθύνησ στην πολιτεία για την υψηλή τιµή του ηλεκτρικού ρεύµατοσ.

σωπικά εµπιστεύµατα. ΠρÞκειται για µία µορφή νοµοθεσίασ που εφαρµÞζεται σε ορισµένεσ χώρεσ Þπωσ η Γαλλία, Ελβετία, Λιχτενστάιν, Ολλανδία, Νορβηγία και Ινδία, Þπου στην καθεµία απÞ αυτέσ λήφθηκαν υπÞψη οι ιδιαιτερÞτητεσ τησ οικονοµίασ, των αναγκών του κ.τ.λ. Ενδεικτικά να αναφέρουµε Þτι στη Γαλλία η φορολÞγηση εφαρµÞζεται κλιµακωτά απÞ 0,75% µέχρι 1,8% για καθαρή περιουσιακή θέση άνω των 1,3 εκ. ευρώ. Το 2006 πάντωσ απÞ τα 287 δισ ευρώ έσοδα τησ γαλλικήσ κυβέρνησησ τα 3,68 δισ εισπράχτηκαν ωσ φÞροι καθαρήσ περιουσιακήσ θέσησ. Οι προτάσεισ του ΑΚΕΛ θα κατατεθούν στη Βουλή για συζήτηση τισ αµέσωσ επÞµενεσ ηµέρεσ. ¶·‡ÏÔ˜ °ÂˆÚÁÈ¿‰Ë˜

ºÚ¤ÓÔ ÛÙÔ˘˜ ™ÏÔ‚¿ÎÔ˘˜ Την ενίσχυση του κοινωνικού κράτουσ, την επιβολή φÞρων σε πλούσιουσ και επιχειρήσεισ, Þπωσ και την αναστολή των ιδιωτικοποιήσεων εξήγγειλε ο θριαµβευτήσ των πρÞωρων βουλευτικών εκλογών στη Σλοβακία, Σοσιαλδηµοκράτησ πρώην και µελλοντικÞσ πρωθυπουργÞσ, ΡÞµπερτ Φίτσο. Ο Φίτσο στην προεκλογική του εξαγγελία, είχε αναφερθεί σε αντικατάσταση του ενιαίου φορολογικού συντελεστή του 19%, µε κλιµακωτή φορολÞγηση εισ βάροσ των επιχειρήσεων και των «εχÞντων». Μια τέτοια εξέλιξη θεωρητικά θα ωφελούσε τον κυπριακÞ κλάδο υπηρεσιών, αφού πρέπει να θεωρείται δεδοµένη «φυγή» των Σλοβάκων σε πιο ευνοϊκέσ φορολογικέσ συνθήκεσ. Η πρÞταση Þµωσ του ΑΚΕΛ φαίνεται να γίνεται ανασταλτικÞσ παράγοντασ για τισ επενδύσεισ ξένων στην Κύπρο, µε παράδειγµα τουσ Σλοβάκουσ, οι οποίοι µε τισ προτάσεισ του ΑΚΕΛ σίγουρα θα στραφούν προσ ανταγωνιστικούσ φορολογικούσ προορισµούσ Þπωσ είναι η Μάλτα, το Λουξεµβούργο και Ιρλανδία

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ªÂ ÓfiÌÔ ÈÔ ÁÚ‹ÁÔÚ· ÙÔ Ê˘ÛÈÎfi ·¤ÚÈÔ Aύριο Πέµπτη ψηφίζεται στη Κυπριακή Βουλή το ρυθµιστικÞ πλαίσιο για εισαγωγή φυσικού αερίου για ηλεκτροπαραγωγή µέχρι την αξιοποίηση των κυπριακών κοιτασµάτων. ΣτÞχοσ Þλων είναι η εισαγωγή φυσικού αερίου για φτηνÞτερη ηλεκτροπαραγωγή µετά απÞ µήνεσ άγονων αντιπαραθέσεων. ΚαθολικÞσ προµηθευτήσ ορίστηκε απÞ τα κÞµµατα η ∆ηµÞσια Εταιρεία Φυσικού Αερίου (∆ΕΦΑ) η οποία πλέον αναλαµβάνει Þλη την ευθύνη. Η εκδήλωση ενδιαφέροντοσ θα είναι ανοικτή για Þλεσ τισ µορφέσ και Πρώτο µέληµα είναι η κατασκευή του δικτύου µεταφοράσ. Έχουν ολοκληρωθεί οι µελέτεσ και έχει αποφασιστεί η διακλά-

νται ο φÞροσ υπολογίζεται σαν ποσοστÞ επί τησ αξίασ εισαγωγήσ του αγαθού. Για αγαθά που παράγονται στη χώρα και πωλούνται στη λιανική απÞ την ίδια την επιχείρηση, επιβάλλεται η εν λÞγω φορολογία στην τιµή λιανικήσ πώλησησ µειωµένη κατά 30%. Το ΑΚΕΛ προτείνει επίσησ Þπωσ επιβληθεί κλιµακωτή ετήσια φορολογία ωσ εξήσ: απÞ 1,2 εκ. ευρώ µέχρι 5 εκ. ευρώ φορολογία 0,5%, απÞ 5 εκ. ευρώ µέχρι 10 εκ. ευρώ φορολογία 1%, απÞ 10 εκ. ευρώ και άνω φορολογία 1,5%. Σύµφωνα µε την πρÞταση, καθαρή περιουσιακή θέση ορίζεται το σύνολο των περιουσιακών στοιχείων αφαιρουµένων των χρεών για την απÞκτηση τουσ. Περιουσιακά στοιχεία θεωρούνται, πέραν τησ ακίνητησ ιδιοκτησίασ, µετοχέσ, οµÞλογα, καταθέσεισ, µετρητά, σκάφη και προ-

Στον αέρα βρίσκεται η περιβÞητη επένδυση του Κατάρ στη κρατική γη απέναντι απÞ το ξενοδοχείο Χίλτον στη Λευκωσία η οποία εκκρεµεί για µία διετία, αποκάλυψε ο ΥπουργÞσ Οικονοµικών Κίκησ Καζαµίασ, δύο µήνεσ µετά το αποκλειστικÞ δηµοσίευµα τησ Financial Mirror. Το υπουργείο Οικονοµικών έχει ζητήσει απÞ το Κατάρ να ξεκαθαρίσει επισήµωσ, γραπτώσ και δι υπογραφήσ, αν θα υλοποίησει την συµφωνία για την επένδυση στη κρατική γη απέναντι απÞ το ξενοδοχείο Χίλτον στη Λευκωσία. Το τελεσίγραφο, που έδωσε ο Κίκησ Καζαµίασ, εκπνέει τα επÞµενα 24ωρα και η συµφωνία αναµένεται να ναυαγήσει. Το τεµάχιο στο οποίο υπήρχε το στρατÞπεδο Παναγίδη, θα είναι έτοιµο για αξιοποίηση τέλοσ Απριλίου, υπογραµµίζοντασ Þτι υπάρχουν αρκετοί επεν-

δυτέσ που ενδιαφέρονται για την αξιοποίηση του”. Μετά απÞ αλλεπάλληλεσ συναντήσεισ και συζητήσεισ σε Þλα τα επίπεδα ακÞµα και σε ανώτατο µεταξύ Προέδρου ΧριστÞφια και του Εµίρη του Κατάρ, στισ 20 Μαϊου 2011, το ΥπουργικÞ Συµβούλιο επικυρώνει την συµφωνία µε το Κατάρ για την ανάπτυξη στο τεµάχιο φιλέτο δίπλα στο Χίλτον στην είσοδο τησ Λευκωσίασ. Το οικÞπεδο εκτιµήθηκε στα 50 εκ. ευρώ, µε το Κατάρ να δεσµεύεται Þτι το σύνολο του ποσού θα κατατεθεί άµεσα και Þχι σε δÞσεισ, ενώ τέθηκε τιµή βάσησ για την πώληση των διαµερισµάτων και γραφείων. Παρά την συµφωνία, ακολούθησαν νέεσ συζητήσεισ µεταξύ του Κατάρ, και τησ κοινοπραξίασ Κατάρ-Κύπρου και στισ 2 ∆εκεµβρίου 2011, για να συζητήσουν τρÞπουσ αύξησησ του χρηµατικού ποσού που θα λάβει η Κυπριακή ∆ηµοκρατία, για την αξία τησ γησ που θα παραχωρήσει. ΩστÞσο απÞ τÞτε, δεν έγινε τίποτα.

∂‚Ú·˚΋ Â¤Ó‰˘ÛË ÛÙËÓ ∫‡ÚÔ Ναδήρ Με τον δισεκατοµµυριούχο Γκερµεζιάν, ΚαναδÞ-Εβραίο, Ιρανικήσ καταγωγήσ και επικεφαλή του χρηµατοοικονοµικού κολοσσού επενδύσεων Τriple Five, αναµένεται να έχει συνάντηση σήµερα το απÞγευµα ο ΠρÞεδροσ ∆ηµήτρησ ΧριστÞφιασ. Τησ συνάντησησ προηγήθηκαν πολύµηνεσ επαφέσ και διαβουλεύσεισ µε τον υπουργÞ Οικονοµικών, ανώτατα στελέχη του υπουργείου, και µε το διοικητή τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ. Η οικογένεια Γκερµεζιάν, χαίρει τησ εµπιστοσύνησ τÞσο του Ισραηλινού και να θέσει στο τραπέζι τα εχέγγυα για υλοποίησή των επενδύσεων τησ στην Κύπρο. Αυτά περιλαµβάνουν πλειοδÞτηση για 1 απÞ τα 12 οικÞπεδα τησ Κυπριακήσ ΑΟΖ και παράλλη-

λα την δέσµευση για αγορά κυπριακών οµολÞγων ύψουσ 500 εκ. ευρώ. ΠρÞκειται για µια επένδυση η οποία έρχεται να επισφραγίσει την καλυτέρευση των σχέσεων τησ Κύπρου µε το Ισραήλ, λÞγω τησ συνεργασίασ σε θέµατα ενέργειασ και µε την Αµερική λÞγω τησ επιτυχήσ επένδυσησ τησ Noble Energy. Η Τriple Five διαθέτει πέραν των 2.500 πετρελαιοπηγών σε ΗΠΑ και Καναδά και έχει δικαιώµατα έρευνασ και εκµετάλλευσησ κοιτασµάτων σε ΗΠΑ, Καναδά, ΒÞρεια Θάλασσα, Μογγολία, Τσαντ και ΚονγκÞ. Επίσησ συµµετέχει σε µεγάλεσ αναπτύξεισ αγωγών και τερµατικών. Η εταιρεία φαίνεται να δραστηριοποιείται επίσησ στην λιανική αγορά µε ιδιÞκτητα εµπορικά κέντρα τύπου Μall, στον τουρισµÞ και µεταφορέσ,

ενώ οι συναντήσεισ µε τον Αθανάσιο Ορφανίδη είχαν ωσ θέµα την δηµιουργία τράπεζασ στην Κύπρο. Ο κ. Γκερµεζιάν σύµφωνα µε δηµοσιεύµατα φαίνεται να επέδειξε και ενδιαφέρον για να επενδύσει στο φιλέτο απέναντι απÞ το Χίλτον µιασ και η πολυβÞητη επένδυση του Κατάρ στην Λευκωσία ναυαγεί.

2/12

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∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 ª∞ƒ∆π√À, 2012

√ ¶. ¢ËÌËÙÚÈ¿‰Ë˜ ÁÈ· ÙËÓ ı¤ÛË ∞ı. √ÚÊ·Ó›‰Ë; Τον Πανίκο ∆ηµητριάδη, Καθηγητή Χρηµατοοικονοµικών, στο University of Leicester φαίνεται να προωθεί το ΑΚΕΛ ωσ αντικαταστάτη του ∆ιοικητή τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ Αθανάσιου Ορφανίδη σύµφωνα µε πληροφορίεσ τησ Financial Mirror.

H θητεία του κ. Ορφανίδη λήγει στισ 30 Απριλίου 2012 και ο ίδιοσ δεν απέκλεισε το ενδιαφέρον να παραµείνει στην θέση του. Το ΑΚΕΛ Þµωσ φαίνεται να επιµένει σε διορισµÞ νέου διοικητή µε αριστερέσ καταβολέσ. Μετά λοιπÞν τα ονÞµατα των Κίκη Καζαµία, Χαρίλαου Σταυράκη, Πραξούλασ Αντωνιάδου και

ΧριστÞφορου Πισσαρίδη, ο πρÞεδροσ ΧριστÞφιασ έχει µπροστά του το Þνοµα του Πανίκου ∆ηµητριάδη.

O κ. ∆ηµητριάδησ απÞ άρθρο του που δηµοσιεύθηκε πριν µερικούσ µήνεσ φαίνεται να έχει ξεκάθαρη θέση για την γραµµή που πρέπει να ακολουθεί η Κ.Τ. Χαρακτηριστικά είχε σχολιάσει: «Εκείνο που έχω αντιληφθεί είναι Þτι η Κύπροσ βρίσκεται σε κατάσταση πολιορκίασ, δηλαδή στα πρÞθυρα του µηχανισµού στήριξησ, µια κατάσταση που δεν δηµιουργήθηκε µέσα απÞ ξένεσ συνωµοσίεσ εναντίον τησ

Κύπρου και ούτε µέσα απÞ ανώνυµεσ φήµεσ. ∆ηµιουργήθηκε πρώτιστα απÞ την ίδια την αρχή η οποία έχει την ευθύνη να διαφυλάξει τη σταθερÞτητα του χρηµατοπιστωτικού συστήµατοσ τησ χώρασ. Και αυτÞ γιατί η Κεντρική δεν περιορίσθηκε σε εµπιστευτική επιστολή προσ τον ΠρÞεδρο τησ ∆ηµοκρατίασ, η οποία µάλιστα θα µπορούσε να κοινοποιηθεί στην υπÞλοιπη πολιτική ηγεσία τησ χώρασ, αλλά, εν τη σοφία τησ, δηµοσιοποίησε την σχετική ανακοίνωσή τησ για τον κίνδυνο ένταξησ τησ Κύπρου στο µηχανισµÞ στήριξησ τÞσο στον εγχώριο Þσο και στο διεθνή τύπο».

∞ӷ̤ÓÔÓÙ·˜ Eurogroup Î·È Fed ÙÔ Â˘ÚÒ ∆Ô˘ ¡›ÎÔ˘ ªÈ¯·ËÏ›‰Ë Χωρίσ σηµαντικέσ µεταβολέσ κινήθηκε η ισοτιµία Ευρώ – ∆ολαρίου την εβδοµάδα που µασ πέρασε εν µέσω Þµωσ έντονων διακυµάνσεων. Συγκεκριµένα η ισοτιµία απÞ τα 1.3150 τησ περασµένησ εβδοµάδοσ ενισχύθηκε αρχικά µέχρι και τα 1.3300 για να διολισθήσει στην συνέχεια κάτω απÞ τα 1.3100 και να ανέβει και πάλι κοντά στα 1.3150 Þπου και κινείται τισ τελευταίεσ ηµέρεσ. Μια έντονη µεταβλητÞτητα και πάλι στην ισοτιµία επήρεια τÞσο των εξελίξεων απÞ την ζώνη του ευρώ Þσο και απÞ τισ αποφάσεισ τησ Fed . Αρχικά έχουµε αυτή την εβδοµάδα την συνεδρία του του Eurogroup Þπου αναµένεται να δοθεί η τελική έγκριση στη νέα δανειακή σύµβαση τησ Ελλάδασ, ύψουσ 130 δισ. ευρώ. Ùπωσ δήλωσε, προσερχÞµενοσ στη συνεδρίαση των υπουργών Οικονοµικών τησ Ευρωζώνησ, ο πρÞεδροσ, J.C. Juncker, δεν υπάρχει καµία αµφιβολία πωσ το νέο πακέτο διάσωσησ τησ Ελλάδασ θα εγκριθεί. ΑπÞ την άλλη Þµωσ τÞνισε πωσ στο Eurogroup δεν αναµένεται να ληφθούν σηµαντικέσ αποφάσεισ και η απÞφαση για το µέγεθοσ των ευρωπαϊκών µηχανισµών διάσωσησ θα πρέ-

πει να αναµένεται στισ 30 Μαρτίου. Βεβαία Þλα αυτά συµβαίνουν στην σκιά νέων ανησυχιών αυτή την φορά απÞ την Ισπανία. ΠαρÞλεσ τισ φιλÞτιµεσ προσπάθειεσ των Ευρωπαίων αξιωµατούχων να πείσουν τισ αγορέσ πωσ άλλο Ελλάδα και άλλο Ισπανία και Πορτογαλία, οι αγορέσ ετοιµάζονται ήδη για haircut και στην Πορτογαλία, τησ οποίασ τα οµÞλογα βρίσκονται εξίσου στην κατηγορία “junk” απÞ Moody’s, Fitch και S&P. Την ίδια στιγµή οι αγορέσ θεωρούν δεδοµένη µια νέα αναδιάρθρωση του ελληνικού χρέουσ, η οποία θα περιλαµβάνει και τον επίσηµο τοµέα αφού αυτÞσ είναι ο µÞνοσ τρÞποσ η Ελλάδα να καταστήσει το χρέοσ τησ βιώσιµο. Μια εξέλιξη που σαφώσ διατηρεί την αβεβαιÞτητα στην ζώνη του Ευρώ και είναι αδύνατον η αβεβαιÞτητα αυτή να αλλάξει δραµατικά τουσ επÞµενουσ µήνεσ. Σε µια άλλη εξέλιξη στο στÞχαστρο των ανησυχιών των αγορών βρίσκεται πλέον η Ισπανία. Οι τελευταίεσ αναθεωρήσεισ των δηµοσιονοµικών δεσµεύσεων τησ Μαδρίτησ έναντι τησ Ευρώπησ συνιστούν γÞνιµο έδαφοσ για να ανοίξει η ψαλίδα τησ αύξησησ του κÞστουσ δανεισµού σε βάροσ τησ. Προσ το παρÞν η Ευρωπαϊκή

∞ÍÈÔÔ›ËÛË ÙÔ˘ ΢ÚÈ·ÎÔ‡ Ê˘ÛÈÎÔ‡ ·ÂÚ›Ô˘ ÙÔ 2016 Το Υπουργείο Εµπορίου προσανατολίζεται µεσοπρÞθεσµα στην αξιοποίηση των κυπριακών αποθεµάτων φυσικού αερίου, η οποία υπολογίζεται γύρω στο 2016, και βραχυπρÞθεσµα διερευνά το ενδεχÞµενο να προχωρήσει µε άλλεσ επιλογέσ για έλευση φυσικού αερίου º£π¡√¶øƒ√ απÞ άλλεσ χώρεσ, δήλωσε η ΥπουργÞσ Εµπορίου, Βιοµηχανίασ και Τουρισµού ∏ ∞¶√º∞™∏ Πραξούλα Αντωνιάδου Κυριακού. Παράλληλα, η ΥπουργÞσ υπογράµµισε °π∞ ∆∂ƒª∞∆π∫√ Þτι οι ενδείξεισ για τη συµµετοχή εταιρειών στο β’ γύρο αδειοδÞτησησ για έρευνα και εκµετάλλευση φυσικού αερίου απÞ τα τεµάχια τησ κυπριακήσ ΑΟΖ, είναι πάρα πολύ θετικέσ, καθώσ Þπωσ ανέφερε, στην έκθεση του Υπουργείου για τον β’ γύρο αδειοδÞτησησ στο Λονδίνο, οι µισοί απÞ τουσ επισκέπτεσ του περιπτέρου τησ Κύπρου ανέφεραν Þτι έχουν ήδη ετοιµάσει αίτηση συµµετοχήσ. Επίσησ η ΥπουργÞσ ανακοίνωσε Þτι η κυβέρνηση θα ανακοινώσει στα µέσα του Φθινοπώρου την εταιρεία µε την οποία θα συµβληθεί µε κοινοπραξία για την κατασκευή του τερµατικού καυσίµων στο ΒασιλικÞ, στο οποίο θα µεταφερθούν και οι εγκαταστάσεισ των πετρελαιοειδών εταιριών απÞ τη Λάρνακα.

∂ÏÏËÓÈ΋: ™ÙȘ 30/3 Ù· ÓÂÒÙÂÚ· ÁÈ· ÌÂÙÔ¯ÈÎfi ÎÂÊ¿Ï·ÈÔ Η Ελληνική Τράπεζα ανακοίνωσε Þτι θα συνεχίσει τη συζήτηση των θεµάτων τα οποία επηρεάζουν τη δοµή του µετοχικού κεφαλαίου τησ Τράπεζασ σε συνεδρία του ∆ιοικητικού τησ Συµβουλίου στισ 30 Μαρτίου του 2012. Η Τράπεζα θα αποστείλει σχετική ανακοίνωση στο Χρηµατιστήριο Αξιών Κύπρου και στην Επιτροπή Κεφαλαιαγοράσ, µετά τη λήψη των αποφάσεων του ∆ιοικητικού Συµβουλίου στισ 30 Μαρτίου.

Επιτροπή αναµένει την κρίσιµη ψηφοφορία του καθυστερηµένου προϋπολογισµού του 2012 τησ Ισπανίασ αυτή την εβδοµάδα, για να αποφανθεί εάν τελικά υπάρχουν ανησυχητικέσ αποκλίσεισ. Για τη διεθνή κοινÞτητα, η ιβηρική οικονοµία έχει πάρει πλέον τη θέση τησ Ιταλίασ ωσ το «κακÞ παιδί» τησ ευρωζώνησ.

∏ ¤ÓÙÔÓË ÌÂÙ·‚ÏËÙfiÙËÙ· Â¤ÛÙÚ„ ÛÙËÓ ÈÛÔÙÈÌ›· ∂˘ÚÒ – ¢ÔÏ·Ú›Ô˘ ÂÓ ·Ó·ÌÔÓ‹ ÙfiÛÔ ÙˆÓ ·ÔÊ¿ÛÂˆÓ ÙÔ˘ Eurogroup fiÛÔ Î·È Ù˘ Ù·ÎÙÈ΋˜ Û˘Ó‰ڛ·˜ Ù˘ Fed Τα βασικά οικονοµικά προβλήµατα τησ Ισπανίασ παραµένουν εδώ και πολλούσ µήνεσ σε δεινή θέση. Ο δείκτησ τησ ανεργίασ βρίσκεται στο 23,3%, ενώ η χώρα είναι αντιµέτωπη µε µια χρÞνια µηδαµινή ανάπτυξη, αποτέλεσµα βέβαια τησ εγκληµατικήσ λιτÞτητασ που τουσ έχει επιβάλει ο ΓαλλογερµανικÞσ άξονασ.

Με Þλεσ αυτέσ τισ εξελίξεισ θεωρείται αδύνατον το οποιοδήποτε ανοδικÞ ξέσπασµα τησ ισοτιµίασ να διατηρηθεί σε βάθοσ χρÞνου. Εξέχουσασ σηµασίασ αναµένεται να είναι και η τακτική συνεδρία τησ Fed Þπου µετά τισ τελευταίεσ επισηµάνσεισ του προέδρου Ben Bernanke ο οποίοσ απέφυγε να αναφερθεί σε ένα νέο κύκλο ποσοτικήσ χαλάρωσησ, θα διαφανεί κατά πÞσον τισ ασπάζονται το συµβούλιο τησ Fed. Είδη τα µακροοικονοµικά στοιχεία των ΗΠΑ συνεχίζουν να πάνε απÞ το καλÞ στο καλύτερο τον τελευταίο καιρÞ και ειδικά η κατάσταση τησ ανεργίασ φαίνεται να είναι σε σταθερή πορεία ανάκαµψησ. Με Þλα αυτά, και τουσ χρηµατιστηριακούσ δείκτεσ τησ Wall Street να καλπάζουν το τελευταίο πράγµα που χρειάζεται η ΗΠΑ είναι νέο τύπωµα χρήµατοσ. Με τουσ Αµερικάνουσ Þµωσ να επιµένουν στην πολιτική του φθηνού δολαρίου δεν είναι καθÞλου απίθανο να γίνουµε µάρτυρεσ ακÞµα µιασ αναφοράσ απÞ την Fed περί επικείµενησ νέασ ποσοτικήσ χαλάρωσησ. √ ¡›ÎÔ˜ ªÈ¯·ËÏ›‰Ë˜, Â›Ó·È Foreign Exchange Analyst Email: michailidisn@aol.com

«∂Ó „˘¯ÚÒ» ˘Ô‚¿ıÌÈÛË ·fi Moody’s Ωσ αδικαιολÞγητη χαρακτήρισε την χθεσινή υποβάθµιση τησ κυπριακήσ οικονοµίασ απÞ τον οίκο αξιολÞγησησ Moody’s το υπουργείο Οικονοµικών. Ο οίκοσ υποβάθµισε κατά µία µονάδα την αξιολÞγηση τησ Κύπρου στο Ba1 απÞ το Baa3, αποδίδοντασ αρνητικÞ outlook στισ αξιολογήσεισ. Σύµφωνα µε την Moody’s, οι βασικοί λÞγοι για την υποβάθµιση είναι Þτι η κυπριακή κυβέρνηση θα πρέπει να δηµιουργήσει επιπρÞσθετη χρη-

µατοοικονοµική στήριξη στισ τράπεζεσ τησ χώρασ εξαιτίασ τησ έκθεσήσ τουσ στην ελληνική οικονοµία. ΑκÞµη, αποδίδει την υποβάθµιση στην πιθανή επίδραση που θα έχουν στην εµπιστοσύνη τησ αγοράσ οι ανησυχίεσ για τον τραπεζικÞ κλάδο καθώσ και οι ευρύτερεσ αβεβαιÞτητεσ για τισ µακροοικονοµικέσ προοπτικέσ τησ Ευρώπησ και τα θεσµικά πλαίσια. Το υπουργείο θεωρεί Þτι οι αρνητικέσ παράµετροι που λήφθηκαν υπÞψη στην

αξιολÞγηση δεν διαφέρουν ουσιαστικά απÞ την επιχειρηµατολογία του οίκου στην τελευταία του υποβάθµιση στισ 4 Νοεµβρίου 2011 «και δεν δικαιολογούν την τωρινή υποβάθµιση». Είναι πάντωσ αξιοσηµείωτο, αναφέρει το ΥΠΟΙΚ, Þτι ο οίκοσ Moody’s αναγνωρίζει τη σηµασία των δηµοσιονοµικών µέτρων που έχουν ληφθεί, τα οποία περιλαµβάνουν και µεγαλύτερεσ διαρθρωτικέσ µεταρρυθµίσεισ απÞ Þ,τι αρχικά ανέµενε.

√È ·Ú¿ÓÔÌÔÈ ËÏÂÎÙÚÔÏfiÁÔÈ... ¤ÊÂÚ·Ó Ó¤· ÓÔÌÔıÂÛ›· Οι αποκαλύψεισ για δεκάδεσ µη αδειούχουσ ηλεκτρολÞγουσ, έφεραν τον κλάδο προ των ευθυνών του. Η ανάγκη νοµοθετικήσ ρύθµισησ για κατοχύρωση του επαγγέλµατοσ ήταν το θέµα που µονοπώλησε το ενδιαφέρον στην ετήσια γενική συνέλευση του Συνδέσµου Εργοληπτών Μηχανολογικών και Ηλεκτρολογικών Έργων. ΜονÞδροµο αποτελεί για τον Σύνδεσµο Εργοληπτών Μηχανολογικών και Ηλεκτρολογικών Έργων η νοµοθετική ρύθµιση για κατοχύρωση του επαγγέλµατοσ, ώστε να προστατευτούν και οι καταναλωτέσ.

Ο ΠρÞεδροσ του Συνδέσµου Σωτήρησ Αριστοδήµου αποκάλυψε, κατά την οµιλία του στη ετήσια γενική συνέλευση, τισ ενέργειεσ που θα γίνουν προσ αυτή την κατεύθυνση. «Εµείσ θα προχωρήσουµε µε την κατοχύρωση του επαγγέλµατοσ µέσω του Συνδέσµου µασ. ΑυτÞ θα είναι προσ Þφελοσ και των καταναλωτών οι οποίοι θα γνωρίζουν ποιεσ εταιρείεσ έχουν την τεχνογνωσία για να εκτελέσουν σωστά ένα έργο»,είπε. Η κυβέρνηση βλέπει θετικά το θέµα τησ νοµοθετικήσ ρύθµισησ του κλάδου των ηλεκτροµηχανολογικών εγκαταστάσεων, µετά και τισ αποκαλύψεισ στη

Βουλή, για έωσ και 150 ηλεκτρολÞγουσ που προέβαιναν σε εγκαταστάσεισ χωρίσ άδεια. Σχετικέσ διαβεβαιώσεισ έδωσε ο ΥπουργÞσ Συγκοινωνιών Ευθύµιοσ Φλουρέντζου. «Στισ µέρεσ µασ η νοµοθετική ρύθµιση του κάθε επαγγέλµατοσ είναι καθοριστικήσ σηµασίασ για τη διασφάλιση τησ ποιÞτητασ των προσφεροµένων υπηρεσιών και τη διασφάλιση τησ ποιÞτητασ ζωήσ και των επαγγελµατιών Þλων των κλάδων», υπογράµµισε. ¶·‡ÏÔ˜ °ÂˆÚÁÈ¿‰Ë˜

«¶·Ú·Û‡ÚıËλ ÙÔ Ã∞∫ ·fi ÙËÓ ·ÍÈÔÏfiÁËÛË Στα χαµηλά κατρακύλησε χθεσ το Χρηµατιστήριο Αξιών Κύπρου, παρασυρÞµενο απÞ την υποβάθµιση των κυπριακών οµολÞγων στο επίπεδο Ba1 απÞ Baa3, στην οποία προχώρησε ο οίκοσ αξιολÞγησησ Moody’s. Ο ΓενικÞσ ∆είκτησ του ΧΑΚ, δεχÞµενοσ πιέσεισ απÞ τισ τραπεζικέσ µετοχέσ, έκλεισε στισ 272,46 µονάδεσ, σηµειώνοντασ απώλειεσ σε ποσοστÞ 1,78%. Η αξία των συναλλαγών διαµορφώθηκε, στο σύνολο τησ, στα 2.144.709,49 ευρώ, µε τη µετοχή τησ Τράπεζασ Κύπρου να συγκεντρώνει το 53% του ηµερήσιου τζίρου. Πτώση τησ τάξησ του 1,69% σηµείωσε ο ∆είκτησ FTSE/CySE 20, ο οποίοσ έκλεισε στισ 96,96 µονάδεσ. Το µεγαλύτερο αγοραστικÞ ενδιαφέρον προσέλκυσε η µετοχή τησ Τράπεζασ Κύπρου µε 1.137.511,480 ευρώ (πτώση 1,34% - τιµή κλεισίµατοσ 0,51 ευρώ). Ακολούθησαν οι τίτλοι τησ Λαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ µε 216.758,300 ευρώ (πτώση 2,17% - τιµή κλεισίµατοσ 0,27 ευρώ), τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ µε 21.486,510 ευρώ (πτώση

5,63% - τιµή κλεισίµατοσ 0,30 ευρώ), τησ ∆ήµητρα Επενδυτική ∆ηµÞσια µε 7.062,940 ευρώ (χωρίσ µεταβολή - τιµή κλεισίµατοσ 0,20 ευρώ) και τησ Marfin CLR Public µε 7.052,390 ευρώ (πτώση 4,29% - τιµή κλεισίµατοσ 0,06 ευρώ).

FITCH: ∞¡∞µ∞£ªπ™∏ ∆∏™ ∂§§∞¢∞™ Στην αναβάθµιση τησ µακροπρÞθεσµησ αξιολÞγησησ τησ πιστοληπτικήσ ικανÞτητασ Ελλάδασ σε ξένο και εγχώριο νÞµισµα σε «B-» µε σταθερÞ outlook απÞ «Restricted Default» (RD) ανακοίνωσε χθεσ αργά το απÞγευµα η Fitch Ratings, λίγο µετά το κλείσιµο του ελληνικού χρηµατιστηρίου. Επίσησ ο οίκοσ αναβάθµισε τη βραχυπρÞθεσµη πιστοληπτική ικανÞτητα τησ Ελλάδασ σε ξένο νÞµισµα σε «B» απÞ «C» ενώ επιβεβαίωσε το ανώτατο Þριο (Country Ceiling) σε «AAA». Ο ΓενικÞσ ∆είκτησ του ΧΑ, κινήθηκε

χθεσ µε εναλλαγέσ προσήµου έχοντασ ωσ «φÞντο» τη διακύµανση του τραπεζικού δείκτη που ξεπέρασε σε εύροσ το 6,5%. Αν και βρέθηκε να ενισχύεται σε ποσοστÞ έωσ 1,91% ενδοσυνεδριακά, ο ΓενικÞσ ∆είκτησ εξανέµισε σταδιακά τα κέρδη του στη διάρκεια των συναλλαγών, για να βρεθεί να υποχωρεί έωσ και 1,01% και κάτω απÞ τισ 730 µονάδεσ. Στο ταµπλÞ, ο ΓενικÞσ ∆είκτησ έκλεισε στισ 734,88 µονάδεσ µε οριακή άνοδο 0,13%. Για τον δείκτη των τραπεζών, τα κέρδη διαµορφώθηκαν σε 0,52% στισ 379,44 µονάδεσ. Το κλίµα αβεβαιÞτητασ στο ταµπλÞ διαµορφώνει, µεταξύ άλλων, και η εκκρεµÞτητα τησ αξιολÞγησησ τησ ελληνικήσ αγοράσ απÞ τον οίκο FTSE, καθώσ το Χ.Α. παραµένει στην watch list του οίκου µε ανοιχτÞ -ακÞµη- το ενδεχÞµενο υποβάθµισησ στην κατηγορία «Advanced Emerging» απÞ την κατηγορία «Developed» στην οποία βρίσκεται σήµερα.

∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 ª∞ƒ∆π√À, 2012

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∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 ª∞ƒ∆π√À, 2012

∫π¡∏∆ƒ∞ ∞°√ƒ∞™ ∞∫π¡∏∆ø¡ ∞¶√ •∂¡√À™

ª·˜ ÚfiÏ·‚·Ó Î·È ¿ÏÈ ¿ÏÏÔÈ ∆Ô˘ ∞ÓÙÒÓË §Ô›˙Ô˘ F.R.I.C.S. & ™˘ÓÂÚÁ¿Ù˜ §Ù‰, ∂ÎÙÈÌËÙ¤˜ ∞ÎÈÓ‹ÙˆÓ & ¢È·¯ÂÈÚÈÛÙ¤˜ ŒÚÁˆÓ ∞Ó¿Ù˘Í˘ Ακολουθώντασ την ανοικτή µασ επιστολή προσ τον ΥπουργÞ Οικονοµικών και τισ παραινέσεισ µασ στον ΥπουργÞ Εσωτερικών, ΚΕΒΕ και άλλα οργανωµένα σύνολα που αφορούν την αγορά κατοικίασ σε αντάλλαγµα την µÞνιµη κατοίκηση και τισ µεγάλεσ επενδύσεισ µε έκδοση διαβατηρίου, σασ πληροφορoύµε τα ακÞλουθα: - Έγιναν παραστάσεισ απÞ το ΚΕΒΕ επί του θέµατοσ στον ΥπουργÞ Εσωτερικών και φάνηκε Þτι το µέτρο θα διαφοροποιηθεί για την αγορά µÞνιµησ κατοικίασ (δηλαδή ο ενδιαφερÞµενοσ να ζει στην Κύπρο πέραν των 180 ηµερών) και η απαίτηση αυτή θα µειωθεί σε 1-2 εβδοµάδεσ (πάλι λάθοσ λέµε – προσ τι;) διαµονήσ στην Κύπρο.

- Θα διεξάγεται µÞνο µια συνέντευξη µε τον ενδιαφερÞµενο και Þχι 2 στην Κύπρο (γιατί Þχι στην Πρεσβεία τησ Κύπρου στην χώρα του αιτητή, γιατί να τον ταλαιπωρούµε π.χ. ένα Κινέζο µε επίσκεψη στην Κύπρο και µε άγνωστο αποτέλεσµα;).

- Αντί 6-8 µήνεσ αναµονήσ οι αιτήσεισ θα εξετάζονται τώρα 2-3 φορέσ τον χρÞνο, µε στÞχο την µείωση τησ περιÞδου αυτήσ σε 3-4 µήνεσ (γιατί τÞσο µεγάλη περίοδοσ, είναι τÞσο απασχοληµένοι οι ∆ηµÞσιοι υπάλληλοι;). Αυτά είναι τα ελάχιστα δείγµατα τησ ακατανÞητησ κατ’ εµάσ νοοτροπίασ και Þσο περνά ο καιρÞσ και µέσα σε αυτή την κρίση που η Κυπριακή οικονοµία χρειάζεται καταθέσεισ και η οικοδοµική βιοµηχανία πωλήσεισ, εδώ «πάµε µε το πάσο µασ». Μασ ξεπέρασε λοιπÞν η Λετονία, η Ισπανία και η Βρετανία αντιγράφοντασ το δικÞ µασ µοντέλο (του 2007), το οποίο λÞγω καθαρήσ αδράνειασ µασ, δεν δούλεψε απÞ το 1997 που εισήχθηκε. Τώρα µασ ξεπερνά η Ιρλανδία

€4,8 ÂÎ. ÎÏËÚÒÓÂÈ ·‡ÚÈÔ Ô ∆˙fiÎÂÚ Τζάκποτ σηµειώθηκε στην τελευταία κλήρωση του ΤζÞκερ. Στην αυριανή κλήρωση τησ Πέµπτησ 15 Μαρτίου η 1η κατηγορία θα πληρώσει 4.800.000 ευρώ. Οι αριθµοί τησ τελευταίασ κλήρωσησ ήταν 15, 19, 23, 42, 43 και 6. Στη δεύτερη κατηγορία βρέθηκαν δύο τυχεροί στην Ελλάδα, που κέρδισαν 147.66.59 ευρώ. Στην τρίτη κατηγορία βρέθηκαν 76 τυχεροί, απÞ τουσ οποίουσ οι οκτώ στην Κύπρο, που κέρδισαν απÞ 2.500 ευρώ, ενώ στην τέταρτη κατηγορία 862 τυχεροί, απÞ τουσ οποίουσ οι 152 στην Κύπρο, κερδίζουν απÞ 50 ευρώ. Στην πέµπτη κατηγορία 1.882 τυχεροί, απÞ τουσ οποίουσ οι 261 στην Κύπρο, κέρδισαν απÞ 50 ευρώ, ενώ στην έκτη κατηγορία βρέθηκαν 39.046 τυχεροί, απÞ τουσ οποίουσ οι 4.919 στην Κύπρο, που κέρδισαν απÞ 2 ευρώ. ΑπÞ 2 ευρώ θα πάρουν 24.716 τυχεροί στην έβδοµη κατηγορία, απÞ τουσ οποίουσ οι 3.249 στην Κύπρο, ενώ 116.695 τυχεροί στην Þγδοη κατηγορία, απÞ τουσ οποίουσ οι 16.224 στην Κύπρο, κέρδισαν απÞ 1,50 ευρώ.

XˆÚ›˜ ‰Èη›ˆÌ· ·Ô˙ËÌ›ˆÛ˘ ÔÈ Î‡ÚÈÔÈ Î·Ù·Ó·ÏˆÙ¤˜ Eπιδείνωση στην προστασία του καταναλωτή που επιτείνεται ακÞµα περισσÞτερο απÞ την οικονοµική κρίση, καταγγέλλει η Παγκύπρια Ένωση Καταναλωτών και ΠοιÞτητασ ζωήσ µε την ευκαιρία τησ ΠαγκÞσµια Ηµέρασ Καταναλωτών στισ 15 Μαρτίου «Ο καταναλωτήσ σχεδÞν καθηµερινά διαπιστώνει πωσ, τα δικαιώµατα του δεν γίνονται σεβαστά και τα συµφέροντα του δεν προστατεύονται» τονίζει η ένωση. Η Ενωση Καταναλωτών διαπιστώνει Þτι ο σεβασµÞσ δικαιωµάτων, Þπωσ κυρίωσ τησ εκπροσώπησησ, τησ επιλογήσ, τησ προστασίασ των οικονοµικών συµφερÞντων, είτε πάσχει σοβαρά είτε απουσιάζει παντελώσ απÞ την Κύπρο, Þπωσ συµβαίνει και µε αυτÞ τησ αποζηµίωσησ. Ο Κύπριοσ καταναλωτήσ δεν έχει τη δυνατÞτητα να αλλάξει ένα ελαττωµατικÞ προϊÞν µε επιστροφή χρηµάτων, αλλά είναι υποχρεωµένοσ να πάρει κάτι άλλο εντÞσ συγκεκριµένησ ηµεροµηνίασ λήξησ. ΑκÞµα αναφέρεται Þτι εξαπατείται και γίνεται αντικείµενο εκµετάλλευσησ απÞ επιτήδειουσ που το κράτοσ αδυνατεί να ελέγξει και να τιµωρήσει παραδειγµατικά και αποτρεπτικά και βλέπει τισ τιµέσ µÞνο να ανεβαίνουν, δικαιολογηµένα ή Þχι αλλά ποτέ να µην κατεβαίνουν.

ΠΩΛΕΙΤΑΙ Πωλείται καινούριο υπερπολυτελές ισόγειο διαµέρισµα 83 τ.µ. ωφέλιµοι χώροι, πλέον 20 τ.µ. βεράντα. ∆υο υπνοδωµάτια, αποθήκη και υπόγειος χώρος στάθµευσης. Υποδαπέδια θέρµανση, θυροτηλεόραση, ηλεκτρικά στόρια στα υπνοδωµάτια. Πιεστικό νερού, ηλιακός θερµοσίφωνας, κουζίνα BRAVO Ιταλίας, γρανίτης caesarstone, ξεχωριστός χώρος για πλυντήριο ρούχων και στεγνωτήριο. Περιοχή Ρωσικής Πρεσβείας στην Έγκωµη µε απρόσκοπτη θέα σε χώρο πρασίνου. €260,000.

Τηλέφωνο 97710128.

µε το ακÞλουθο σχέδιο προσέλκυσησ ξένων επενδυτών (που έχει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον για το Κράτοσ). Με αγορά Κυβερνητικών χρεογράφων ελάχιστου ποσού 2 εκ. ευρώ, ή µε την αγορά ακίνητησ ιδιοκτησίασ αξίασ 1.0 εκ. ευρώ, ή µε την επένδυση ποσού 1.0 εκ. ευρώ σε Ιρλανδική εταιρεία, εκδίδεται άδεια µÞνιµησ κατοίκησησ και νοουµένου Þτι η επένδυση είναι για περίοδο 5 ετών και δεν θα είναι εµπορεύσιµα. Ο στÞχοσ, κατά την Ιρλανδική Κυβέρνηση, είναι η Κίνα και η Βραζιλία. ΠρÞσθετα µέτρα που ανέλαβε η Ιρλανδία περιλαµβάνουν «χρηµατικά κίνητρα» σε άτοµα/εταιρείεσ που δηµιουργούν νέεσ θέσεισ εργασίασ, φοροαπαλλαγέσ για διευθυντικά στελέχη που µετακινούν την βάση τουσ στην Ιρλανδία (Þχι µÞνο τησ εταιρείασ αλλά και τουσ διευθυντέσ τησ – που στο κάτω-κάτω είναι αυτοί που παίρνουν την απÞφαση σε ποια χώρα η εταιρεία τουσ θα εδρεύει) κλπ κλπ. Η προσέγγιση αυτή τησ Ιρλανδικήσ Κυβέρνησησ (η οποία ονοµάστηκε International Charm Offensive) έχει ωσ προβολέα του τον πρώην πρÞεδρο Κλίντον (Ιρλανδικήσ καταγωγήσ), ο οποίοσ και οργάνωσε σχετικά επιτυχηµένα σεµινάρια, που στο τελευταίο και µεταξύ των νέων προσκεκληµένων, ήταν και ο αντιπρÞεδροσ τησ Κίνασ. Μπράβο τησ Ιρλανδίασ η οποία µασ αντέγραψε, αλλά δεν έβαλε τισ αποφάσεισ τησ στο ράφι (Þπωσ εµείσ). «Πρέπει συνέχεια να σκεπτÞµαστε τι µπορούµε ωσ Ιρλανδία να προσφέρουµε κάτι περισσÞτερο» δήλωσε ο ∆ιοικητήσ τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ». Προσθέτουµε επίσησ Þτι οι ανταγωνιστέσ µασ, µε την έκδοση τησ βίζασ για µÞνιµη κατοίκηση, επιτρέπουν και την µεταφορά/κατοίκηση και Þλησ τησ άµεσησ οικογένειασ του αιτητή. Ùσον αφορά ξένα διευθυντικά στελέχη, αυτά έχουν φορολογική

έκπτωση 30% εάν µετατεθούν στην Ιρλανδία εντÞσ 3 ετών. Ùσον αφορά δε «χρηµατικά κίνητρα» για αύξηση θέσεων εργασίασ, το Κράτοσ προσφέρει 4.000 ευρώ για κάθε θέση απÞ ξένη εταιρεία που προσελκύεται στην Ιρλανδία και δηµιουργεί θέσεισ εργασίασ µακρÞχρονησ µορφήσ (5 χρÞνια) για Ιρλανδούσ πολίτεσ. ΧρειαζÞµεθα επιθετική πολιτική για προσέλκυση κεφαλαίων. Είτε απευθείασ ωσ Υπουργείο Εσωτερικών/Οικονοµικών, είτε µέσω τησ CIPA να αναληφθούν εκτεταµένεσ διαφηµίσεισ, τÞσο στισ πρώην ανατολικέσ χώρεσ, Þσο και στισ Αραβικέσ (µε προβλήµατα), Κίνα και Ινδία, ωσ επίσησ και τον ανερχÞµενο γίγαντα την Βραζιλία. Πρέπει πλέον ο τοµέασ τησ προσέλκυσησ των επενδύσεων να µπει σε µια επιχειρηµατική βάση – Þλα αυτά ασφαλώσ Þταν ξεκαθαρίσει το υφιστάµενο οµιχλώδεσ τοπίο για την εξασφάλιση τησ βίζασ/διαβατηρίου στην Κύπρο. Εάν καταφέρουµε και προσελκύσουµε µε αυτή την βάση 5.000 πλούσιουσ µε µέσο Þρο κατάθεσησ ή επενδύσεισ σε ακίνητα 2 εκ. ευρώ/ένασ, τα 10 δισ ευρώ µασ πέφτουν λίγα; Τελειώνοντασ και χωρίσ να αυτÞ-παινευÞµαστε ιδιαίτερα, το έτοσ 2008 που επισκεφθήκαµε την Ιρλανδία και αναφέραµε το ΚυπριακÞ Μέτρο για τισ βίζεσ κλπ σε µια συγκέντρωση Þπου ένασ πολιτικÞσ αρχηγÞσ κÞµµατοσ έδειξε κάποιο ενδιαφέρον να µάθει περισσÞτερα, του το εξηγήσαµε.Τώρα που το κÞµµα του κέρδισε τισ εκλογέσ πρÞσφατα, φαίνεται να µασ θυµήθηκε. Μασ άφησαν πίσω οι ξένοι Κύριε Καζαµία και Συλικιώτη αντιγράφοντασ τισ δικέσ µασ ιδέεσ!! Έτσι και για να µην νοµίζουµε Þτι το µέτρο αυτÞ τησ βίζασ/διαβατήρια είναι µÞνο για τουσ απελπισµένουσ οικονοµικά, παρÞµοιο σύστηµα έχουν εφαρµÞσει και οι Η.Π.Α. πρÞσφατα.

∂π¢∏™∂π™

∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 ª∞ƒ∆π√À, 2012

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«¶Âı·›ÓÂÈ» Ë Â˘Úˆ·˚΋ ·ÁÔÚ¿ ·˘ÙÔÎÈÓ‹ÙˆÓ Η οικονοµική κρίση δεν έχει αφήσει ανεπηρέαστη την αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανία και ειδικÞτερα την ευρωπαϊκή η οποία αναζητά µια συνολική λύση για την πλεονάζουσα παραγωγική ικανÞτητά τησ που µαστίζει τον κλάδο και πλήττει τα κέρδη τησ καθιστώντασ την ευάλωτη στουσ ανταγωνιστέσ του εξωτερικού. Σύµφωνα µε τα επίσηµα στοιχεία του ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) τα οποία επεξεργάστηκε η Ηµερισία, η παραγωγική δυνατÞτητα των ευρωπαϊκών εργοστασίων το 2011 ξεπέρασε τα 15 εκατοµµύρια οχήµατα ενώ απÞ αυτά στην αγορά τησ Γηραιάσ Ηπείρου διατέθηκαν µÞλισ 13 εκ. δηµιουργώντασ ένα πλεÞνασµα 2 εκ. οχηµάτων! Ùσον αφορά στα προηγούµενα χρÞνια η καλύτερη επίδοση µεταξύ παραγωγήσ και διάθεσησ καταγράφηκε το 2009 καθώσ κατασκευάστηκαν 13,9 εκ. οχήµατα και διατέθηκαν 13,6 εκ. ιδιωτικήσ χρήσησ.

Φινλανδία, Γαλλία, Γερµανία, Ουγγαρία, Ιταλία, Ολλανδία, Πολωνία, Πορτογαλία, Ρουµανία, Σλοβακία, Σλοβενία, Ισπανία, Σουηδία και Μεγάλη Βρετανία. Στισ παραπάνω χώρεσ κατασκευάζονται Þχι µÞνο ευρωπαϊκά αυτοκίνητα αλλά και άλλεσ µάρκεσ µε έδρα τισ ΗΠΑ, Ιαπωνία κ.ά. Την πρώτη θέση σε επίπεδο παραγωγήσ διατηρεί η Γερµανία µε πολύ µεγάλη διαφορά απÞ τισ υπÞλοιπεσ χώρεσ µε 5,5 εκ. οχήµατα το 2010, 4,9 εκ. το 2009 και 5,5 εκ. το 2008. Στη δεύτερη θέση βρίσκεται η Γαλλία µε 1,9 εκ. το 2010, 1,8 εκ. το 2009 και 2,1 εκ. το 2008. Σε απÞσταση αναπνοήσ στην τρίτη θέση βρίσκεται η Ισπανία µε την παραγωγή 1,9 εκ. το 2010, 1,8 εκ. το 2009 και 1,9 εκ. το 2008. Εντυπωσιακή είναι η αύξηση που καταγράφει η Τσεχία η οποία το 2010 εισήλθε στο club των ισχυρών καθώσ η παραγωγή ξεπέρασε το 1 εκ. οχήµατα.

∫Ï›ÛÈÌÔ ÂÚÁÔÛÙ·Û›ˆÓ ÛÙËÓ ∂˘ÚÒË

™˘Á¯ˆÓ‡ÛÂȘ Î·È Ì·˙ÈΤ˜ ·ÔχÛÂȘ

Αντίστοιχα, η χειρÞτερη περίοδοσ για την ευρωπαϊκή αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανία καταγράφηκε το 2008, καθώσ τÞτε κατασκευάστηκαν σχεδÞν 16 εκ. οχήµατα και διατέθηκαν στην αγορά µÞλισ 13,5 εκ., δηµιουργώντασ πλεονάζουσα παραγωγή κατά 2,3 εκ. οχήµατα. Παράλληλα, οι αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανίεσ τησ Ευρώπησ πέραν τησ πλεονάζουσασ παραγωγήσ και τισ ανταγωνιστικέσ τιµέσ κατασκευαστών εκτÞσ Ευρώπησ αντιµετωπίζουν και µια δύσκολη εγχώρια αγορά η οποία έχει πληγεί απÞ τα µέτρα δηµοσιονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ που έχουν ληφθεί σε Þλεσ σχεδÞν τισ χώρεσ. ΕπιπρÞσθετα, Þπωσ έχουν επισηµάνει στελέχη τησ ευρωπαϊκήσ αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανίασ, η συµφωνία ελεύθερου εµπορίου που τέθηκε σε ισχύ απÞ τον περασµένο Ιούλιο µεταξύ Ε.Ε. και ΝÞτιασ Κορέασ έδωσε µία ώθηση στισ πωλήσεισ των αυτοκινήτων στην ασιατική χώρα που έπληξε την εσωτερική παραγωγή ακÞµη περισσÞτερο. Παράλληλα, η εν λÞγω συµφωνία δεν ωφέλησε καθÞλου την ευρωπαϊκή αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανία ωσ προσ τισ εξαγωγέσ καθώσ η ΝÞτια Κορέα εξήγαγε στην Ε.Ε. περίπου 440.000 αυτοκίνητα και εισήγαγε απÞ τη Γηραιά Ηπειρο µÞλισ 78.000 οχήµατα. Παράλληλα τα µέλη του ACEA κρούουν τον κώδωνα του κινδύνου στην Ε.Ε. την ενδεχÞµενη

Χρειάζεται ευρωπαϊκή πολιτική ώστε να αρθεί η µεγάλη αβεβαιÞτητα στον κλάδο. Η ευρωπαϊκή αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανία έχει µερικά εργαλεία σε κοινοτικÞ επίπεδο που µπορούν να βοηθήσουν να αντιµετωπίσει το πρÞβληµα πλεονάζουσασ παραγωγήσ τησ Ευρώπησ και ενώ η ACEA µπορεί να θέλουν µια συντονισµένη προσέγγιση, οι εθνικέσ κυβερνήσεισ είναι απρÞθυµεσ να εκχωρήσουν τον έλεγχο Þσον αφορά το φλέγον αυτÞ για την εγχώρια βιοµηχανία ζήτηµα. Στέλεχοσ βρετανικών επιχειρήσεων τÞνισε στη Γενεύη πωσ απειλούνται µε «λουκέτα» εργοστάσια παραγωγήσ στη χώρα, πράγµα που σηµαίνει απώλεια χιλιάδων θέσεων εργασίασ. ΩστÞσο, ανακοίνωσε και την πρÞθεση τησ Nissan να κατασκευάσει ένα µικρÞ µοντέλο τησ στο Σάντερλαντ. Στη Γαλλία η πρÞσφατη συµµαχία µεταξύ GM και PSA αναδεικνύει το πρÞβληµα τησ πλεονάζουσασ παραγωγήσ και ήδη τα σωµατεία εργαζοµένων έχουν εκφράσει την ανησυχία τουσ για µαζικέσ απολύσεισ. ΩστÞσο, η GM ανακοίνωσε Þτι οι δύο αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανίεσ δεν έχουν λάβει ακÞµη τισ τελικέσ αποφάσεισ τουσ σχετικά µε τισ τοποθεσίεσ παραγωγήσ αλλά η συµµαχία δεν προτίθεται να κλείσει καµία απÞ τισ εγκαταστάσεισ παραγωγήσ.

∆∞•π¡√ª∏™∂π™ ¡∂ø¡ √Ã∏ª∞∆ø¡ ™∆∏¡ ∂.∂ ∆√ 2011 ∏ Û˘Ìʈӛ· ÂχıÂÚÔ˘ ÂÌÔÚ›Ô˘ Ì ÙËÓ ∫ÔÚ¤· ¤ÏËÍ ÙȘ ˆÏ‹ÛÂȘ ÙˆÓ ∂˘Úˆ·›ˆÓ ηٷÛ΢·ÛÙÒÓ. ∫·Ù·ÛÙÚÔÊÈ΋ Ë ˘ÔÁÚ·Ê‹ ·ÓÙ›ÛÙÔȯ˘ Û˘Ìʈӛ·˜ Ì πÓ‰›· ‹ π·ˆÓ›·, ÚÔÂȉÔÔÈÔ‡Ó ÔÈ ·˘ÙÔÎÈÓËÙÔ‚ÈÔÌ˯·Ó›Â˜ Ù˘ ∂.∂. ενεργοποίηση συµφωνιών ελεύθερου εµπορίου µε την Ινδία, αλλά και την Ιαπωνία οι οποίεσ εάν ευοδωθούν θα οδηγήσουν σε «λουκέτο» δεκάδεσ εργοστάσια στην Ευρώπη και θα χαθούν εκατοντάδεσ χιλιάδεσ θέσεισ εργασίασ.

∆· ÌÂÚ›‰È· ˆÏ‹ÛÂˆÓ Το 2011 αποτέλεσε ακÞµη µία εξαιρετική χρονιά για τισ πωλήσεισ του οµίλου VW µε 3 εκ. οχήµατα και 23,2% µερίδιο στην αγορά. Στη δεύτερη θέση βρέθηκε ο Þµιλοσ PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) µε 1,6 εκ. µονάδεσ και 12,5% ενώ την τρίτη θέση βρέθηκε ο Þµιλοσ Renault (Renault-Dacia) µε 1,2 εκ. οχήµατα και 9,7%. Στη συνέχεια ακολουθούν

η GM (Opel, Chevrolet, Vauxhall) µε 1,1 εκ. και 8,7%, η Ford µε 1 εκ. οχήµατα και 8%, ο Þµιλοσ Fiat (Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Jeep) µε 928.390 και 7,1%, η BMW (BMW-Mini) µε 780.981 και 6%, η Daimler (Mercedes, Smart) µε 652.790 και 5%, η Toyota (Toyota, Lexus) µε 523.418 οχήµατα και 4%, η Nissan µε 3,4% (443.300), Hyundai µε 2,9% (382.255), η ΚΙΑ µε 1,9% (286.792), η Volvo µε 1,8 (234.613) κ.ά.

∆· ÂÚÁÔÛÙ¿ÛÈ· Η παραγωγή των αυτοκινήτων στην Ευρώπη πραγµατοποιείται σε 17 χώρεσ οι οποίεσ περιλαµβάνουν την Αυστρία, Βέλγιο, Τσεχία,

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∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 MAƒ∆π√À, 2012

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√√™∞: A¯Ù›‰Â˜ ʈÙfi˜

™˘Ìʈӛ· ÁÈ· Ù· Ù·Ì›· ‰È¿ÛˆÛ˘ ‚ϤÂÈ Ô ƒÂÓ Την βεβαιÞτητα Þτι µέχρι τα τέλη του µήνα η Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση θα καταλήξει σε συµφωνία για την ενίσχυση των ταµείων διάσωσησ υπερχρεωµένων χωρών, του EFSF και του ESM, εξέφρασε o Ευρωπαίοσ Επίτροποσ Νοµισµατικών Υποθέσεων κ.Ολι Ρεν. “Τώρα είναι χρήσιµο να ολοκληρώσουµε την απάντησή µασ στην κρίση και ακρογωνιαίοσ λίθοσ αυτήσ τησ απάντησησ είναι τα χρηµατοοικονοµικά τείχη προστασίασ”, δήλωσε ο κ. Ρεν. “Μετά την εποικοδοµητική συζήτηση που είχαµε χθεσ και σήµερα, είµαι πεπεισµένοσ για την πιθανÞτητα µιασ συµφωνίασ µέχρι τα τέλη του µήνα, προκειµένου να ενισχύσουµε τα χρηµατοοικονοµικά τείχη προστασίασ στην Ευρώπη”, συµπλήρωσε ο κ. Ρεν.

Η ευρωζώνη δείχνει δειλά σηµάδια καλυτέρευσησ σύµφωνα µε τα µηνιαία στοιχεία που δηµοσιοποίησε ΟργανισµÞσ Οικονοµικήσ ο Συνεργασίασ και Ανάπτυξησ (ΟΟΣΑ). Ο κύριοσ δείκτησ του ΟΟΣΑ που στÞχο έχει να αναδεικνύει τισ καίριεσ αλλαγέσ στον τοµέα τησ οικονοµικήσ δραστηριÞτητασ σηµείωσε άνοδο Þσον αφορά τη ζώνη του ευρώ τον Ιανουάριο και τη Βρετανία, προσθέτοντασ 0,2% στη ζώνη του ευρώ και 0,1% στη Βρετανία. Οι βελτιώσεισ που σηµειώθηκαν τουσ προηγούµενουσ µήνεσ σε ΗΠΑ και Ιαπωνία συνεχίστηκαν µε αυξήσεισ τησ τάξησ του 0,7% και 0,5% αντίστοιχα τον Ιανουάριο σύµφωνα µε ανακοίνωση τησ δεξαµενήσ σκέψησ για οικονοµικά θέµατα που εδρεύει στο Παρίσι. «Οι ΗΠΑ και η Ιαπωνία συνεχίζουν να ωθούν το σύνολο τησ αγοράσ αλλά πιο έντονα, αν και δειλά, σηµάδια έχουν αρχίσει να αναδύονται απÞ Þλεσ τισ κύριεσ οικονοµίεσ του ΟΟΣΑ και τησ ζώνησ του Ευρώ συνολικά», αναφέρεται. ΩστÞσο, η Βραζιλία και η Κίνα, δείχνουν ακÞµη σηµάδια αδυναµίασ, σύµφωνα µε τον ΟργανισµÞ, ο οποίοσ καταγράφει µια πτώση τησ τάξησ του 0,6 µονάδων για την Κίνα και 0,2 µονάδων για τη Βραζιλία τον Ιανουάριο.

Ο ΟΑΣΑ συµπεριλαµβάνει 30 κυρίωσ βιοµηχανικά έθνη και ο δείκτησ του σηµείωσε άνοδο για τρίτο συνεχή µήνα τον Ιανουάριο, αυτή τη φορά κατά 0,4 µονάδεσ, ελαφρώσ πιο πολύ απÞ τουσ προηγούµενουσ µήνεσ. Ùσον αφορά την κρίση χρέουσ ο Μοχάµεντ Ελ-Εριάν, διαχειριστήσ κεφαλαίων τησ Pimco δήλωσε Þτι οι ευρωπαίοι ηγέτεσ προσπαθούν να αφήσουν πίσω τουσ την ελληνική κρίση χρέουσ και τα προβλήµατα τησ περιφέρειασ του ΝÞτου τησ Ε.Ε. και να επικεντρωθούν στην ανάκαµψη και την ανάπτυξη τησ ευρωπαϊκήσ οικονοµίασ. «Πολλοί επενδυτέσ εύχονται να αποχαιρετήσουν την ελληνική κρίση χρέουσ», αναφέρει χαρακτηριστικά ο διαχειριστήσ κεφαλαίων, εκτιµώντασ Þµωσ Þτι η ευχή αυτή «είναι κάπωσ πρÞωρη». Ùπωσ υποστηρίζει, η συµφωνία για το ελληνικÞ PSI αποτελεί τη σηµαντικÞτερη αναδιάρθρωση χρέουσ στην ιστορία, αλλά ωστÞσο «βοηθάει µÞνο εν µέρει την ελληνική οικονοµία να ξεπεράσει τα θεµελιώδη προβλήµατα που αντιµετωπίζει», και τα οποία αφορούν το τεράστιο χρέοσ και την ανύπαρκτη οικονοµική ανάπτυξη. «Η συµφωνία δίνει απλώσ λίγο περισσÞτερο χρÞνο για να επανέλθει δριµύτερο το ελληνικÞ δράµα», λέει ο Ελ-Εριάν.

ª·Úfi˙Ô: ∂›Ó·È ¿ÙÈÌÔ Ó· ÌÈÏ¿Ì ÁÈ· ÙÒ¯Â˘ÛË Ù˘ ∂ÏÏ¿‰·˜ Σκληρή απάντηση έδωσε ο πρÞεδροσ τησ ΚοµισιÞν Ζοζέ Μανουέλ ΜπαρÞζο στουσ ευρωσκεπτικιστέσ και υπερσυντηρητικούσ ευρωβουλευτέσ, οι οποίοι κατά τη συνεδρίαση του Ευρωκοινοβουλίου στο Στρασβούργο, πρÞτειναν για µία ακÞµη φορά τη χρεοκοπία τησ Ελλάδασ ή και την αποχώρησή τησ απÞ το ευρώ. «Τί προτείνετε δηλαδή για την Ελλάδα; Πτώχευση. Μασ λέτε Þτι η παράλυση, η κατάρρευση των σχολείων και των νοσοκοµείων είναι η λύση για το πρÞβληµα τησ Ελλάδασ», διαµαρτυρήθηκε σε υψηλούσ τÞνουσ ο κ. ΜπαρÞζο.

«Είναι άτιµο πολιτικά και πνευµατικά να λέτε Þτι η λύση είναι η πτώχευση. Οσοι θέλουν να βοηθήσουν την Ελλάδα, αντί να µασ λένε συνέχεια Þτι τίποτα δεν πρÞκειται να πετύχει, καλύτερα θα ήταν να µασ βοηθήσουν για να βοηθήσουµε κι εµείσ την Ελλάδα». Ο πρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ ανέφερε Þτι πρώτη προτεραιÞτητα για την Ελλάδα πρέπει να είναι η εφαρµογή του δεύτερου προγράµµατοσ οικονοµικήσ βοήθειασ µε τισ διαρθρωτικέσ µεταρρυθµίσεισ που αυτÞ συνεπάγεται. ∆ήλωσε Þτι έχει συζητήσει µε τον πρωθυπουργÞ Λουκά Παπαδήµο τισ τεχνι-

∫ÔÌÈÛÈfiÓ: ¶ÚfiÙ·ÛË ÁÈ· ‰‹Ì¢ÛË ÂÚÈÔ˘ÛÈÒÓ Στην ενίσχυση τησ ικανÞτητασ των κρατών µελών να προβαίνουν σε δήµευση περιουσιακών στοιχείων προερχοµένων απÞ εγκληµατικέσ δραστηριÞτητεσ, αποσκοπεί η πρÞταση που ανακοίνωσε η ΚοµισιÞν για την εισαγωγή ενιαίων κανÞνων σε κοινοτικÞ επίπεδο. Σύµφωνα µε την ΚοµισιÞν, οι νέοι κανÞνεσ θα επιτρέπουν τη δήµευση περιουσιακών στοιχείων που έχουν µεταβιβαστεί σε τρίτουσ, θα καταστήσει ευκολÞτερη τη δήµευση περιουσιακών στοιχείων παράνοµησ προέλευσησ, ακÞµη και Þταν ο ύποπτοσ έχει διαφύγει, και θα διασφαλίσει Þτι οι αρµÞδιεσ αρχέσ µπορούν να δεσµεύουν προσωρινά περιουσιακά στοιχεία

που διατρέχουν τον κίνδυνο να εξαφανιστούν, εφÞσον δεν αναληφθεί καµία δράση. Οπωσ επισηµαίνει η ΚοµισιÞν, τα προϊÞντα των οργανωµένων εγκληµατικών σπειρών επενδύονται Þλο και συχνÞτερα εκτÞσ τησ χώρασ προέλευσησ, συχνά σε διάφορα κράτη µέλη, ή µεταβιβάζονται σε τρίτα µέρη (συχνά σε συγγενείσ ή «αχυρανθρώπουσ») για να αποφευχθεί η δήµευση. Σπίτια, αυτοκίνητα, εστιατÞρια, µικρέσ επιχειρήσεισ και µετοχέσ εταιρειών είναι µÞνο µερικά παραδείγµατα για το πώσ τα παράνοµα κέρδη µπορούν να επανεπενδυθούν σε νÞµιµα περιουσιακά στοιχεία ή δραστηριÞτητεσ.

κέσ διευκολύνσεισ στην παροχή οικονοµικήσ βοήθειασ, ενώ ανάλογη συζήτηση είχε τη ∆ευτέρα και µε τον νέο επικεφαλήσ τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ Επενδύσεων Βέρνερ ΧÞγερ. Ζήτησε Þµωσ και πανευρωπαϊκέσ πρωτοβουλίεσ για την ενίσχυση των µικροµεσαίων επιχειρήσεων, που συµβάλλουν Þσο κανείσ άλλοσ στη δηµιουργία νέων θέσεων εργασίασ, καθώσ και την καταπολέµηση τησ φοροδιαφυγήσ, απÞ την οποία, Þπωσ ανέφερε, η Ε.Ε. χάνει κάθε χρÞνο πολύτιµουσ πÞρουσ ύψουσ ενÞσ τρισεκατοµµυρίου ευρώ.

ª.¡ÙÚ¿ÁÎÈ: ªÂÙ·ÚÚ˘ıÌ›ÛÂȘ Â‰Ò Î·È ÙÒÚ· Οι κυβερνήσεισ και οι τράπεζεσ τησ ευρωζώνησ οφείλουν να επωφεληθούν απÞ την τρέχουσα περίοδο χρηµατοοικονοµικήσ σταθεροποίησησ, µετά απÞ µήνεσ οικονοµικήσ κρίσησ, για να προωθήσουν τισ απαραίτητεσ µεταρρυθµίσεισ των οικονοµιών τουσ, δήλωσε ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ (ΕΚΤ) Μάριο Ντράγκι. «Τα κράτη πρέπει να επωφεληθούν απÞ την τρέχουσα περίοδο οικονοµικήσ σταθερÞτητασ για την περαιτέρω προώθηση του µεταρρυθµιστικού τουσ προγράµµατοσ, την ενίσχυση του αναπτυξιακού δυναµικού

Àfi ›ÂÛË ÙÔ Â˘ÚÒ ∫˘ÚÈ¿ÎÔ˜ √ÚÂÈÓfi˜ ¢È‡ı˘ÓÛË ¢È·¯ÂÈÚ›Ûˆ˜ ¢È·ıÂۛ̈Ó, Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd Οι δυσµενείσ χρηµατοπιστωτικέσ συνθήκεσ στην Ευρωζώνη και τα καλύτερα του αναµενÞµενου στοιχεία για την αγορά εργασίασ που ανακοινώθηκαν στισ ΗΠΑ επηρεάζουν αρνητικά την ισοτιµία ευρώ/δολάριο. Σαν αποτέλεσµα το ευρώ εξακολουθεί να δέχεται πιέσεισ και να τυγχάνει διαπραγµάτευσησ έναντι του δολαρίου ΗΠΑ περί τα 1,3120 το µεσηµέρι τησ Τρίτησ. Την περασµένη ∆ευτέρα το ευρώ κατέγραψε χαµηλÞ ενÞσ µήνα στα $1,3077. Στη σύσκεψη του Eurogroup οι Υπουργοί Οικονοµικών τησ Ευρωζώνησ παρείχαν την τελική πολιτική έγκριση για το δεύτερο πρÞγραµµα χρηµατοδÞτησησ προσ την Ελλάδα ύψουσ ?130 δισ. Ο ΠρÞεδροσ του Eurogroup δήλωσε Þτι το δηµÞσιο χρέοσ τησ Ελλάδοσ αναµένεται να µειωθεί στο 117% του ΑΕΠ έωσ

το 2020. ΕπιπρÞσθετα, σύµφωνα µε την απÞφαση των Υπουργών Οικονοµικών τησ Ευρωζώνησ, διατηρείται ο στÞχοσ για µείωση του δηµοσιονοµικού ελλείµµατοσ τησ Ισπανίασ χαµηλÞτερα του 3% του ΑΕΠ το 2013. Σηµειώνεται Þµωσ Þτι η ανησυχία για την ικανÞτητα τησ Ισπανίασ να επιτύχει τουσ δηµοσιονοµικούσ τησ στÞχουσ ασκεί πιέσεισ στο ευρωπαϊκÞ νÞµισµα. Σε µια άλλη εξέλιξη, ο οίκοσ αξιολÞγησησ πιστοληπτικήσ ικανÞτητασ Moody’s προέβη σε υποβάθµιση τησ Κύπρου κατά µια κλίµακα σε BΑ1 απÞ ΒΑΑ3 µε αρνητική προοπτική. Η Ευρωπαϊκή Κεντρική Τράπεζα (ΕΚΤ) στη σύσκεψη που πραγµατοποιήθηκε την περασµένη Πέµπτη διατήρησε Þπωσ αναµενÞταν αµετάβλητο το επιτÞκιο αναφοράσ στο 1%. Ο πληθωρισµÞσ τησ Ευρωζώνησ εκτιµάται Þτι αυξήθηκε οριακά το Φεβρουάριο στο 2,7% απÞ 2,6% τον Ιανουάριο, παραµένοντασ υψηλÞτερα του στÞχου τησ ΕΚΤ (≤2%)

για 15ο συνεχή µήνα. Ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ ΕΚΤ στη συνέντευξη τύπου που ακολούθησε τη σύσκεψη εκτίµησε Þτι ο πληθωρισµÞσ πιθανÞν να παραµείνει υψηλÞτερα του 2% το 2012 µε ανοδικÞ κίνδυνο, για να υποχωρήσει χαµηλÞτερα στισ αρχέσ του 2013. Σε Þτι αφορά την ανάπτυξη, ο Ευρωπαίοσ ΚεντρικÞσ Τραπεζίτησ επεσήµανε Þτι επιβεβαιώνονται οι ενδείξεισ σταθεροποίησησ τησ οικονοµίασ, ωστÞσο διατηρούνται οι καθοδικοί κίνδυνοι για την οικονοµική προοπτική. Ωσ αρνητικούσ παράγοντεσ για την ανάπτυξη ανέφερε την κρίση χρέουσ και την ασθενέστερη ανάπτυξη τησ παγκÞσµιασ οικονοµίασ. Στισ ΗΠΑ, οι νέεσ θέσεισ εργασίασ µη συµπεριλαµβανοµένου του αγροτικού τοµέα διαµορφώθηκαν το Φεβρουάριο υψηλÞτερα του αναµενÞµενου (227.000, εκτίµηση: 210.000). Τέλοσ, οι αιτήσεισ για επιδÞµατα ανεργίασ αυξήθηκαν ελαφρώσ την περασµένη εβδοµάδα στισ 362.000 απÞ 354.000.

τουσ, την τÞνωση τησ απασχÞλησησ και την αύξηση τησ ανταγωνιστικÞτητασ”, είπε ο Μάριο Ντράγκι. Επίσησ, ζήτησε απÞ τισ τράπεζεσ να “χρησιµοποιήσουν αυτÞ το πιο ευνοϊκÞ περιβάλλον για την ενίσχυση των (σ.σ. κεφαλαιακών) αντοχών τουσ», µέσω τησ µείωσησ µερισµάτων και µπÞνουσ. “Το χρηµατοπιστωτικÞ σύστηµα οφείλει να εξυπηρετεί την πραγµατική οικονοµία και Þχι το αντίθετο,” πρÞσθεσε ο Ντράγκι, επισηµαίνοντασ Þτι το τραπεζικÞ σύστηµα είναι καίριασ σηµασίασ για τισ µικρέσ και µεσαίεσ επιχειρήσεισ.

ECOFIN: ¶·ÁÒÓÂÈ Ë ¯ÚËÌ·ÙÔ‰fiÙËÛË Ù˘ √˘ÁÁ·Ú›·˜ Οι υπουργοί Οικονοµικών τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Ένωσησ ενέκριναν το πάγωµα 495 εκ. ευρώ απÞ το ταµείο συνοχήσ τησ ΕΕ, τα οποία θα δίνονταν ωσ βοήθεια στην Ουγγαρία, εξαιτίασ του υψηλού δηµοσιονοµικού ελλείµµατοσ τησ χώρασ. Η απÞφαση ελήφθη έπειτα απÞ σύσταση τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Επιτροπήσ, ενώ το πάγωµα των πÞρων θα ισχύσει απÞ τον Ιανουάριο του 2013. Οι κυρώσεισ θα αρθούν “αµέσωσ”, αν η Ουγγαρία παρουσιάσει πειστικά διορθωτικά µέτρα για τη µείωση του ελλείµµατÞσ τησ µέχρι τισ 22 Ιουνίου, πρÞσθεσε η ∆ανή υπουργÞσ Οικονοµικών Μαργκρέτε Βέσταγκερ. Το ποσÞ των 495 εκ. ευρώ είναι λίγο λιγÞτερο απÞ το ένα τρίτο του 1,7 δισ ευρώ τα οποία θα µπορούσε να λάβει η Ουγγαρία απÞ το ταµείο συνοχήσ, που προσφέρει βοήθεια στισ φτωχÞτερεσ χώρεσ τησ Ένωσησ για την κατασκευή έργων υποδοµήσ. Αυτή είναι η πρώτη φορά που η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή κάνει χρήση των κυρώσεων που προβλέπει το ενισχυµένο Σύµφωνο ΣταθερÞτητασ και Ανάπτυξησ. Η πρÞταση να παγώσουν αυτοί οι πÞροι θα πρέπει να αποτελέσει “κίνητρο ώστε η Ουγγαρία να ακολουθήσει σταθερή δηµοσιονοµική πολιτική” για να µειώσει το έλλειµµά τησ κάτω απÞ το 3%, είχε δηλώσει ο ευρωπαίοσ Επίτροποσ Οικονοµικών Υποθέσεων Ùλι Ρεν, στισ 22 Φεβρουαρίου, Þταν είχε προτείνει αυτέσ τισ κυρώσεισ.

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∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 MAƒ∆π√À, 2012

∏ ∂.∂ ˙ËÙ¿ Ó¤· ̤ÙÚ· ‡„Ô˘˜ 5,5% ÙÔ˘ ∞∂¶ ˆ˜ ÙÔÓ πÔ‡ÓÈÔ Η Ελλάδα θα πρέπει να περικÞψει τισ κρατικέσ δαπάνεσ κατά επιπλέον 5,5% του ΑΕΠ το 2013 και 2014 προκειµένου να επιτύχει τουσ στÞχουσ που έχουν τεθεί στο πλαίσιο του δεύτερου πακέτου στήριξησ, σύµφωνα µε έκθεση τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Επιτροπήσ. «Οι υπάρχουσεσ πολιτικέσ δεν αρκούν» για την επίτευξη των στÞχων για πρωτογενέσ πλεÞνασµα 1,8% το 2013 και 4,5% το 2014 και η κυβέρνηση «θα πρέπει να καθορίσει τα µέτρα αυτού του ύψουσ (5,5% του ΑΕΠ) µέχρι τον Ιούνιο του 2012 και να τα υιοθετήσει στουσ προϋπολογισµούσ του 2013 και 2014 προκειµένου να επιτύχει τουσ στÞχουσ», τονίζεται. Η έκθεση περιγράφει την πρÞοδο των

µεταρρυθµίσεων που απαιτούνται για την εκταµίευση του νέου δανείου προσ την Ελλάδα και συστήνει η εκταµίευση τησ πρώτησ δÞσησ να γίνει Þσο το δυνατÞν συντοµÞτερα. Σύµφωνα µε την έκθεση, οι περικοπέσ ύψουσ 1,5% του ΑΕΠ που υιοθέτησε η Ελλάδα στισ αρχέσ του 2012 λογικά θα δώσουν τη δυνατÞτητα στην Αθήνα να ανταποκριθεί στον στÞχο του περιορισµού του πρωτογενούσ ελλείµµατοσ στο 1% φέτοσ. «ΩστÞσο, οι τρέχουσεσ προβλέψεισ αποκαλύπτουν τεράστια δηµοσιονοµικά κενά το 2013-2014», τονίζεται στην έκθεση, και σηµειώνεται πωσ η αστοχία για τα δυο χρÞνια ανέρχεται συνολικά στο 5,5%.

Παράλληλα σύµφωνα µε την έκθεση το δηµÞσιο χρέοσ τησ Ελλάδασ µπορεί να µειωθεί µετά το PSI στο 116,5% του ΑΕΠ το 2020 και στο 88% του ΑΕΠ το 2030. Η ανάλυση δείχνει Þτι το δεύτερο πρÞγραµµα οικονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ µπορεί να κάνει βιώσιµο το χρέοσ τησ Ελλάδασ, ενώ σηµειώνει Þτι η χώρα µπορεί να χρειασθεί νέο δάνειο µετά το 2014. Η ανάλυση αναφέρει επίσησ Þτι το χρέοσ θα µειωθεί αρχικά µετά το «κούρεµα» των οµολÞγων των ιδιωτών, αλλά θα αυξηθεί και πάλι στη συνέχεια στο 164% του ΑΕΠ το 2013 λÞγω τησ συρρίκνωσησ τησ οικονοµίασ και τησ ατελούσ δηµοσιονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ.

∏ÏÈÔıÂÚÌÈ΋ Û˘Ì·Ú·ÁˆÁ‹ ËÏÂÎÙÚÈÛÌÔ‡ Î·È ÓÂÚÔ‡ ·fi ∂ÏÏ¿‰· Î·È ∫‡ÚÔ Στην αντιµετώπιση προβληµάτων λειψυδρίασ και την κάλυψη ενεργειακών αναγκών, ειδικά σε περιοχέσ τησ νησιωτικήσ Ελλάδασ και τησ Κύπρου, αποσκοπεί η κατασκευή µιασ πειραµατικήσ µονάδασ συµπαραγωγήσ ηλεκτρικήσ ενέργειασ και νερού στην Κύπρο. Η µελέτη και η κατασκευή τησ εντάσσεται στο έργο «Ηλιοθερµική Συµπαραγωγή Ηλεκτρισµού και Νερού», το οποίο υλοποιείται απÞ το Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου, την Αρχή Ηλεκτρισµού Κύπρου, το Τµήµα Ανάπτυξησ

Υδάτων, και το ∆ίκτυο Πράξη (Ίδρυµα Τεχνολογίασ και Έρευνασ). Το έργο εντάσσεται στο ΠρÞγραµµα ∆ιασυνοριακήσ Συνεργασίασ «ΕλλάδαΚύπροσ 2007-2013» και συγχρηµατοδοτείται απÞ την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση (ΕΤΠΑ) και απÞ Εθνικούσ ΠÞρουσ τησ Ελλάδασ και τησ Κύπρου. Ο συνολικÞσ προϋπολογισµÞσ του έργου είναι 1,29 εκ. ευρώ και η πειραµατική µονάδα θα τοποθετηθεί σε ειδικά διαµορφωµένο χώρο στο χωριÞ Πεντάκωµο τησ επαρ-

χίασ Λεµεσού. Με το έργο, το οποίο θα ολοκληρωθεί στα επÞµενα δύο χρÞνια, υλοποιείται η τεχνολογική λύση τησ συµπαραγωγήσ αφαλατωµένου νερού και ηλεκτρικήσ ενέργειασ µε τη χρήση τησ ηλιοθερµικήσ µεθÞδου αποκοµιδήσ ηλιακήσ ενέργειασ, ωσ ικανήσ να συµβάλει ουσιαστικά στην µέσο- και µακροπρÞθεσµη επίλυση τÞσο του ενεργειακού Þσο και του υδατικού προβλήµατοσ νήσων και περιοχών τησ Ανατολικήσ και ΝÞτιασ Μεσογείου.

¶ÚÔ˜ ÒÏËÛË 1000 ÍÂÓԉԯ›· Η οικονοµική κρίση στην Ελλάδα κτύπησε και τα ξενοδοχεία τα οποία βγαίνουν στην πώληση το ένα µετά το άλλο. Η Ελλάδα, που βρίσκεται στο πέµπτο έτοσ ύφεσησ, είχε ένα απÞ τουσ πιο πολλά υποσχÞµενουσ ξενοδοχειακούσ τοµείσ. Παρά ταύτα, περίπου 10% των ξενοδÞχων εξέφρασαν την πρÞθεσή τουσ να πωλήσουν τισ µετοχέσ τουσ µέσω των µεσιτικών

γραφείων. Γύρω στα 1,000 ξενοδοχεία, µικρά και µεγάλα, θα βγουν στην πώληση στο εγγύσ µέλλον µε βάση στοιχεία που είδαν το φωσ τησ δηµοσιÞτητασ Την ίδια ώρα, απÞ την πρÞσφατη ∆ιεθνή Εκθεση Τουρισµού, ΙΤΒ, στο Βερολίνο διαφάνηκαν οι δυσοίωνεσ προβλέψεισ για την Ελλάδα απÞ την τουριστική αγορά τησ Γερµανίασ.

Μεγάλοι tour operator, Þπωσ οι Þµιλοι TUI, Thomas Cook, REWE και Alltours καταγράφουν υποχώρηση των κρατήσεων που φτάνει το 30% σε σχέση µε το αντίστοιχο περσινÞ διάστηµα. Ολοι αποδίδουν την υποχώρηση τησ ζήτησησ για το ελληνικÞ τουριστικÞ προϊÞν στην αρνητική για την Ελλάδα ειδησεογραφία.

∞˘ÙÔ›… fiÓÙ·Ú·Ó ÛÙË ¯ÚÂÔÎÔ›· Ù˘ ∂ÏÏ¿‰·˜ Στισ 19 Μαρτίου, θα γίνει γνωστÞ ποιοι και πÞσα επένδυσαν για την χρεοκοπία τησ Ελλάδασ, ηµέρα κατά την οποία θα γίνει δηµοπρασία µε τουσ κατÞχουσ των CDS -δηλαδή των ασφάλιστρων κινδύνου έναντι χρεοκοπίασ- τησ Ελλάδασ ώστε να «ξεκαθαριστούν» οι συγκεκριµένοι τίτλοι και να εκτιµηθεί πÞσο πρέπει να πληρωθεί ο κάθε κάτοχοσ. Οι κάτοχοι των CDS θα πληρωθούν είτε µε µετρητά, είτε µε οµÞλογα απÞ τισ τράπεζεσ ή τισ ασφαλιστικέσ εταιρείεσ. Τα CDS είναι ιδιωτικά διµερή συµβÞλαια, τα οποία υπογράφονται µεταξύ των δύο αντισυµβαλλοµένων (δηλαδή τησ τράπεζασ ή τησ ασφαλιστικήσ εταιρείασ που εκδίδει και πουλάει το ασφάλιστρο κινδύνου και εκείνου που το αγοράζει). Αυτά τα συµβÞλαια µπορούν να πωληθούν ξανά και ξανά. Το ελληνικÞ κράτοσ δεν έχει µερίδιο πληρωµήσ για τα CDS. Η αγορά των CDS για την Ελλάδα σήµερα υπολογίζεται Þτι έχει υποχωρήσει στα $3,2 δισ (απÞ τα $5,6 δισ που ήταν πέρυσι). Ùταν συµβαίνει ένα πιστωτικÞ γεγονÞσ –µε παράδειγµα την Ελλάδα-, για την οποία υπάρχουν πολλά CDS, τÞτε µπορεί να γίνει µια δηµοπρασία (αναφέρεται και ωσ γεγονÞσ πιστωτικήσ διÞρθωσησ) ώστε να βοηθήσει τη διευθέτηση µεγάλου αριθµού συµβολαίων ταυτÞχρονα, σε µια σταθερή τιµή τοισ µετρητοίσ. Κατά τη διάρκεια τησ δηµοπρασίασ, οι πρακτορεύοντεσ αυτά τα ασφάλιστρα κινδύνου (Þπωσ επενδυτικέσ τράπεζεσ) υποβάλλουν τιµέσ στισ οποίεσ θα αγÞραζαν και θα πωλούσαν το χρέοσ του φορέα αναφοράσ. Σε δεύτερο στάδιο, γίνεται µια µειοδοσία (Dutch auction). Το οριστικÞ σηµείο εκκαθάρισησ τησ δηµοπρασίασ θέτει την τελική τιµή για διευθέτηση των CDS τοισ µετρητοίσ. Ùλεσ οι αιτήσεισ για φυσική διευθέτηση καθώσ και οι προσφορέσ αντιστοιχισµένου ορίου που προκύπτουν απÞ τη δηµοπρασία διευθετούνται. Οι δηµοπρασίεσ, σύµφωνα µε την ISDA, η οποία τισ διενεργεί, έχουν αποδειχθεί αποτελεσµατικÞσ τρÞποσ για τη διευθέτηση µεγάλου Þγκου εκκρεµών CDS. Θα πρέπει να αναφέρουµε Þτι υπάρχουν δύο

κατηγορίεσ CDS. Τα CDS που αγοράζονται και πωλούνται ωσ προστασία για κατÞχουσ που έχουν ελληνικά οµÞλογα και θέλουν να προστατευθούν έναντι του ενδεχÞµενου χρεοκοπίασ. Λειτουργούν δηλαδή ωσ αντιστάθµισµα κινδύνου απέναντι στο ελληνικÞ χρέοσ. Στη δεύτερη κατηγορία ανήκουν τα «γυµνά», Þπωσ χαρακτηριστικά λέγονται, CDS, αφού αυτοί που τα αγοράζουν δεν κατέχουν ελληνικÞ χρέοσ (οµÞλογα του ελληνικού δηµοσίου) και απλά «τζογάρουν» µε τη χρεοκοπία τησ χώρασ. Αν και είναι $3,2 δισ η συνολική αγορά υπάρχει ο κίνδυνοσ να λειτουργήσουν πολλαπλασιαστικά οι πληρωµέσ, στην περίπτωση που υπάρξουν αντισυµβαλλÞµενοι, που δεν θα µπορέσουν να εξυπηρετήσουν τισ υποχρεώσεισ τουσ. Τα περισσÞτερα CDS έχουν εκδοθεί απÞ αµερικανικέσ τράπεζεσ και ασφαλιστικέσ εταιρείεσ και ακολουθούν οι βρετανικέσ τράπεζεσ. Στην ουσία τα CDS αντιπροσωπεύουν µία έντονα κερδοσκοπική αγορά και τα προϊÞντα αυτά είναι ιδιαίτερα προσφιλή για τα hedge funds, τα οποία χρησιµοποιούν το εργαλείο αυτÞ ασφάλισησ έναντι κινδύνου ωσ προϊÞν επένδυσησ στην προοπτική τησ χρεοκοπίασ ενÞσ κράτουσ.

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µÂÓÈ˙¤ÏÔ˜: No1 Ë ·Ó·ÎÂÊ·Ï·ÈÔÔ›ËÛË ÙˆÓ ÙÚ·Â˙ÒÓ Κορυφαία προτεραιÞτητα χαρακτήρισε ο έλληνασ υπουργÞσ Οικονοµικών Ευάγγελοσ Βενιζέλοσ την ανακεφαλαιοποίηση του τραπεζικού συστήµατοσ προκειµένου να ενισχυθεί η ανάπτυξη, ενώ δεν θεωρεί ανησυχητικÞ την απÞφαση τησ ISDA να κηρύξει πιστωτικÞ γεγονÞσ την αναδιάρθρωση του χρέουσ. Ο κ. Βενιζέλοσ ανέφερε χαρακτηριστικά «το πρώτο µέσο ανάπτυξησ και ευηµερίασ είναι η απαραίτητη ρευστÞτητα για την πραγµατική οικονοµία και µÞνο µέσα απÞ τη νέα ανακεφαλαιοποίηση µπορούµε να το επιτύχουµε». Σε σχέση µε το PSI, τÞνισε Þτι η Ελλάδα µπορεί να διασφαλίσει την «καθολική συµµετοχή» στο πρÞγραµµα ανταλλαγήσ οµολÞγων, µετά την παράταση τησ προθεσµίασ µέχρι τισ 23 Μαρτίου (για τα οµÞλογα υπÞ ξένο δίκαιο και τα δάνεια των ∆ΕΚΟ). Τέλοσ, ανέφερε Þτι µετά τη µείωση του δηµοσίου χρέουσ κατά 100 δισ. ευρώ απÞ το PSI, είναι πλέον σε βιώσιµο επίπεδο.

∞‡ÚÈÔ Ë ·fiÊ·ÛË ÙÔ˘ ¢¡∆ ÁÈ· ÙËÓ ∂ÏÏ¿‰· Αύριο Πέµπτη 15 Μαρτίου θα κριθεί απÞ το διοικητικÞ συµβούλιο του ∆ΝΤ η εισήγηση τησ γενικήσ διευθύντριασ Κριστίν Λαγκάρντ για συµµετοχή ύψουσ 28 δισ ευρώ στη νέα δανειακή σύµβαση που θα συνάψει η Ελλάδα µε τουσ δανειστέσ τησ. Σύµφωνα µε πληροφορίεσ, που δεν επιβεβαιώνει το Ταµείο, τα δάνεια θα δοθούν σε διάστηµα τεσσάρων ετών, σε 16 ισÞποσεσ δÞσεισ ύψουσ 1,65 δισ. ευρώ ανά τρίµηνο. Ενηµερωµένη πηγή δήλωσε Þτι οι δÞσεισ θα δίνονται «υπÞ τον Þρο Þτι κάθε φορά η Ελλάδα θα περνά τα διάφορα τεστ και θα υλοποιεί τισ υποσχέσεισ τησ εφαρµÞζοντασ µε ακρίβεια το πρÞγραµµα». Το δάνειο αποτελεί συµπλήρωµα του πακέτου βοήθειασ τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Ενωσησ. Μετά τισ ανακοινώσεισ για το PSI, ο κ.ΤÞµσεν ολοκλήρωσε την έκθεσή του, την οποία παράδωσε στα µέλη του ∆.Σ. ΑπÞ το Γραφείο Τύπου του ∆ΝΤ τονίστηκε Þτι η καθυστέρηση παράδοσησ τησ έκθεσησ δεν οφείλεται σε άρνηση του κ. ΤÞµσεν, αλλά στο γεγονÞσ Þτι απαιτείτο η ανακοίνωση τησ ελληνικήσ κυβέρνησησ για το «κούρεµα».

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∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 MAƒ∆π√À, 2012

∞°√ƒ∞

ç ∆π ¶∞π∑∂π... ™∆∏¡ ∞°√ƒ∞ ¶·ÁÎfiÛÌȘ ‰È·ÎÚ›ÛÂȘ ÁÈ· ÂÎ·È‰Â˘fiÌÂÓÔ˘˜ Ù˘ Deloitte Gnomi: ∞ӤϷ‚ ÙÔ ‰È·ÊËÌÈÛÙÈÎfi Ù˘ AEGEAN

Η Deloitte βράβευσε για ακÞµη µια φÞρα, δύο απÞ τουσ εκπαιδευÞµενουσ λογιστέσ τησ για τισ παγκÞσµιεσ διακρίσεισ τουσ στισ εξετάσεισ του Ινστιτούτου Εγκεκριµένων Λογιστών Ηνωµένου Βασιλείου και Ουαλίασ (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales). Συγκεκριµένα, ο Λουκάσ Αντωνίου και η Βάνα Ανδρέου κατέκτησαν την τρίτη και τέταρτη θέση αντιστοίχωσ σε παγκÞσµιο επίπεδο στισ εξετάσεισ για το «Professional Stage» του Ινστιτούτου Εγκεκριµένων Λογιστών Ηνωµένου Βασιλείου και Ουαλίασ (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales) και τουσ απονεµήθηκαν τα βραβεία Hewitt και Northcott αντίστοιχα. Με την επιτυχία αυτή οι δυο εκπαιδευÞµενοι λογιστέσ έχουν προβάλει τη Deloitte Κύπρου παγκοσµίωσ, αλλά και τη χώρα µασ ευρύτερα ανεβάζοντασ τον πήχη πιο ψηλά.

«¡·È» ÛÙȘ ·ÁÔÚ¤˜ ·fi ÙÔ ‰È·‰›ÎÙ˘Ô «Ναι» στισ αγορέσ απÞ το διαδίκτυο απάντησε το 58% των ερωτηθέντων στην έρευνα e-cypriot που παρουσίασε για 4η συνεχÞµενη χρονιά η OgilvyOne σε συνεργασία µε την εταιρεία ερευνών InsightMarketResearch. Ποιο αναλυτικά το 2011, το 58% των ερωτηθέντων απάντησε Þτι πραγµατοποιεί αγορέσ απÞ το διαδίκτυο, σε αντίθεση µε το 53% που είχε καταγραφεί το 2010. Το ποσοστÞ των αντρών που απάντησε θετικά άγγιξε το 61% και το ποσοστÞ των γυναικών το 55%. Μάλιστα πιο θετικά απÞ Þλουσ φαίνεται Þτι το αντιµε-

τωπίζουν οι ηλικίεσ µεταξύ 19 και 34 ετών, καθώσ στο γκρουπ 19 – 24 ετών το 61% απάντησε Þτι ψωνίζει απÞ το διαδίκτυο, Þπωσ και το 62% του γκρουπ 25 – 34 ετών. Αύξηση σηµείωσε και η χρήση των υπηρεσιών e banking, καθώσ το 2011 η χρήστεσ άγγιξαν το 48% απÞ 44% που ήταν το 2010. Σύµφωνα µε την έρευνα, το 2011 η χρήση του διαδικτύου στην Κύπρο αυξήθηκε στο 62% απÞ 56% που ήταν το 2010 και 43% το 2009.

BÚ·‚›· ·fi ÙËÓ Emirates SkyCargo Η Emirates, η διεθνήσ αεροπορική εταιρεία µε έδρα το Ντουµπάι, σε τελετή βράβευσησ που έγινε στη Λευκωσία, τίµησε τουσ κορυφαίουσ αντιπροσώπουσ και πελάτεσ τησ SkyCargo στην Κύπρο. Ο κ. Πραντίπ Κουµάρ «Pradeep Kumar», Ανώτεροσ ΑντιπρÞεδροσ Βελτιστοποίησησ ΕσÞδων απÞ Μεταφορέσ Εµπορευµάτων ήρθε απÞ το Ντουµπάι ειδικά για να παρουσιάσει τα βραβεία σε τρεισ αντιπροσώπουσ τησ SkyCargo, τουσ Airport 2 Airport Services Ltd, Hull Blyth Araouzos Ltd, και Eurofreight Logistics Ltd. Η Emirates SkyCargo τίµησε επίσησ µε τη δέουσα αναγνώριση και τουσ καλύτερουσ πελάτεσ τησ που ήταν η Medochemie Ltd, η Remedica Ltd, και η G&L Calibers Ltd. Η κ Ανθή Αντωνίου, ∆ιευθύντρια τησ Emirates Cargo για την Κύπρο και τη Μάλτα, δήλωσε: «Η προσβασιµÞτητα είναι απαραίτητη και αυτÞ ισχύει ακÞµη περισσÞτερο στην περίπτωση τησ Κύπρου που είναι νήσοσ µε περιορισµένουσ φυσικούσ πÞρουσ. ΑπÞ την 1η ∆εκεµβρίου 2008, η Emirates παρέχει καθηµερινέσ πτήσεισ µεταξύ Ντουµπάι και Κύπρου, που αισθητά συνεισφέρουν στην ανάπτυξη του νησιού Þσον αφορά τη βιοµηχανία, τισ εξαγωγέσ, και την ποιÞτητα τησ ζωήσ.

∆Ú. ∫‡ÚÔ˘ Î·È ∫.∞ ÎÔÓÙ¿ ÛÙËÓ Á˘Ó·›Î· Η Τράπεζα Κύπρου, οι Κυπριακέσ Αερογραµµέσ και η Sunmiles American Express επί ευκαιρίασ τησ γιορτήσ τησ γυναίκασ στισ 8 Μαρτίου δίνουν την ευκαιρία στισ γυναίκεσ να ταξιδέψουν στην Αθήνα, εξαργυρώνοντασ 50% λιγÞτερουσ βαθµούσ. ΑκÞµη, φροντίζουν και για τη διαµονή, εξασφαλίζοντασ ειδικά προνÞµια και προσφορέσ στα πολυτελή ξενοδοχεία τησ Grecotel, τησ µεγαλύτερησ αλυσίδασ ξενοδοχείων τησ Ελλάδασ. Κάντε τώρα ή µέχρι τισ µέχρι 29 Μαρτίου την κράτηση σασ, επικοινωνώντασ µε το Κέντρο Τηλεξυπηρέτησησ των Κυπριακών Αερογραµµών, στο τηλ. 8000 0008. Αναχωρήσεισ απÞ Λάρνακα στισ 26, 27, 28 και 29 Μαρτίου 2012 για Αθήνα.

Στη διαφηµιστική εταιρεία Gnomi Communication Consultants ανέθεσε η AEGEAN τον διαφηµιστικÞ λογαριασµÞ τησ για την κυπριακή αγορά, στα πλαίσια του affiliation τησ Gnomi µε το δίκτυο τησ Carat. Συγκεκριµένα, η Gnomi αναλαµβάνει τη στρατηγική, προγραµµατισµÞ και αγορά των Media AEGEAN τησ στην Κύπρο.

H Aegean Airlines, η µεγαλύτερη ελληνική αεροπορική εταιρεία και µέλοσ τησ Star Alliance, µετέφερε το 2011 6,5 εκατοµµύρια επιβάτεσ, εκ των οποίων 3,5 εκατ. επιβάτεσ στισ πτήσεισ εξωτερικού. Η Εταιρεία βραβεύτηκε ωσ η καλύτερη περιφερειακή αεροπορική εταιρεία στην Ευρώπη για το 2011, απÞ τα Skytrax World Airline Awards. Η Aegean δραστηριοποιείται στην Κύπρο απÞ τον Μάϊο του 2004. Η AEGEAN συνδέει την Λάρνακα µε την Αθήνα µε 4 πτήσεισ την ηµέρα, µε τη Θεσσαλονίκη µε 10 πτήσεισ την εβδοµάδα, µε το αεροδρÞµιο Heathrow του Λονδίνου µε µία καθηµερινή πτήση ενώ το καλοκαίρι θα συνδέει µε απευθείασ πτήσεισ την Λάρνακα µε το Ηράκλειο, τα Χανιά, την ΡÞδο, την Μύκονο και την Σαντορίνη.

¢ˆÚÂ¿Ó ÛÂÌÈÓ¿ÚÈÔ ·fi ÙÔ Syoss Η καλή εµφάνιση δεν µπορεί να είναι πολυτέλεια, ακÞµα και στισ δύσκολεσ οικονοµικά ηµέρεσ που διανύουµε. Η ολοκληρωµένη σειρά προϊÞντων περιποίησησ µαλλιών SYOSS µε τη βοήθεια τησ αναγνωρισµένησ hair-stylist Μαρίασ ∆ρετάκη, οργανώνει ένα 50λεπτο σεµινάριο το Σαββάτο 17 Μαρτίου στισ 3 µµ στο Columbia Plaza στη ΛεµεσÞ. ΣκοπÞσ του σεµιναρίου είναι να ενηµερωθούν οι γυναίκεσ για το πωσ µπορούν µÞνεσ τουσ να πετύχουν κάθε µέρα, Þµορφα, υγιή, λαµπερά µαλλιά και στιλάτα χτενίσµατα. Το σεµινάριο θα αποτελείται απÞ 3 ενÞτητεσ: Καθηµερινή φροντίδα, επιλογή και διατήρηση του κατάλληλου χρώµατοσ, πρακτικÞ styling και χτένισµα. Η Μαρία ∆ρετάκη είναι µέλοσ τησ διεθνούσ καλλιτεχνικήσ Οµάδασ Υψηλήσ Κοµµωτικήσ Ελλάδασ-Γαλλίασ και εκπαιδεύτρια κοµµωτικήσ. Για πληροφορίεσ και κρατήσεισ επισκεφτείτε τη σελίδα µασ στο Facebook (Syoss Cyprus) ή καλέστε το 22661516.

Volkswagen Polo: ∆Ô ‰ËÌÔÊÈϤÛÙÂÚÔ ÌÈÎÚfi Με πωλήσεισ που φθάνουν τα 11 εκατοµµύρια, το Volkswagen Polo έχει εδώ και 37 ολÞκληρα χρÞνια καταστεί σηµείο αναφοράσ για την κατηγορία των µικρών αυτοινήτων. Οι εντυπωσιακέσ του επιδÞσεισ συνεχίστηκαν και το 2011, µε το Polo να αναδεικνύεται το δηµοφιλέστερο supermini στην αγορά τησ δυτικήσ Ευρώπησ. Το Polo που λανσαρίστηκε το 2009 αποτελούσε την πέµπτη γενιά του super µικρÞν το οποίο να σηµειώσουµε είχε πρωτοεµφανιστεί το 1975. Στο µεσοδιάστηµα αυτÞ, η Volkswagen συνεχώσ αναβάθµιζε τα µοντέλα Polo ούτωσ ώστε αυτά να ανταποκρίνονται ολοένα και περισσÞτερο στισ ανάγκεσ των πελατών. Το νέο Polo έχει κερδίσει σωρεία βραβείων διεθνώσ. Ενδεικτικά να αναφέρουµε το “Αυτοκίνητο τησ Χρονιάσ”, το “ΠαγκÞσµιο Πράσινο Αυτοκίνητο τησ Χρονιάσ”, το “ΧρυσÞ ΤιµÞνι”, το “Πράσινο ΤιµÞνι”, το “Αυτοκίνητο τησ Κοινήσ Λογικήσ”, καθώσ και τουσ τίτλουσ “The Best Cars”, “Auto Trophy” και το βραβείο “Red Dot Design”.

∂π¢∏™∂π™ 19

∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 14 MAƒ∆π√À, 2012

SAVENERGY 2012: ∞fi 16-18 ª·ÚÙ›Ô˘ Για 8η συνεχή χρονιά η Οµοσπονδία Εργοδοτών και Βιοµηχάνων (ΟΕΒ) διοργανώνει την εξειδικευµένη έκθεση εξοικονÞµησησ ενέργειασ “SAVENERGY 2012”.

H “SAVENERGY 2012” θα πραγµατοποιηθεί απÞ τισ 16 µέχρι τισ 18 Μαρτίου 2012 στον εκθεσιακÞ χώρο τησ Αρχήσ Κρατικών Εκθέσεων περίπτερο 6, µε τη συνεργασία τησ Υπηρεσίασ Ενέργειασ του Υπουργείου Εµπορίου, Βιοµηχανίασ & Τουρισµού και τησ Αρχήσ Ηλεκτρισµού Κύπρου. Παράλληλα µε τη “SAVENERGY 2012”, η ΟΕΒ διοργανώνει και την 5η Εκθεση τεχνολογιών νερού και περιβάλλοντοσ “Envirotec 2012”. Στην έκθεση θα παρουσιαστούν τεχνολογίεσ και προϊÞντα εξοικονÞµησησ ενέργειασ Þπωσ συστήµατα θέρµανσησ και ψύξησ µε τη χρήση των ΑΠΕ, φωτοβολταϊκά και αιολικά συστήµατα και θερµοµονωτικά υλικά. Στα πλαίσια τησ έκθεσησ “Envirotec 2012” θα παρουσιαστούν καινοτÞµα προϊÞντα και υπηρεσίεσ που ο κάθε επισκέπτησ θα µπορέσει να αξιοποιήσει για να εξοικονοµήσει νερÞ και να προστατεύσει το περιβάλλον. Κατά την τελετή των εγκαινίων θα απονεµηθεί το Βραβείο ΕξοικονÞµησησ Ενέργειασ τÞσο για επιχειρήσεισ Þσο και για οικιακούσ καταναλωτέσ που επενδύουν σε προϊÞντα εξοικονÞ-

µησησ ενέργειασ. Θα απονεµηθεί χρηµατικÞ βραβείο 8.500 ευρώ σε επιχείρηση και χρηµατικÞ βραβείο 1.700 ευρώ σε οικιακÞ καταναλωτή οι οποίοι προέβηκαν στην καλύτερη ή και αποδοτικÞτερη επένδυση σε προϊÞντα εξοικονÞµησησ ενέργειασ και εκµετάλλευσησ των ΑΠΕ.

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°È· ‰È·ÎÔ¤˜ ̤ÓÔ˘Ì ∫‡ÚÔ Ο Καλοπαναγιώτησ, το Βουνί, ο Κάτω Πύργοσ, ο ΑγρÞσ και η περιοχή ΤροÞδουσ ανακηρύχθηκαν απÞ την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή ωσ προορισµοί EDEN τα τελευταία χρÞνια σε µια προσπάθεια ενίσχυσησ των προορισµών που προσφέρονται για εγχώριο τουρισµÞ στην Κύπρο. Σύµφωνα µε την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή περίπου οι µισοί (51%) απÞ τουσ Ευρωπαίουσ παραθεριστέσ σχεδιάζουν φέτοσ να απολαύσουν διακοπέσ στην πατρίδα τουσ, µια τάση που αναµένεται να συνεχιστεί. Στην Κύπρο, τα στοιχεία για το 2011 υποδεικνύουν Þτι το 37% των Κυπρίων σχεδίαζε να κάνει εγχώριεσ διακοπέσ. Γι αυτÞ και η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή «µέσω τησ πρωτοβουλίασ «Ευρωπαϊκοί Προορισµοί Αριστείασ» (EDEN) παροτρύνει τουσ Ευρωπαίουσ να ανακαλύψουν το φάσµα των κρυµµένων θησαυρών που βρίσκονται στα πÞδια τουσ». Σύµφωνα µε τον Ευρωπαίο Επίτροπο για τη Βιοµηχανία και την ΕπιχειρηµατικÞτητα ΑντÞνιο Ταγιάνι «το EDEN επισηµαίνει βιώσιµα µέρη για διακοπέσ, Þπου ο τουρισµÞσ συνυπάρχει αρµονικά µε την τοπική κοινÞτητα και το περιβάλλον τησ». Για τον επιλεγµένο προορισµÞ τησ Κύπρου, τον Καλοπαναγιώτη, γράφει Þτι «αυτÞ το Þµορφο χωριÞ προσφέρει παραδοσιακή αρχιτεκτονική, ιαµατικέσ πηγέσ και καταπράσινεσ κοιλάδεσ».

√È Ù‹ÛÂȘ Ù˘ Ryanair ¤ÊÂÚ·Ó ÎÚ·Ù‹ÛÂȘ ÛÙËÓ ¶¿ÊÔ Τισ πρώτεσ κρατήσεισ απÞ µεµονωµένουσ τουρίστεσ άρχισαν να δέχονται ξενοδÞχοι τησ Πάφου ωσ αποτέλεσµα τησ απÞφασησ τησ αεροπορικήσ εταιρίασ RYAN AIR να δηµιουργήσει στο αεροδρÞµιο τησ Πάφου τον πεντηκοστÞ σταθµÞ τησ. Ο αντιπρÞσωποσ του συνδέσµου τουριστικών επιχειρήσεων Πάφου, ∆ηµήτρησ Σµυρλήσ ανέφερε Þτι αρκετοί τουρίστεσ κάνουν κρατήσεισ χωρίσ την µεσολάβηση ταξιδιωτικών πρακτÞρων. «Οι κρατήσεισ είναι λίγο περιορισµένεσ απÞ την αγγλική αγορά, υπάρχει βέβαια µια συνεχήσ πρÞοδοσ απÞ την ρωσική αγορά, φέτοσ έχουµε αρκετέσ κρατήσεισ απÞ Ρώσουσ. Είµαστε βέβαια πολύ επιφυλακτικοί για τα πιθανά απο-

τελέσµατα», ανέφερε ο κ. Σµυρλήσ. Ùπωσ είπε, οι κρατήσεισ πιθανÞν να αυξηθούν µετά το Πάσχα. «Μετά τισ 15 Απριλίου σίγουρα θα έχουµε πιο πολλέσ κρατήσεισ. Φέτοσ αναµένουµε κρατήσεισ και απÞ την γερµανική αγορά αλλά και απÞ τισ σκανδιναβικέσ χώρεσ. Η Πάφοσ είναι µια πÞλη που χρειάζεται τουρισµÞ για να καλύψει τισ ανάγκεσ τησ και ελπίζουµε φέτοσ να τον έχουµε», σηµείωσε ο κ. Σµυρλήσ.

OI °∂ƒª∞¡√π •∞¡∞ƒÃ√¡∆∞π Eν τω µεταξύ µε ενθαρρυντικά µηνύµατα απÞ τη γερµανική αγορά επέστρεψε ο ∆ήµαρχοσ Πάφου Σάββασ Βέργασ, ο οποίοσ

70% ÂȉfiÙËÛË ÁÈ· Û˘ÌÌÂÙÔ¯‹ ÛÙËÓ ∫Ú·ÙÈ΋ ŒÎıÂÛË Το Σχέδιο Επιχορήγησησ Κυπριακών Βιοµηχανιών για Συµµετοχή στη ∆ιεθνή Έκθεση Κύπρου θα εφαρµοσθεί και για την Έκθεση του 2012, Þπωσ ανακοίνωσε το Υπουργείο Εµπορίου, Βιοµηχανίασ και Τουρισµού. ΣκοπÞσ του Σχεδίου είναι η παροχή κινήτρου υπÞ µορφή χορηγίασ στισ µικροµεσαίεσ επιχειρήσεισ του µεταποιητικού τοµέα για να ενθαρρυνθούν να συµµετάσχουν στη φετινή ∆ιεθνή Έκθεση Κύπρου και προβάλουν τα προϊÞντα τουσ στην εγχώρια αγορά. Το Σχέδιο προβλέπει επιδÞτηση ύψουσ 70% του κÞστουσ ενοικίασησ του χώρου στη ∆ιεθνή Έκθεση και µε ανώτατο ποσÞ τα 2500 ευρώ και 1250 ευρώ ανά επιχείρηση που συµµετέχει στην Έκθεση σε στεγασµένο και ανοικτÞ χώρο αντίστοιχα. Κλαδικέσ ενώσεισ δικαιούχων επιχειρήσεων που θα συµµετάσχουν στην Έκθεση για προβολή των προϊÞντων των επιχειρήσεων του κλάδου σε ένα περίπτερο θα δικαιούνται

επιχορήγηση ύψουσ 70% επί του επιλέξιµου κÞστουσ µε ανώτατο ποσÞ τισ 7500 ευρώ και τισ 3750 ευρώ σε στεγασµένο και ανοικτÞ χώρο αντίστοιχα. ∆ιευκρινίζεται Þτι το συνολικÞ ποσÞ που θα διατεθεί για τισ ανάγκεσ του εν λÞγω Σχεδίου ανέρχεται στισ 70.000 ευρώ και ωσ εκ τούτου οι αιτήσεισ που θα υποβληθούν θα εξετασθούν και ικανοποιηθούν µε την σειρά µε κριτήριο την ηµεροµηνία υποβολήσ των αιτήσεων µέχρι εξάντλησησ του διαθέσιµου ποσού. Πληροφορίεσ στα Κεντρικά και Επαρχιακά Γραφεία του Υπουργείου ή απÞ την ιστοσελίδα του Υπουργείου (www.mcit.gov.cy), απÞ την Πέµπτη 1η Μαρτίου 2012. Αι αιτήσεισ θα γίνονται δεκτέσ µέχρι τισ 6.4.2012. Για περισσÞτερεσ πληροφορίεσ οι ενδιαφερÞµενοι µπορούν να επικοινωνούν µε τουσ αρµÞδιουσ Λειτουργούσ στα τηλέφωνο 22867143, 22867193 ή 22867238.

SmartWings: ¶Ù‹ÛÂȘ ¶Ú¿Á· - §¿Úӷη Πτήσεισ απÞ την Πράγα προσ την Λάρνακα και αντίστροφα, τοποθετώντασ στο δροµολÞγιο Τσεχία-Κύπροσ τέσσερεισ πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ ξεκινά απÞ τισ 5 Απριλίου η τσεχική, αεροπορική εταιρεία Smart Wings. ΓενικÞσ αντιπρÞσωποσ τησ τσεχικήσ εταιρείασ στην Κύπρο είναι το τουριστικÞ γραφείο Orthodoxou Aviation, απÞ το οποίο εκφράζεται η αισιοδοξία πωσ η συνεργασία µε τη Smart Wings θα έχει άµεσα και θετικά αποτελέσµατα. Άλλωστε η Πράγα είναι αποτελεί έναν απÞ τουσ προσφιλείσ προορισµούσ των Κυπρίων για διακοπέσ. Η εταιρεία αποφάσισε την συµπερίληψη τησ Κύπρου στα δροµολογία τησ (πέραν των άλλων 27 προορισµών στουσ οποίουσ ήδη πετά) καλύπτοντασ έτσι το κενÞ στισ πτήσεισ απÞ και προσ Τσεχία που άφησε η αποχώρηση

τησ Czech Airlines απÞ τη χώρα. Τα εισιτήρια τησ Smart Wings είναι ήδη διαθέσιµα στην ιστοσελίδα τησ εταιρείασ και µπορεί να βρεί τιµέσ µονήσ διαδροµήσ απÞ 74 ευρώ.

συµµετείχε στη ∆ιεθνή Τουριστική Έκθεση στο Βερολίνο, στο πλαίσιο τησ οποίασ πραγµατοποίησε σειρά επαφών µε ξένουσ τουριστικούσ πράκτορεσ. ΑπÞ τισ επαφέσ που είχε διαφάνηκε αυξηµένο ενδιαφέρον απÞ τουσ Γερµανούσ διοργανωτέσ ταξιδιών µε προορισµÞ την πÞλη τησ Πάφου. «Κοινή εκτίµηση είναι Þτι οι θετικέσ επαφέσ που έχουν προκύψει οφείλονται κυρίωσ στην πρÞσφατη συµφωνία τησ αεροπορικήσ εταιρείασ RYAN AIR για έναρξη πτήσεων απÞ διάφορεσ χώρεσ απÞ και προσ την Πάφο. Οι Γερµανοί τουριστικοί πράκτορεσ χαρακτήρισαν ωσ ευχάριστη έκπληξη την εξέλιξη αυτή και εξέφρασαν την πεποίθηση Þτι θα συµβάλει σηµαντικά στην

ενίσχυση του τουριστικού ρεύµατοσ απÞ τη χώρα τουσ προσ την επαρχία µασ», ανέφερε ο Σάββασ Βέργασ.

20 FOREX

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

Gold rebounds on euro, focus on Fed meeting Gold ticked higher on Tuesday as the euro rebounded although trading was cautious with investors waiting for the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting, which could offer clues over the direction of interest rates in the world’s largest economy.

Easing expectations for the Fed to signal the need for more measures to keep interest rates low could eventually weigh on gold, which has risen around 9% so far this year on a near-zero U.S. rate outlook.

Spot gold added $5.04 to $1,704.09 an ounce, with support at the 200-day moving average of around $1,680 an ounce. Bullion rallied to an all-time high around $1,920 an ounce last September.

“There’s not much going on, especially on the physical side,” said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong, adding that investors were also scrutinizing Europe’s current efforts to solve the debt crisis.

The euro bounced from a one-month low to $1.3178 on Tuesday, finding support at its 55-day moving average around $1.3082 as euro zone finance ministers gave their final approval to a second bailout for Greece. But Tuesday’s focus would be on the Fed’s

policy statement after last week’s data showed an encouraging gain of more than 200,000 jobs in February for a third straight month.

U.S. gold futures $5 to $1,704.80 an ounce, but some bullion investors were cautious after last week’s U.S. data showed net long futures positions held by money managers, including hedge funds, posted the biggest one-week drop since August.

The dollar was on the defensive, having retreated from a seven-week high against a basket of major currencies on some caution the Fed might sound more dovish than expected at its policy meeting.

A softer dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Physical gold trading also slowed to a trickle in Singapore, where buyers such as Indonesia and Thailand waited for clues from other markets ahead of the Fed meeting.

“It’s all about wait-and-see. I think we can expect to see good physical demand if gold price falls below $1,700. On and off, we are still seeing some buying, but it’s not much,” said a dealer in Singapore. “Indonesia was a good buyer last week.”

Japan gives China’s yuan $10 bln stamp of approval Japan will buy 65 bln yuan ($10.3 bln) of Chinese government debt, the country’s finance minister said, giving China a mark of approval in the credibility of the yuan as an international currency. Other countries are investing in China through state agencies, but Japan’s investment is by far the biggest in the yuan. As a currency with limited convertibility, such bets are symbolic of the shift in global power towards China as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

China is already Japan’s biggest trade partner and the two countries hold the world’s biggest piles of foreign exchange reserves — $3.2 trln in China and $1.3 trln in Japan.

“For China, the move is linked to its efforts to internationalise the yuan — allowing foreign investments in its debt market will make the yuan more accepted internationally,” said Zhang Yongjun, an economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank.

Japan’s finance minister, Jun Azumi, said Tokyo needed to carry out some administrative steps in coming months before purchases could begin.

INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY Japan and China agreed at a summit in December to strengthen financial cooperation and that included increased use of the yuan and yen in bilateral trade as well as Tokyo’s buying of Chinese government bonds.

The Japanese investment will be handled outside of China’s Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme, a quota system and the primary channel for foreign portfolio investment, the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo said.

Japan is likely to buy a small amount of debt at first and then increase purchases while considering possible market impact when choosing the timing of the transactions, Azumi added.

Japanese purchases of Chinese bonds would also be a sign of credibility in Beijing’s long-term efforts to elevate the yuan’s status as an international currency.

That effort so far has involved China’s promotion of the yuan to settle trade.

Beijing has struck agreements with several nations

from Malaysia to Belarus and Argentina on the use of the yuan in trade and other transactions. It has expanded a pilot programme started in 2009 into a nationwide one allowing firms to settle their trade in yuan The result has been a relative surge in the use of the currency. More than 9% of China’s total trade was settled in yuan in 2011, up from just 0.7% in 2010.

FOREX COMMENTARY / TECHNICAL ANALYSIS By: Eurivex

The euro was steady while the yen bounced back from a 11-month low against the U.S. currency after the Bank of Japan stopped short of taking aggressive easing steps, wrongfooting yen bears who had bet on a repeat of the central bank’s surprise easing last month.

The dollar index stood at 79.78, almost flat from late U.S. levels after having risen as high as 80.132 on Monday, its highest in seven weeks. Data last Friday showed February was the third straight month in which there was a gain of more than 200,000 jobs.

The dollar’s strength had been most striking against the yen, which fell sharply after the BOJ last month unexpectedly boosted its asset purchases by 10 trillion yen ($121 billion) and set an inflation goal.

On Tuesday, however, the bank did nothing beyond tinkering with a small loan programme, prompting buyback in the yen, even though many market players had expected such an outcome. The U.S. currency fell to 81.97 yen, down 0.3 percent from late U.S. levels and from an 11-month high of 82.65 touched on Friday. Yet the yen is still seen staying under pressure, given Japan’s trade balance has been in the red in

CROSS HOLDINGS China said on Monday it would continue its purchases of Japanese government debt, but would reduce purchases when the yen is rising to avoid exacerbating the negative impact of a strong yen on exports. At 82.25 per dollar, the yen is off a record high reached last October of 75.31 yen, but corporate Japan is highly sensitive to the exchange rate. Japan hopes cross-holdings of investments between China and Japan will improve economic cooperation and communication between the two countries. Japan may gain more insight into Chinese thinking on the yuan through the crossholdings. The risk for both China and Japan is that sudden big purchases of their debt could have a major impact on their respective markets, so communicating their investment intentions would be important.

China and Japan have been talking about diversifying their foreign assets, but Japan particularly has been at pains to reassure of its unwavering confidence in the U.S. dollar, the globe’s pre-eminent reserve currency.

Foreign investors can invest in China’s stock and bond markets only through the QFII programme. The government has so far granted $24.55 bln in such quotas to nearly 130 institutions.

Nigeria indicated in September it wanted to diversify up to 10% of its $34 bln in foreign exchange reserves into yuan and the Financial Times reported the same month that Malaysia had bought yuan-denominated bonds. Few argue against the idea that the yuan will one day become a reserve currency. The World Bank expects China, which generated around $5.8 trln in GDP in 2010 compared with $14.5 trln in the United States, to become the world’s top economy before 2030.

recent months. Another constant source of yen-selling these days is overseas M&A deals and investment.

Many Japanese companies are seeking to enter foreign markets to offset their shrinking domestic one, as Japan’s population is due to decline.

The euro stood at $1.3157, having recovered after hitting a one-month low of $1.3079 on Monday, helped by technical support at its Ichimoku cloud top at $1.3087 and a 55-day moving average around $1.3084.

But the currency’s outlook remained shaky given that the euro zone economy is slipping into recession, in contrast to a brightening picture in the United States. In addition, while the euro is supported by relief after Greece successfully swapped most of its privately-held bonds and cut its debt by more than 100 billion euros, many market players are not sure whether other southern European countries can escape a similar fate.

Weekly Economic Calendar Date Country Detail 14MAR UK Claimant Count Change due at 11.30am 14MAR UK Unemployment Rate due at 11.30am 14MAR EUR CPI YoY due at 12pm 14MAR EUR Core CPI YoY due at 12pm 14MAR US Current Account due at 3.30pm 14MAR US Import Prices MoM due at 3.30pm 14MAR US Fed Chairman Bernanke Speaks due at 5pm 15MAR CHF Libor Rate due at 10.30am 15MAR CHF SNB Monetary Policy Assessment due at 10.30am 15MAR US PPI MoM due at 3.30pm 15MAR US Unemployment Claims due at 3.30pm 15MAR US TIC Long-Term Purchases due at 3.30pm 15MAR US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index due at 5pm 16MAR US Core CPI MoM due at 3.30pm 16MAR US CPI MoM due at 3.30pm 16MAR US Capacity Utilization Rate due at 4.15pm 16MAR US Industrial Production MoM due at 4.15pm 16MAR US Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment due at 4.55pm Indicated times are Cyprus time

Forecast Previous 7.0K 6.9K 8.4% 8.4% 2.7% 2.7% 1.6% 1.5% -114B -110B 0.6% 0.3% <0.25% <0.25% 0.5% 0.1% 357K 362K 29.3B 17.9B 11.8 10.2 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.2% 78.9% 78.5% 0.4% 0.0% 75.7 75.3 Source: Eurivex

Portuguese government debt yields have been edging up in the past month while Spanish shares are also coming under pressure.

The Australian dollar bounced back after hitting a seven-week low of $1.0475 on Monday, where it had a key support of a 38.2 percent retracement of a 10-cent rally from December to February.

While its latest rebound could open the way for a test of resistance around $1.0670, the currency is for now stalling at $1.0545, capped by its 55-day moving average around $1.0555. Some chartists say the Aussie could be in for further adjustment after it has formed a double-top around $1.0850 last month. Concerns about slowing growth in China, Australia’s single largest export market, has weighed broadly on the Aussie the past few sessions.

Disclaimer The commentary appearing on this page is for indication purposes only and Eurivex does not take any responsibility for investment action taken. Nothing in this report should be considered to constitute investment advice. It is not intended, and should not be considered, as an offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any of the financial instruments described herein. Trading on leverage is very risky and may lead to losses.

MARKETS

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

World Currencies Per Us Dollar

Euro pressured Vs Dollar

ALPHA BANK

21

CURRENCY

CODE

RATE

EUROPEAN

Meanwhile, the euro remained vulnerable given that the euro zone economy is slipping into recession, in contrast to a brightening picture in the United States. In addition, while the euro is supported by relief after Greece successfully swapped most of its privately-held bonds and cut its debt by more than 100 billion euros, many analysts have doubts whether other European countries can escape a similar fate. To this extend, Portuguese government debt yields have been edging up in the past month while Spanish shares are also coming under pressure.

In another development, the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB), during its meeting last week, decided to maintain its refinancing rate at the historic low of 1%. The ECB President, at the interview after the meeting, referred that they did not discuss rate changes at the

Kyriacos Orinos Treasury Division, Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd The European currency traded around 1.3120 against the US dollar on Tuesday 13th March, having recovered after hitting a 1-month low of 1.3077 the previous day.

The dollar was positively affected as upbeat U.S. jobs data last week made further monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve less likely. Specifically, data showed employers added more than 200,000 workers for a 3rd straight month in February, a sign the recovery was gaining momentum. Furthermore, the jobless rate held at a 3-year low of 8.3% even though people flooded back into the labor force to hunt for work, and 61,000 more jobs were created in December and January than previously thought.

current meeting, nor making collateral rules stricter.

He commented that collateral rules could become less strict. He then stressed that monetary policy is accommodative and supportive of eurozone economic growth. The ECB also noted that the available survey indicators confirm signs of stabilisation in the euro area economy. They repeated that the economic outlook remains subject to high uncertainty and downside risks. Furthermore, they expect that inflation is likely to stay above 2% in 2012, with upside risks prevailing. At last, the President of the ECB noted that the LTRO will provide further support to economic and financial conditions and that it will help lending activity in the region. He characterised both LTROs as unquestionable success and noted that they had powerful effect on removing tail risk in financial markets.

The Financial Markets Interest Rates Base Rates

LIBOR rates

CCY USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

ALPHA BANK

0-0,25% 0.50% 1.00% 0-0,1% 0-0,25%

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USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0.24 0.72 0.41 0.14 0.07

0.35 0.84 0.57 0.16 0.08

0.47 1.04 0.79 0.20 0.09

0.74 1.36 1.15 0.34 0.16

1.06 1.87 1.51 0.55 0.37

USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0.56 1.20 1.04 0.31 0.13

0.69 1.27 1.13 0.33 0.18

0.90 1.37 1.30 0.37 0.27

1.13 1.52 1.49 0.43 0.40

1.60 1.86 1.85 0.62 0.68

2.08 2.33 2.22 0.97 1.01

Exchange Rates

CCY1\CCY2 USD EUR GBP CHF JPY

Opening Rates

100 1 USD 1 EUR 1 GBP 1 CHF JPY 1.3160 0.7599

1.5648

1.0921

1.2139

1.1891

0.8298

0.9224

0.6979

0.7757

0.6391

0.8410

0.9157

1.2051

1.4329

82.38

108.41

128.91

1.1116

Weekly movement of USD

CCY\Date

14.02

21.02

28.02

06.03

13.03

CCY

Today

USD GBP JPY CHF

1.3122

1.3237

1.3403

1.3167

1.3121

0.8354

0.8348

0.8460

0.8302

0.8387

102.14

105.43

107.75

107.14

107.55

1.2034

1.2030

1.2009

1.2016

1.2005

GBP EUR JPY CHF

1.5648 1.3160 82.38 0.9157

+1.32 +0.29 +1.14 +0.25

89.96

WEALTH MANAGEMENT ZURICH

LIMASSOL

MOSCOW

SINGAPORE

LONDON

What the Weaker RMB Means Marcuard’s Market update by GaveKal Research We finally have a good picture of the Chinese economy with combined January-February data published over the past two days (early-year data is always a minefield of distortions given the movable lunar new year holiday; imagine the mess in the West’s data if Christmas moved around between December and January every year). And the picture was a bit disappointing: industrial production and retail sales both decelerated, and loan growth was somewhat weaker than expected. Trade data were especially sluggish: export and import growth decelerated to growth of 6.9% and 7.7% YoY, from 14.3% and 20.7% respectively in 4Q11. This pushed the combined trade balance into a deficit of US$4.2bn (compared with a deficit of US$0.8bn in Jan-Feb 2011).

These numbers disappointed the market. But even more disappointing was the reaction of the PBoC, whose opening fix of the CNY/USD was 6.3282, +209 pips above Friday’s fix (an upward move in the fix means a depreciation of the renminbi). This was one of the biggest depreciations in the daily fix in the past year and raises the obvious question: is the Politburo panicking in the face of weaker growth and trade and reacting with a return to tried-and-true weak-currency mercantilist ways?

We doubt that this is what is happening. For one thing, while today’s currency move was relatively large by recent standards, viewed in a longerterm perspective the volatility of the daily RMB fix has been roughly constant since 2007, with the exception of the post-crisis period of 2009 and early 2010 when the RMB was effectively pegged to the dollar. So the move was more or less in line with established policy settings.

There are basically two possibilities for what is going on. The first is that, in order to dissuade investors from the idea that the RMB is a oneway bet, PBoC is simply pulling its usual trick of injecting some short-term volatility in the mar-

ket—in other words, business as usual.

The second, however, is that the PBoC is starting to adjust to a world in which the US dollar is no longer structurally weak. Indeed, both the euro and the yen seem to have now embarked on structural de-ratings against the dollar and it could be that China, as it has promised in the past, will look to adjust the value of its currency more against a basket then against the dollar per se. While this shift would in part be motivated by a desire to maintain Chinese export competitiveness, it is much less crassly mercantilist than a swift devaluation in response to bad trade data.

If this depreciation of the RMB persists, it could lead to a pullback in risk assets, because markets will be in doubt about the true intention of Chinese policy: vigorous mercantilism, tactical volatility or an adjustment to a strong-dollar world. This is doubly true since risk assets have had a good run in the past few months and most sentiment indicators (put-to-call ratios, investor surveys, etc) seem to point to higher odds of a pullback.

A bigger question is whether this latest move by the PBoC marks a retrenchment from the previously stated path towards greater financial deregulation and internationalization of the RMB. We do not think so. Instead, this latest move is simply a reminder that the Politburo intends to remain in control of the process, and it will take some years to establish full RMB convertibility. www.marcuardheritage.com Disclaimer: This information may not be construed as advice and in particular not as investment, legal or tax advice. Depending on your particular circumstances you must obtain advice from your respective professional advisors. Investment involves risk.

The value of investments may go down as well as up.

Past performance is no guarantee for future performance. Investments in foreign currencies are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. Marcuard Cyprus Ltd is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) under License no. 131/11.

8170 1.5644 1.4858 18.643 5.6462 11.6971 1.3162 24287.000 222.64 0.5287 2.6223 3.4077 11.7900 5.6608 3.1164 3.3066 29.503 6.7766 0.9159 8.0250

AUD CAD HKD INR JPY KRW NZD SGD

1.0535 0.9905 7.7588 49.8250 82.35 1121.65 0.8211 1.2571

BHD EGP IRR ILS JOD KWD LBP OMR QAR SAR ZAR AED

0.3770 6.0320 12251 3.7661 0.7083 0.2785 1501 0.3850 3.6404 3.7501 7.5267 3.6729

AZM KZT TRL

4588 147.85 1345000

AMERICAS & PACIFIC Australian Dollar * Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Japanese Yen Korean Won New Zeland Dollar * Singapore Dollar

Bahrain Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Rial Israeli Shekel Jordanian Dinar Kuwait Dinar Lebanese Pound Omani Rial Qatar Rial Saudi Arabian Riyal South African Rand U.A.E. Dirham ASIA

Last Week %Change 1.5858 1.3198 81.45 0.9134

BYR GBP BGN CZK DKK EEK EUR GEK HUF LVL LTL MTL MDL NOK PLN RON RUB SEK CHF UAH

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

Swap Rates

CCY/Period

Major Cross Rates

Belarussian Ruble British Pound * Bulgarian Lev Czech Koruna Danish Krone Estonian Kroon Euro * Georgian Coupon Hungarian Forint Latvian Lats Lithuanian Litas Maltese Pound * Moldavan Leu Norwegian Krone Polish Zloty Romanian Leu Russian Rouble Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Ukrainian Hryvnia

Azerbaijanian Manat Kazakhstan Tenge Turkish Lira

Note:

* USD per National Currency

Glencore faces stand-off in Xstrata charm offensive Glencore, days into a campaign to win approval from recalcitrant Xstrata shareholders for a $36 bln bid, is facing a stand off as naysayers dig in their heels and the trader warns it would walk away rather than overpay.

The world’s largest diversified commodities trader, which already owns 34% of Xstrata, began courting institutional investors this week after publishing 2011 earnings — starting its first roadshow since the all-share deal was agreed in February.

Alongside its results earlier this week, Glencore defended a “merger of equals” proposal which it says is fair and already offers Xstrata shareholders a premium, as well as the top jobs in the enlarged company. The trader’s boss and single largest shareholder, Ivan Glasenberg, will be deputy chief executive, reporting to Xstrata’s Mick Davis.

Industry and shareholder sources say Glencore has been just as apparently uncompromising in its meetings with investors as it attempts to woo the market with its growth prospects — warning of “asymmetric” risks for Xstrata shareholders if the deal does not go ahead, and cautioning it has rejected deals before after failing to agree terms.

Analysts agree that Xstrata shares would be hit in the short term if the deal does not go through, not least because Glencore will remain a 34% shareholder — but Glencore itself is also likely to suffer.

And some of the prominent naysayers among Xstrata holders are standing their ground, making for tension which is unlikely to ease in the weeks to come, given little incentive for either side to concede anything much before a shareholder vote which could come as late as June or July.

“We have now met with the managements and our feelings remain unchanged - we feel the deal not only undervalues Xstrata (but) we feel we are being offered unattractive paper,” said Neil Dwane, Chief Investment Officer of RCM, the equities unit of Allianz Global Investors, a top-40 shareholder. “We do not like the deal and will await a higher offer, hopefully.”

Dwane said he would be happy to own just Xstrata shares, but pointed to “difficult” corporate governance if Glencore was to remain a major shareholder.

Glencore, which cannot use its own 34% of Xstrata to vote for the deal, cannot afford to dismiss any shareholders. The bid requires 75% acceptance among the remaining 66%, so only 16.5% of the total shares are needed to torpedo it.

More than a quarter of Xstrata shares are held by smaller shareholders.

“I’m not sure the general feeling (about the deal) has changed,” said Mark Wright, deputy manager of Mam Funds’ CF Midas Balanced Growth Fund, which is a small shareholder in Xstrata, pointing to Glencore’s short track record as a listed company. The trader listed in May last year.

“Obviously Glencore management are going around trying to prove a track record of return on investor capital, but they are a bit of a black box to some, which is why they are struggling to win some people over,” he said.

Glencore, which is offering 2.8 new shares for every Xstrata share, has not explicitly excluded any option — even sweetening the deal — but analysts warn risks are increasing.

“The market may be overestimating the likelihood of Glencore increasing its offer for Xstrata, and the extent by which Glencore might bump its offer if it does indeed plan to do so,” Jefferies analysts said in a note this week, adding Glencore’s roadshow would at least be softening expectations.

Most analysts and investors, though, still agree there is likely to be at least a face-saving improvement to take the deal over the finish line.

“I think they could end up paying a smidgeon more,” one UK equities fund manager, a top 50 holder of Xstrata stock, said.

Glencore has been visiting UK institutions this week and will move to U.S. institutions next week, with Asia targeted the week after that. Davis and the Xstrata team are expected to team up with Glencore for a round of meetings in early April, ahead of a shareholder circular to be sent out later that month.

22 WORLD MARKETS

China sacrifices growth to slay inflation dragon If inflation is a dragon that must be slain, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao has shown he is willing to sacrifice a part of the country’s most vital asset to do so — growth.

Cutting China’s 2012 economic growth target to 7.5% at the start of the annual meeting of parliament last week says clearly that too rapid an expansion makes inflation too tough to contain, given the reforms needed to create widespread wealth.

That he did so in the week it was revealed that the annual rate of inflation in February receded to a 20-month low of 3.2%, barely seven months after being twice that at a three-year peak of 6.5%, speaks volumes about the gravity of price risks.

“The fact that we’re talking about the question recognises the fact that it’s not a slam-dunk that the inflation beast has been tamed,” said Jeremy Stevens, China economist at Standard Bank in Beijing. “The average January-February inflation rate is 3.9% and only a fraction below the government’s target for the full year,” Stevens told Reuters. “Most people believe that in the second half of the year the inflation rate picks up again.”

The growth and inflation trade-off is ANALYSIS particularly pointed for Wen and the Communist Party leadership which justifies its one-party grip on power with the promise of stability and prosperity for the country’s 1.3 bln people, of whom most are poor and an estimated 10% live on less than $1 per day.

The country’s economic ascent has increasingly concentrated riches in the hands of an urban elite in the last decade, during which China has become the world’s second biggest economy and accumulated $3.2 trln of official reserves — the largest store of foreign wealth on the planet.

Wen needs wages for the country’s 800 mln mainly low paid workers to rise quickly enough to help bridge the chasm between rich and poor, while pursuing painful structural reforms to increase domestic demand and cut dependence on volatile exports and foreign capital inflows.

And, because inflation is the surest way to ignite the social unrest that most worries the Party — given that the poor spend almost every penny of their income on basic essentials — he must do it while keeping a lid on costs. The consensus in the latest Reuters poll is that inflation will be within the government’s 4% forecast for the year.

But with a dip down to 3.1% by Q3, the implication is for a rebound in the last quarter, a worry for policymakers as most of the anticipated fall in the rate of inflation in the first half will come from the base effects of last year’s surge.

Societe Generale economists calculate that fully 1.2 percentage points of the 1.3 point fall in the January to February inflation rate came from base effects.

HSBC, the bank which confidently declared that the “inflation story is over” in a note to clients after data on Friday showed February year on year consumer price inflation at 3.2%, seems to be hedging its bets.

Its China economics team expects at least 100 basis points of cuts in reserve ratio requirements (RRR) from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) for the rest of 2012 after cuts of 50 bps last month and in November 2011.

That compares with the market consensus of 150 bps more and arch-rival Standard Chartered’s 200 bps call to keep the economy gliding as growth slows.

“The point is to make sure there are smooth liquidity conditions that are supportive to growth, but not necessarily a very aggressive easing that would invite future inflation risks,” HSBC China economist, Sun Junwei, told Reuters.

In other words, a decision to ease monetary policy is not necessarily about having snuffed out inflation risks at all.

CONSTRAINTS Indeed, those risks start to loom larger barely six months from now, and grow even more intense when inflation is viewed as an expression of economic constraint — too little supply relative to demand — rather than expansion.

China has a shrinking labour force, mandated double digit wage hikes, an export sector losing its competitive cost advantage and an insatiable thirst for raw material imports.

“With China’s working-age population set to decline steadily from 2012 onward due to retirement, the notion that a minimum of 8% GDP growth is necessary to sustain full employment and preserve social stability is now outdated,” analysts at Nomura said in a note to clients.

It also means that inflation pressure will build at a much lower rate of growth going forward, a fact unlikely to be lost on China’s leadership, which has seen periods of high inflation often coincide with protests and social unrest.

The government is already raising the energy prices it controls, using the leeway of slackening demand created by the economic slowdown it partly engineered, and analysts expect further reforms in electricity, natural gas, water and more.

Such reforms inevitably lift prices, increasing the urgency of planned social security, health and tax reforms to boost disposable income in households that in 2011 was just 6,977 yuan ($1,107) in rural areas and 21,810 yuan in urban areas.

FOOD PRICE RISKS Meanwhile, the risk of a spike in food prices persists.

A Reuters investigation based on assessments by key trading houses, cooperatives, and an influential consultancy suggests that Beijing has overstated the corn crop by the equivalent of between 12 days and 44 days of consumption, a gap big enough to drive up global grain prices if the authorities act to close it.

That would in turn raise the price of Chinese pork — the country’s most popular meat is a key determinant of inflationary expectations — which is already 86% higher than U.S. hog prices, according to Colorado consultancy Global Agritrends.

Analysts at UBS reckon China’s overall consumption growth will be 9.3% in 2012, firmly ahead of the bank’s forecast for GDP growth at 8.5%, meaning the whiff of inflation will be pretty strong in a $7.5 trln economy that is bustling along quite speedily.

“I think you need to look carefully at the fact that the PBOC has specifically trodden cautiously in this cycle,” said Standard Bank’s Stevens, pointing out that the relative tightness of policy settings now is a consequence of having eased too aggressively after the 2008/09 financial crisis.

“This time around there does seem to be a genuine desire to be gradualist in the approach in how to deal with supporting economic activity.”

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

Retail therapy needed l

U.S consumer holds keys l Americans held back by to stronger world growth weak wage growth, inflation

The spending power of the American consumer is the secret sauce for turbocharging a world economy that has entered an uncomfortable soft patch.

China last week cut its growth outlook for 2012 to 7.5% from 8.0%, the weakest pace since 1990 and barely strong enough to keep its huge labor force employed.

Brazil, which has been Latin America’s powerhouse economy and heavily reliant on top trade partner China, is now struggling to revive growth after skirting recession last year.

The central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate again last week to a nearly twoyear low in a bid to stimulate growth.

In Europe, Greece’s successful completion of a debt swap that clears the path for a second round of bailout money allowed the country to avoid a chaotic default that could have reverberated across the continent. But Europe still risks falling into recession as severe government cutbacks bite deeply. The European Central Bank now estimates the euro zone at best can deliver growth of 0.3% this year. At worst, GDP will shrink by 0.5%.

Even Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, saw industrial orders slump 2.7% in January, dimming the outlook for its export sector, which is the backbone of its economy.

And Japan has yet to recover from its earthquake a year ago.

That leaves the United States, the world’s biggest economy, as the primary engine for growth, putting a burden on the U.S. consumer.

SHOP OR DROP Shopping might be an American pastime, and consumer spending accounts for about

two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. But for many Americans, the time has not yet come to return to the malls and pull out the credit cards.

While the U.S. employment report last week showed new jobs were added over the past three months at the fastest pace in six years, unemployment is stalled at 8.3% and wages are nearly stagnant. Average hourly earnings are up 1.9% over the past year, adjusted for inflation they have shrunk.

JPMorgan put the dilemma succinctly in a client note: “The hours are great but the pay’s no good.”

Rising prices add to the pain. Consumer price data to be released on Friday is expected to show U.S. inflation rose by 2.9% year over year in February, unchanged from January.

Even excluding food and the sharp rise in gasoline prices, the CPI is seen up 2.2%, wiping out all the gains made in average pay.

A broader measure that takes into account retail and investment income tells a similar story about Americans losing ground once inflation and taxes are taken into account.

“The trend has been flat to negative since the recession began. Without growth in incomes, consumer spending will be meager,” said Geoff Hall, managing economist at IFR, a Thomson Reuters company.

The result is a reluctant consumer, something borne out by the patchy reports from American retailers. While stores that cater to affluent Americans have been reporting strong sales, those aimed at the country’s great mass of middle- and lower-income customers are struggling.

U.S. retail sales for February, due on Tuesday, are expected to show a healthy 1.0%

gain. But the numbers are notoriously volatile and were disappointingly weak over the holiday season. “If we saw the employment picture change, where people are more sure of getting and keeping jobs in the future, we should see consumption picking up with a lag,” said Aparna Mathur, economist at the American Enterprise Institute.

PUTTING OFF THE PURCHASES Deutsche Bank is reasonably confident U.S. consumers will revive later this year. U.S. economist Peter Hooper ticks off a number of reasons: a rising stock market, up 8.5% already this year, which supports household wealth; rising consumer confidence; and consumer credit growing again thanks to low interest rates.

Auto sales already are rising and, importantly, the debt burden measured against disposable income has plunged from record highs four years ago to 16%, the lowest level since the early 1990s, he said.

Add to that a strengthening jobs market and pent-up consumer demand for longlasting goods such as cars and washing machines, and Americans could well open up their wallets again this year.

“There was a puzzling absence of income growth and consumption late last year, and I suspect that is correcting,” said Hooper.

These developments should prove encouraging to the Federal Reserve, which meets on Tuesday. It is expected to hold off on further bond purchases to stimulate the economy for now. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has left no doubt he wants to see unemployment decline further before he is satisfied that recovery is secure.

Temenos walks away from Misys merger Swiss software company Temenos pulled out of merger talks with rival Misys on Monday, leaving the British firm, which is struggling with a sharp fall in demand, relying on two approaches from private equity to secure a deal.

Misys said it was pursuing a possible cash deal with Vista Equity Partners or a rival private equity combination of CVC Capital Partners and ValueAct Capital.

Banking software specialist Misys, whose clients have tightened their purse strings, has been up for sale at least since a separate merger approach failed last summer, according to analysts. It is seeking a partner to help it cut costs and boost revenue.

Temenos won more time last week to prepare its all-share merger but said on Monday the two companies could not reach an agreement. It could still return to the table if another bidder makes a firm offer.

A source close to the talks said Temenos still believed it made sense for the two groups to combine - both of them are suffering from weak demand from the banking sector - but that the Swiss group had run of patience.

“Although Temenos believes there is major upside from a combination, it is very disciplined in how it evaluates opportunities and could not agree satisfactory terms in a reasonable timescale,” the source said.

Shares in Misys fell 2.5% to 332.5 pence, while Temenos was down 4.3% to 15.50 francs,

making it the worst performer in a flat Swiss midcap index. Analyst George O’Connor at Panmure Gordon said he was not surprised Temenos had walked away.

“The bid was less attractive to shareholders given, in our view, that the combo could not afford a cash ‘sweetener’ and as the operational reality struck home, the difficulties became more real, and the deal did little to help Temenos in its expansion in the United States,” he said.

PRIVATE EQUITY BID Questions remain about the prospect of a bid from private equity, analysts say, despite the field narrowing with Temenos’ withdrawal.

Roger Phillips at Merchant Securities said he was sceptical about Vista’s intentions, as buying Misys would not be in line with the size of its previous deals.

“We think it is more likely that Vista, as the new owner of Kondor (the risk management software business it bought from Thomson Reuters last year), is taking a look under the hood of a competitor,” he said.

He also said ValueAct-CVC was curious, as ValueAct, which holds a 21.5% stake in Misys, had backed the group’s chief executive Mike Lawrie, who announced his departure after unveiling the Temenos deal.

However, Phillips noted that the structure of any deal with CVC was unknown.

Vontobel analyst Panagiotis Spiliopoulos

said it was a sign of Temenos’s strength that it was walking away and was not prepared to do a deal at any price.

“The termination of merger talks marks an important inflection point for Temenos,” he said in a note, reaffirming his “buy” rating and 21 Swiss francs price target for the company.

Misys and Temenos announced on February 3 they had begun talks and four days later said they had agreed on the key terms of the deal, which would see Misys take 53.9% of the equity but the Swiss company’s chief executive and chairman leading the management team.

The talks then triggered a rival approach for the British firm from specialist private equity company Vista Equity Partners, and later a joint approach from ValueAct, Misys’ largest shareholder, and private equity company CVC. Vista has until March 19 to make a firm bid, unless an extension is granted, while CVC and ValueAct have until April 2.

In February, the Financial Times reported that Vista was eying a 360 pence per share bid, valuing Misys at about 1.2 bln pounds ($1.9 bln). Some analysts have questioned that number, however, and there has been speculation the CVC-ValueAct combination was looking at a 325 pence a share bid in order to put a floor under the Vista proposal.

The Temenos-Misys all-share merger plan valued Misys at about 918 mln pounds, according to both companies’ share prices on March 5.

IAG offers EU concessions for bmi takeover British Airways owner IAG has offered concessions to EU antitrust regulators in a bid to get regulatory approval for its takeover of bmi, the British unit of German carrier Lufthansa. The European Commission, tasked with ensuring a level playing field in the 27-member EU, did not provide details of the concessions, in line with its usual policy.

It extended the deadline for a decision on the deal to March 30 from March 16, the EU

executive’s website showed.

The bmi takeover would boost IAG’s share of runway slots at London Heathrow airport to about 52% from 43.1%, allowing it to launch lucrative long-haul routes. IAG also declined to give details of the concessions.

The Commission typically requires airlines to cede slots and offer rivals access to their frequent flyer programmes in return for clearing mergers and acquisitions in the sec-

tor. Lufthansa promised to offer slots to allow new entrants to operate flights on four routes singled out by the regulator, during its 2009 takeover of SN Brussels Airlines. Other concessions related to its code-share agreements and frequent flyer programmes.

Rival and failed bmi bidder Virgin Atlantic has urged antitrust regulators to veto the deal, saying it would harm competition and push up prices.

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

WORLD ª∞RKETS 23

24 WORLD MARKETS

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

Web moguls, Spanx whiz on Forbes list l

Record 1,266 average $3.7 bln each

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim retained his position atop Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s billionaires on Wednesday with an estimated worth of $69 bln, while his Mexican rival Ricardo Salinas Pliego enjoyed the largest increase in wealth.

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates ranked second at $61 bln and Warren Buffett third at $44 bln. France’s Bernard Arnault, the richest person in Europe, repeated at No. 4.

They were the same top four as last year.

The youngest self-made woman at age 41 was Spanx founder Sara Blakely, whose net worth of $1 bln from her business of making slimming undergarments affirmed there was profit in vanity. Blakely, ranking at No. 1,153, was among 104 women on the list.

Fifty-eight countries were represented on the list of a record 1,226 billionaires whose average fortune was $3.7 bln. Some 128 billionaires were new to the Forbes rankings this year, including Colombia’s Alejandro Santo Domingo, 35, the richest new billionaire in the world ($9.5 bln) and the face of Santo Domingo Group after last year’s death of his father.

In addition to the usual aging plutocrats and heirs, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 27, ranked 35th with a net worth of $17.5 bln. The social media heavyweight announced plans last month for an IPO that would value Facebook at a projected $100 bln.

Zuckerberg jumped 17 spots and $4 bln while the combined value of seven Facebook billionaires was $28.7 bln, including the $3.5 bln belonging to Dustin Moskovitz, 27, Zuckerberg’s former Harvard roommate who was listed as the youngest self-made man.

l

U.S. leads with 425; 96 in Russia

Notable drop-offs included “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, whose wealth fell below $1 bln due in part to Britain’s high tax rates and an estimated $150 mln in charitable giving.

Also falling off was Jim Balsillie, the former coCEO and co-chairman of Canada’s Research In Motion, the troubled maker of BlackBerry.

RUSSIA THE NEW NO. 2 The United States led the rankings with 425 billionaires, seemingly unfazed by the burgeoning “Occupy” movement which sought to shine a light on income inequality. Russia overtook mainland China as the country with the second-most billionaires, by a margin of 96 to 95. New to the list was Morocco, which had three billionaires.

Among cities, Moscow led with 78 billionaires

Spain to help clubs pay off tax debts The Spanish government is working with the football league on a plan that would allow clubs to settle debts of 700 mln euros with the tax authorities and 600 mln with the social security system.

The majority of Spanish clubs have slipped deeper into the red in recent years as they struggle to pay spiralling wage and transfer costs and many have been forced into administration following a futile struggle to remain competitive.

A study published last year by the University of Barcelona showed the 20 clubs in Spain’s top division had combined debts of some 3.48 bln euros at the end of the 2009-10 season.

With more than 550 mln owed by the 22 teams in the second tier, Spanish professional soccer is roughly 4 bln euros in the red.

l

Mittal loses $10 bln as steel shares tumble

followed by New York at 58 and London at 39.

Slim, 72, and his family have taken the top spot for three years in a row, climbing up the list for years based largely on assets from his telecommunications empire now led by America Movil .

Slim made much of his money as a telecommunications magnate who has expanded into retail, finance, commodities and energy.

In recent years he has taken larger stakes abroad, owning parts of department store operator Saks Inc, publisher New York Times Co and money manager BlackRock Inc . In June he sold his stake in oil services company Bronco Drilling for a tidy profit.

His fellow Mexican, Salinas Pliego, was the world’s biggest gainer in dollar terms, adding $9.2 bln to his net worth and ranking at No. 37 on the list.

Like Slim, he has benefited from the clubby nature of

Mexico’s business elite, building an empire that includes the country’s No. 2 broadcaster, TV Azteca , and retail conglomerate Grupo Elektra .

In contrast to Salinas Pliego, Forbes listed India’s Lakshmi Mittal as the biggest loser, saying Mittal lost $10.4 bln, falling to a net worth of $20.7 bln and out of the world’s top 10 for the first time since 2004. The drop came after shares in his ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, fell due to surging costs and soft demand in Europe.

Microsoft’s Gates narrowed the gap with Slim this year after the Mexican tycoon’s estimated net worth fell from $74 bln to $69 bln. Forbes estimated Gates’ net worth rose from $56 bln to $61 bln.

Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who passed away in October 2011, entered the ranking at 100, and is worth $9 bln.

Forbes now has a competitor in the billionairelisting business: the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which debuted on Monday with a Top 20 list that is updated each day. Bloomberg hired away Matthew Miller, a former editor of the Forbes list, more than a year ago to head up compilation of the list.

Forbes will launch its Billionaire Real-Time Ticker this month with 50 of the top billionaires updated in real time.

The Bloomberg list will exclude New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, owing to a Bloomberg News policy not to cover Bloomberg LP, a major competitor to Thomson Reuters.

Michael Bloomberg is ranked at 20 in the Forbes list at $22 bln.

Lawsuit to block Empire State Building IPO A group of investors is suing to block a proposed initial public offering by the owner of the 102-storey Empire State Building in at least the second lawsuit of its kind, on grounds that it unfairly undervalues their interests.

The Malkin family, which controls the company that owns the skyscraper, is trying to engineer a “self-interested and one-sided” transaction that leaves smaller investors in the dark about whether the possible $1 bln IPO is fair, according to a complaint filed with the New York state court in Manhattan, similar to a putative class-action lawsuit filed on March 1.

Plaintiffs include investors in companies whose equity could be converted into stock of the Malkins’ proposed new company, Empire State Realty Trust.

That company would be a real estate investment trust whose holdings would include 12 office buildings, six retail properties and land in New York and Connecticut.

Last month, the Malkins filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the IPO, which would consolidate several privately held companies. The shares would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange

under the ticker symbol “ESB”.

But the plaintiffs said the offering awards too much of the value of the underlying properties to the Malkins, and improperly gives the Malkins effective voting control.

In the proposed transaction, the Malkins have also allocated themselves more than $328 mln in “excess” management fees, according to the lawsuit.

Other defendants include the estate of Leona Helmsley, whose late husband Harry helped form the company now overseen by the Malkins. The Malkin family has controlled and managed the Empire State Building since 1961 and the land beneath it since 2002.

The building alone was recently appraised at $2.52 bln. Among its tenants are the fragrance company Coty Inc, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and career networking website operator LinkedIn Corp.

In the nine months ended Sept. 30, the proposed Empire State Realty Trust generated $71 mln of profit on revenue of $382.2 mln, with more than 40% of revenue coming from the Empire State Building.

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

GREECE

High-yielding new bonds fail to lure investors Investors shied away from new, post-swap, Greek bonds on their first trading day on Monday, as some of the highest yields in the government debt universe were not enough to offset fears of another default or a euro zone break-up.

Greece successfully concluded a bond swap last week, under which private sector creditors agreed to exchange their Greek bonds for new ones worth much less.

Investors demanded yields of between roughly 14 and 19% to buy the new bonds. Unusually, yields on the paper maturing earlier were higher than on longer-term debt. This inversion can indicate investors fear a default.

Despite the high prospective l returns, traders said the amount of paper changing hands was minute.

Analysts said the investors in Greece had switched their focus to elections due in April or early May and were in wait-andsee mode.

The signals coming from politicians before and after the polls will be key to gauging how likely it is that recession-ravaged Greece leaves the euro zone to regain economic competitiveness and devalue its still high level of debt.

“Every politician right now in Greece ... (will try) to win votes,” said Athanasios Ladopoulos, partner and senior fund manager at Swiss Investment Managers, a hedge fund. “Do you think anybody will go out and openly say that ... austerity has to be continued? No.” “All those (comments) will create more volatility. The opportunity (to buy Greek bonds) will be after the elections or when they (politicians) start preaching too loudly just before the elections.”

The 2023 bond was bid with a yield of 18.9%, while investors demanded a 13.9% yield to buy the 2042 bond. Bid/ask spreads were around 1 percentage point, indicating a wide gulf between buyers and

sellers and highlighting the low volume that often characterises trade in distressed debt. Ladopoulos said he expected to see the yields above 20% in the near future.

BETWEEN CYPRUS, BELIZE Exotix, a brokerage firm specialised in distressed debt, said Greece was the third highest yielding country in the world behind Cyprus in first place and the central American state of Belize.

Debt issued by countries that rating agencies view as “highly speculative”, such as Pakistan, Iraq or Venezuela yielded less than the new Greek bonds.

Fears that the private sector may remain behind Greece’s public creditors in the queue for repayment after the European Central Bank refused to participate in the debt swap may also keep investors from buying the new bonds for now, analysts said.

“The private sector’s slice of the cake is now quite low. That means that if they want to do another debt restructuring only through the private sector they will just have to wipe you out,” said Exotix economist Gabriel Sterne.

He said the prices of the new Greek bonds already factored in a lot of risks surrounding Greece and he expected demand from hedge funds to gradually pick up. Most eager to sell would probably be non-Greek banks, whose Greek bond holdings have damaged their reputation and hurt their market access in the past year.

Traders said “technicalities” were also keeping trading subdued. For instance, with no prices available yet for credit default swap contracts to insure the new bonds against default, investors were not sure how much it would cost to hedge their investment.

“It’s too early, the dust needs to settle,” one trader said.

Volumes low on first day of trading

Bailout can make Greek debt sustainable, but risks remain Greece’s second bailout package can make its debt sustainable, but Athens will have to stick firmly to agreed policies until 2030 and may need more money after 2014, an updated debt sustainability analysis by international lenders shows.

The analysis, prepared by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF for euro zone finance ministers and obtained exclusively by Reuters, shows that after the debt swap at the weekend, Greek debt could fall to 116.5% of GDP in 2020 and 88% in 2030.

“Results show that the programme l can place Greek debt on a sustainable trajectory,” said the analysis, marked strictly confidential. However, it also warned that the debt trajectory was extremely sensitive and the programme was “accident prone”. l It said the restructuring of privately held Greek bonds would help to initially reduce debt, but that debt would spike up again to 164% of GDP in 2013 due to the shrinking economy and incomplete fiscal adjustment.

“Once the fiscal adjustment is complete, growth has been restored, and privatisation receipts are accruing, steady reductions of the debt ratio commence. Greece would have to maintain good policies through 2030 to reduce the ratio below 100% of GDP,” the report said.

The euro zone may also have to be prepared to lend even more money to Athens, the report said.

It said that when Greece tries to return to markets after 2014, it would first have to issue short-term debt and still pay high interest rates because its debt ratio would still be high, it would have senior debt to pay back first and it would need to establish a considerable track record with the market.

“This would initially discourage large issuances and imply continued reliance on official financing, as committed by Euro area member states on standard EFSF borrowing terms, provided Greece successfully implements its program,” the report said.

LOTS OF RISKS The road to sustainable debt will be long and fraught with risks, the authors said, underlining the delicate balance Greek politicians are going to have to make in the coming decades.

“The Greek authorities may not be able to implement reforms at the pace envisioned in the baseline,” it said.

“Greater wage flexibility may in practice be resisted by economic agents; product and service market liberalisation may continue to be plagued by strong opposition from vested interests; and business environment reforms may also remain bogged down in bureaucratic delays,” it said. It may take Greece much more time than assumed to identify and implement the necessary structural and fiscal reforms to improve the primary balance from -1% in 2012 to the required 4.5% of GDP, it said.

“Concerning assets sales, delays may arise due to market-related constraints, encumbrances on assets, or political hurdles. And of course a less favorable macro outcome would itself further hurt policy implementation prospects,” it said. In the less favourable scenario, the debt ratio would peak at 170% of GDP in 2014. Once growth recovers, fiscal policy achieves its target and privatization picks up, debt would begin to slowly decline. Debt to GDP would fall to around 145.5% of GDP by 2020.

The analysis forecasts that after another year of recession this year, the Greek economy will stabilise in 2013 and see a mild recovery in 2014-2017 and then growth at its potential rate of 2.5% annually.

Athens is expected to generate a primary surplus of 4.5% in 2014 from a 1% deficit this year — a crucial factor because if the primary surplus is stuck below 1.5% of GDP, Greek debt would be on an every increasing path.

Greece is expected to obtain 45 bln euros from privatisation until 2020, although it is likely to get only 12 bln by 2014, the report said. If it gets on 10 bln euros by 2020, the debt ratio in that year would be 130%.

Debt could fall to 116.5% of GDP in 2020 May need more money after 2014 if market access tough

Biders for Olympic IBC complex Greece has invited bids for the management rights to the sprawling International Broadcasting Center (IBC) in Athens, as it pushes ahead with privatisation plans intended to raise 19 bln euros by 2015 to cut its debts.

The IBC, built for the 2004 Olympic Games, is one of the biggest single structure buildings in Greece with 73,000 sq. m. of shop and office area and 59,200 sq.m. of underground parking.

It has been used as a shopping mall since the Games and also includes some 21,600 sq.m. of vacant ground originally intended as an Olympic museum.

It is currently operated by shopping centre developer Lamda Development, which has a 40year lease that expires in 2047.

Initial bids for the rights to exclusive use of the complex for 90 years are due by April 4, the privatisation fund said in a statement.

The Athens government has been under heavy pressure to raise privatisation revenues as it fights to stave off bankruptcy and cut a public debt burden amounting to 160% of GDP. On Wednesday, it invited bids for state-owned natural gas company DEPA and its gas grid unit DESFA.

25

Piraeus completes buyback of subordinated bonds Piraeus Bank, Greece’s fourth-largest lender, said it has completed a tender offer to buy back 489 mln euros of subordinated bonds and hybrid securities in a bid to boost its capital adequacy.

The bank said it bought back 144 mln euros out of the 489 mln outstanding, with the move strengthening its core tier 1 capital ration 23 basis points to 7.6%.

Greek lenders are battling rising bad debts and a shrinking deposit base as the country enters a fifth year of economic contraction.

Banks will need to recapitalise in a variety of ways after writedowns resulting from a debt exchange which entailed a 53.5% nominal writedown on Greek government bonds in their portfolios.

Peers National Bank of Greece and EFG Eurobank made similar tender offers at the start of the year.

Danos to auction Red Cross Hellas properties A tender auction will be held on March 23 with property experts Danos selling 56 properties in Athens and Thessaloniki belonging to the the Red Cross of Greece with a total starting price of 8.2 mln euros. The auction is expected to fetch more than 10 mln euros.

“The Greek real estate sector is at a distressed phase and many organisations are considering it urgent to plan the best utilisation of their real estate assets,” said Panos Danos, FRICS, C.Env., Managing Director of Danos, an alliance member of BNP Real Estate.

“The Greek Red Cross has a number of properties coming from donations that have never been sufficiently exploited since it had no real use for them,” Panos Danos said, adding that, “the Red Cross has decided to sell these assets and divert money to their every day operations. These properties are estimated to be worth approximately 10 mln euros.”

The properties include shops and storage, offices, apartments, plots and some prime locations such as a 290 sq.m. listed house on Voulgari Ave. in Piraeus, a plot and house on Patision and Irakleiou Aves. in Athens.

The consultants of the Red Cross are Danos Chartered Surveyors with offices in Cyprus and Greece and have commenced a tender for these properties. The tender can be found on www.danos.gr and ends on March 23.

DEH sees €6.2 bln of sales in 2012 Power producer PPC/DEH said it expected to post sales of 6.2 bln euros in 2012. It did not provide an estimate of its performance last year.

Revenue from electricity sales in 2012 was seen at 5.7 bln euros, the company said in a bourse filing.

The estimates were made in the 2012 company budget approved by its board.

PPC expects its 2012 operating profit margin, or EBITDA margin, at between 17 and 18%.

The forecasts were made assuming an average oil price of $109 a barrel in 2012 and a euro/dollar exchange rate of 1.30.

SEC employee arrested on bribery charges An employee at Greece’s stock market regulator was arrested and charged with bribery and extortion.

The staffer, 42, worked at the regulator’s Thessaloniki branch and allegedly sought bribes of 1,500 euros from the head of a broker-dealer in the northern Greek city to prevent regulatory checks being carried out. The broker-dealer reported the incident to the police’s internal affairs unit which arrested the man after he accepted marked banknotes amounting to 1,500 euros at a meeting with the head of the securities firm in Athens.

This is the first time an employee of the Capital Markets Commission has been arrested on suspicion of accepting bribes in its 15-year history. It comes as Greece, near the bottom among Western European and European Union nations in corruption rankings, tries to show foreign lenders it is serious about reforming to pull itself out of a debt crisis.

The securities regulator, which has a staff of about 150, condemned the alleged act.

26

CSE NEWS

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012 CSE CODE OASIS

ΟΑΣΗΣ Kωδ.

Index performance CSE General Index FTSE/CySE 20 FTSE/XA & XAK Banking MAIN MARKET MAIN MARKET INDEX BANK OF CYPRUS BOCY ΤΡΚΥ MARFIN POPULAR BANK CPB ΛΑΙΚ HELLENIC BANK HB ΕΛΗΤ LOGICOM LOG ΛΟΤΖ LOUIS LTD LUI ΛΟΥΗ A. TSOKKOS HOTELS TSH ΤΣΟΚ ORPHANIDES ORF ΟΡΦΑ SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO PARALLEL MARKET PARALLEL MARKET INDEX WOOLWORTH (CYPRUS) PROP FWW ΓΟΥΛ VASSILIKO CEMENT VCW ΤΣΙΒ ERMES DEPARTMENT STORES ERME ΕΡΜΕ A&P (ANDREOU&PARASKEV.) APE ΑΝΠΑ MARFIN CLR PUBLIC CO LI ΛΕΠΕ A. ZORBAS & SONS ZRP ΖΟΡΠ K. ATHIENITIS CONTR. - DEV. ACD ΑΘΗΕ G.A.P VASSILOPOULOS GAP ΒΑΣΙ KANIKA HOTELS KAN ΚΑΝΙ MITSIDES MIT ΜΙΤΣ LIBERTY LIFE INSURANCE LIB ΛΙΠΕ PHIL. ANDREOU PHIL ΦΙΛΑ LORDOS HOTELS HOLDINGS LHH ΛΟΞΕ LORDOS UNITED PLASTIC LPL ΛΟΡ∆ SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO ALTERNATIVE MARKET ALTERNATIVE INDEX A. PANAYIDES CONTRACTING APC ΑΠΑΝ AD SHOPPING GALLERIES AD ΑΘΩΣ ALKIS HADJ. (FROU-FROU) FBI ΦΡΟΥ A.L. PROCHOICE FIN. SERV. PROP ΠΡΟΠ AMATHUS PUBLIC LTD ANC ΑΜΑΘ ASTARTI DEVELOPMENT AST ΑΣΤΑ ATLANTIC INSURANCE ATL ΑΤΑΣ AVACOM PUBLIC CO. LTD. ACS ΑΒΑΚ BLUE ISLAND FISH FARMING BLUE ΜΠΛΕ CCC HOLDINGS & INV. CCCH ΣΙΧΟ CCC TOURIST ENT. CCCT ΣΙΤΟ CHARILAOS APOSTOLIDES CHAP ΧΑΡΙ CHRIS JOANNOU LTD CJ ΙΟΑΝ CLARIDGE INVESTMENTS CLA ΚΛΑΡ CLR INVESTMENT FUND CLL ΣΛΕΠ CONSTANTINOU BROS. CBH ΚΩΝΣ CPI ENTER. DEVELOPMENT CPIH ΚΕΑΕ C.T.O. PUBLIC CO CTO ΣΤΟ CYPRINT LTD. CYP ΣΑΙΠ CYPRUS CEMENT CCC ΚΕΤΣ CYPRUS FOREST IND. CFI ∆ΒΚ∆ CYPRUS TRADING CORP. CTC ΣΤΣ∆ CYVENTURE CAPITAL EXE ΒΕΝΤ DIMCO PLC DES ΝΤΙΜ DISPLAY ART LTD DISP ΝΤΙΑ ELLINAS FINANCE ELF ΕΛΛΗ ELMA HOLDINGS ELMA ΕΛΕΠ EMPIRE CAPITAL INV. EMP ΕΜ EUROPROFIT CAPITAL ERP ΓΙΟΥ EXELIXIS INVESTMENT EXIN ΕΞΕΠ FILOKTIMATIKI PES ΦΙΛΟ K & G COMPLEX KG ΚΚΟΜ KARA KARAOLIS GROUP KARKOTIS MANUFACTURING KARK ΚΑΡΚ KEO LTD KEO ΚΕΟ KOSMOS INSURANCE COS ΚΟΣΑ KRONOS PRESS DIST. KRO ΚΡΟΝ JUPITER PORTFOLIO INV. ARI ΤΖΕΠ L.P. TRANSBETON TRB ΤΡΑΝ LEPTOS CALYPSO HOTELS LCH ΛΕΠΤ MALLOUPAS & PAPACOSTAS MPT ΜΑΠΑ MINERVA INSURANCE MINE ΜΙΝΕ MODESTOU SOUND & VISION MSV ΜΟ∆Ε NEMESIS CONSTRUCTIONS NEM ΝΕΜΕ O.C. OPTIONS CHOICE OPT ΟΚΑΣ PANDORA INVESTMENTS PND ΠΑΝ∆ PIPIS FARM PIPF ΠΙΠΗ PETROLINA HOLDINGS PHL ΛΙΝΑ PIERIDES HOLDINGS PGE ΠΙΕΡ PRIMETEL PLC PTL ΠΤΕΛ PROODOS AGROS AGRO ΑΓΡΟ RENOS HADJIOANNOU FARMS FRH ΡΕΝΟ ROYAL HIGHGATE LTD ROY ΡΟΧΑ SALAMIS TOURS SAL ΣΑΛΑ SFS GROUP PUBLIC CO. SFS ΕΣΕΦ STADEMOS HOTELS SHL ΣΤΑ∆ STARIO INVESTMENTS STAR ΣΤΕΠ TOP KINISIS TRAVEL TOP ΤΟΚΙ TOXOTIS INVESTMENTS COV ΤΟΕΠ UNIFAST FIN. & INV. UFI ΦΑΣΤ VISION INTL PEOPLE GROUP VIP ΒΙΖΝ SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO APPROVED INVESTMENTS / EΠEN∆YTIKOI OPΓAN. INVESTMENT INDEX ACTIBOND GROWTH FUND ACT ΑΚΕΠ APOLLO INVESTMENT FUND APOL ΑΠΕΠ FINIKAS AMMOCHOSTOU CONF ΚΟΕΠ CYTRUSTEES INV. PUBLIC CO CYTR ΣΑΕΠ DEMETRA INV. PUBLIC CO. DEM ∆ΗΕΠ DODONI PORTFOLIO DOD ∆ΩΕΠ HARVEST CAPITAL HCM ΧΑΕΠ

Number

Nominal

Market

Shares ('000) Aριθµός µετοχών

Value euro Aξία EUR

Cap. ('000) Kεφαλ.

EUR

899 528 1 611 111 308 004 74 080 460 547 246 214 80 966

114 252 71 936 175 000 182 725 285 713 15 296 13 416 38 750 60 250 8 200 90 804 45 000 35 000 48 006

36 572 128 936 98 861 158 660 107 226 99 925 39 109 72 562 15 438 44 000 141 692 50 000 10 070 108 163 288 141 160 714 24 379 208 700 5 140 137 611 3 059 92 079 14 973 80 999 13 506 16 000 348 333 47 853 31 344 34 000 4 805 100 000 22 343 7 967 30 978 17 985 20 400 62 446 8 571 101 683 43 211 78 415 14 900 61 056 46 355 424 435 9 660 87 500 22 100 300 194 3 590 272 915 33 000 36 529 66 520 32 500 38 581 12 212 20 700 9 988 75 000

58 430 56 582 49 385 44 494 200 000 282 483 14 000

1.00 0.85 0.43 0.35 0.17 0.35 0.35

0.34 0.43 0.34 0.17 0.27 0.34 0.35 0.17 0.35 1.03 0.10 0.17 0.35 0.35

0.35 0.17 0.26 0.09 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.17 0.43 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.15 0.35 0.17 0.87 0.43 0.43 1.73 0.85 0.43 0.09 0.35 0.62 0.09 0.87 0.09 0.29 0.87 0.17 0.34 0.35 0.43 0.31 0.43 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.14 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.17 1.73 0.03 0.17 0.43 1.00 0.69 0.17 0.34 0.03 0.05 $ 0.10

0.17 0.34 0.10 0.30 0.87 0.02 0.17

Book Value Price to Per Share euro Λογιστική αξία

Profit/(Loss)

Book Value 2010 Times EUR ('000) Tιµή προς Κέρδη µετά λογιστ. αξ. φορολ.

464 156 436 611 93 017 20 965 13 816 11 326 7 287 1 047 179

3.01 2.34 1.50 0.74 0.50 0.56 1.86 1.50

0.17 0.12 0.20 0.38 0.06 0.08 0.05 0.15

114 320 26 760 28 875 33 804 19 143 9 178 9 928 6 936 6 326 5 166 3 360 4 320 3 395 3 120 274 631

1.78 3.01 0.49 0.26 0.28 2.40 4.39 0.33 0.68 3.50 0.09 0.12 1.69 0.56 1.40

0.18 0.12 0.34 0.72 0.24 0.25 0.17 0.55 0.15 0.18 0.42 0.79 0.06 0.12 0.31

6 217 12 894 15 818 3 173 9 650 4 996 27 376 11 610 3 551 11 880 7 085 3 000 201 5 408 2 881 14 464 7 314 8 348 1 645 22 018 9 789 32 228 2 096 7 290 810 5 920 6 967 41 154 940 4 760 2 306 11 000 447 1 115 20 136 1 619 13 260 4 996 1 971 7 118 6 914 2 352 149 15 875 464 42 444 773 49 875 1 547 15 010 5 816 2 729 2 640 2 922 6 652 7 475 386 3 175 414 200 75 000 598 261

0.90 0.06 0.51 0.04 0.52 0.26 0.73 0.29 0.77 2.25 0.51 0.25 0.46 0.44 0.09 0.75 0.65 0.12 0.36 1.66 7.84 1.81 0.49 0.23 0.35 0.76 0.06 0.05 0.20 0.79 2.47 0.62 0.07 0.12 3.71 0.48 0.74 0.3920 0.41 0.94 0.62 0.14 0.02 0.57 0.22 0.24 0.36 1.29 0.42 0.04 3.43 0.04 0.16 0.52 1.89 2.34 0.05 0.41 0.05 0.12 0.15 0.77 NAV

0.19 1.67 0.31 0.57 0.17 0.19 0.96 0.55 0.30 0.12 0.10 0.24 0.04 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.46 0.35 0.90 0.10 0.41 0.19 0.29 0.39 0.17 0.49 0.33 17.20 0.15 0.18 0.19 0.18 0.27 1.22 0.18 0.19 0.88 0.56 0.07 0.26 0.22 0.43 0.45 0.04 0.41 0.22 0.44 0.17 1.39 0.47 0.25 0.51 0.15 0.05 0.10 0.64 0.43 0.17 6.61 0.73 Disc/Prem

1 169 5 658 988 6 674 40 000 2 825 1 400

0.0388 0.2809 0.0206 0.3382 0.7552 0.0174 0.0643

-48.45 -64.40 -2.91 -55.65 -73.52 -42.53 55.52

9M 2010 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2010

9M 2011 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2011

Profit/(Loss)

2011 EUR ('000) Κέρδη µετά φορολ.

2010

9M '10

9M '11

2011

306 000 87 100 8 889 3 274 -10 243 -17 397 3 328 380 951

247 801

-801 167

82 700

-291 493

12 007

-73 081

-1 011 000 -3 334 900 -100 658 3 584 -60 932 -6 754 -3 653 -4 514 313

2 181

3 024

7 742

-4 830

-8 043

-1 527

3 101

19

347 489

-1 169 055

2010

9M '10

9M '11

2011

8 848 1 310 6 309 4 108 -47 1 846 25 987 -1 903 -703 2 574 -8 419 -1 453 456 71 38 984

7 384

3 780

2 379

-2 992

1 730

287

793

67

12 286

1 142

6 674 -1 174 245 4 122 -1 732 989 2 133 -1 600 -77 -947 -2 667 -1 333 759 -1 302 4 090

2010

1H '10

1H '11

2011

1 767 -3 960 4 363 -5 724 -1 339 -11 422 4 108 -2 203 257 -3 542 -6 512 1 542 -622 -3 641 -7 007 440 -157 1 211 -1 031 -6 432 568 13 270 1 157 2 183 -380 575 -5 602 -504 -980 1 048 614 -1 668 -844 -738 -3 358 -760 969 -2 094 -501 -3 469 -1 746 -4 952 -594 5 981 -9 573 -9 238 313 8 617 11 -5 231 362 14 344 131 -9 983 1 165 -1 062 -181 -25 -43 -330 -66 438

758

840

373 -12 265 2 334 -2 594 -2 121 -6 400 2 306 -2 754 570 2 416 -3 519 -1 966 -375 -3 942 -7 654 -4 006 -65 -3 921 -513 -4 630 -4 127 5 693 1 104 1 604 -526 -257

-33

-10 698

1 920

1 121

-454

-373

-2 181

-2 978

2 139

2 240

-162

-134

185

417

-1 834

1 969

-5 098

-3 664

521

773

-99

-189

-2 445

-2 493

-2 625

-2 739

-1 512

-4 852

-62

-6

1 486

805

-214

-234

-4 077

-3 125

372

-463

5 986

1 756

160

1 239

1 291

940

35

215

-6 494

-2 943

-261

-221

-72

-111

-18

-22

-1 030

1 991

-43 777

-40 934

-551 -212 -15 562 1 608 5 130 -2 198 -110 -3 948 -804 100 -1 392 -438 -6 299 1 345 -3 185 -281 2 076 -2 192 -16 880 -1 314 10 753 -868 -6 352 73 151 546 964 -19 100 1 577 -1 737 -689 11 -37 2 753 -102 297

2010

1H '10

1H '11

2011

-760 -3 213 -2 533 -10 875 -15 581 -5 227 -6

-699

-59

-3 697

-1 207

-737 -4 301 -1 465 -10 771 -14 687 -6 357 -255

659

-162

-121

1 027

-752

3 679

-779

-940

-508

-89

-3 274

-6 279

80

323

542

274

-2 975

-1 396

-272

-173

-7 715

-4 233

-1 569

36

-3 761

-761

-125

-191

3 594

1 121

-8 461

-8 696

-196

-426

4 584

4 281

147

-631

-2 182

-2 464

-187

-191

81

-347

815

234

-3 309

1 093

-2 630

-3 875

-1 107

-787

-345

-255

-138

-151

-55

-16

-325

-314

-10 070

-3 086

-5 866

-826

-4 966

-2 488

6

-12

P/E ratio 2011

Dividend Per

Dividend Yield

Dividend Per

Results

Share 2010 Cents

% on 2010

Share 2011 Cents

n/a n/a n/a 5.85 n/a n/a n/a 0.12

5.48 n/a 117.86 8.20 n/a 9.28 4.65 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 4.47 n/a 14.30

2012 High Low EUR EUR Aνώτατο Kατώτατο

Last Close EUR Kλείσιµο

Price 31/12/2011 EUR Tιµή 31/12/2011

31/12/2011 Ποσ. Μετ.

31/12/2011

% Change

since

385.85 134.85 365.45

265.27 94.24 173.85

272.46 96.96 283.35

295.94 104.60 196.84

-7.93 -7.30 43.95

Cents

377.70 0.76 0.39 0.36 0.31 0.04 0.05 0.12

255.25 0.52 0.24 0.30 0.26 0.03 0.05 0.09

263.10 0.52 0.27 0.30 0.28 0.03 0.05 0.09

286.83 0.61 0.30 0.36 0.27 0.04 0.05 0.12

-8.27 -15.41 -8.75 -16.34 5.20 -18.92 -9.80 -25.62

Cents 5.80

676.80 0.34 0.40 0.17 0.19 0.07 0.69 1.10 0.18 0.12 0.65 0.05 0.10 0.10 0.07

647.60 0.30 0.35 0.15 0.16 0.06 0.46 0.74 0.16 0.10 0.62 0.04 0.10 0.08 0.06

659.32 0.32 0.37 0.17 0.19 0.07 0.60 0.74 0.18 0.11 0.63 0.04 0.10 0.10 0.07

656.6 0.32 0.35 0.167 0.18 0.06 0.65 1.00 0.18 0.11 0.63 0.05 0.10 0.08 0.06

0.41 0.31 7.83 -1.20 3.35 6.35 -7.41 -26.00 -0.56 -4.55 0.00 -21.28 -2.04 16.87 8.33

740.23

723.91

728.16 0.17 0.10 0.16 0.02 0.09 0.05 0.70 0.16 0.23 0.27 0.05 0.06 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.09 0.30 0.04 0.32 0.16 3.20 0.35 0.14 0.09 0.06 0.37 0.02 0.86 0.03 0.14 0.48 0.11 0.02 0.14 0.65 0.09 0.65 0.08 0.23 0.07 0.16 0.03 0.01 0.26 0.01 0.10 0.08 0.57 0.07 0.05 1.62 0.01 0.08 0.08 0.10 0.23 0.01 0.26 0.02 0.02 1.00

738.87 0.17 0.11 0.16 0.02 0.10 0.05 0.83 0.16 0.21 0.26 0.07 0.06 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.09 0.31 0.05 0.32 0.18 3.20 0.32 0.17 0.09 0.06 0.38 0.02 0.62 0.03 0.15 0.48 0.12 0.03 0.14 0.70 0.09 0.65 0.09 0.23 0.08 0.19 0.04 0.01 0.21 0.01 0.11 0.08 0.52 0.06 0.06 1.62 0.01 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.23 0.01 0.26 0.02 0.02 1.00

-1.45 0.00 -9.09 0.00 0.00 -10.00 0.00 -15.66 0.00 9.52 3.85 -28.57 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -3.23 -20.00 0.00 -11.11 0.00 9.37 -17.65 0.00 0.00 -2.63 0.00 38.71 0.00 -6.67 0.00 -8.33 -33.33 0.00 -7.14 0.00 0.00 -11.11 0.00 -12.50 -15.79 -25.00 0.00 23.81 0.00 -9.09 0.00 9.62 16.67 -16.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 -11.11 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

497.33

441.63

486.44 0.02 0.10 0.02 0.15 0.20 0.01 0.10

454.51 0.02 0.09 0.03 0.14 0.19 0.01 0.10

7.03 0.00 11.11 -33.33 7.14 5.26 0.00 0.00

Cents 9.00 10.00

% 17.44 36.90

2.00

7.07

Cents 1.80 1.50 1.30 2.24

% 5.63 4.03 7.88 12.11

3.00 7.00

5.00 9.46

4.00

6.35

1.00

10.31

Cents

%

Cents

0.89

% 5.56

0.91

9.00

12.86

7.00

1.00

4.35

0.50

12.50

3.00

0.94

4.00

10.81

7.00

26.92

5.10

8.95

3.00

1.85

2.00

25.00

Cents

%

6.80

Cents

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012 CSE CODE OASIS

ΟΑΣΗΣ Kωδ.

CSE NEWS

Number

Nominal

Market

Book Value

Shares ('000) Aριθµός µετοχών

Value euro Aξία EUR

Cap. ('000) Kεφαλ.

EUR

Per Share euro Λογιστική αξία

NAV

Disc/Prem

56 545 11 000 20 247 2 729 2 729 1 364 13 468

0.51 0.51 0.09 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.17

5 089 440 405 2 183 5 458 818 3 367 76 474

0.1778 0.0786 0.0381 1.0180 2.1607 0.6150 0.2731

-49.38 -49.11 -47.51 -21.41 -7.44 -2.44 -8.46

812 1 500 202 23 469 1 571 385 16 250 228 469 540 218 5 519 8 643 1 894 5 933 5 417 702 6 298 1 240 36 404 83 330 201 025

0.1796 0.293 -0.61 -0.06 -0.11 -0.01 1.35 0.086 0.33 0.2495 0.11 0.45 0.06 -0.34 -0.27 0.29 0.000 -0.04 -0.1180 0.53 0.13

APPROVED INVESTMENTS / EΠEN∆YTIKOI OPΓAN.

INTERFUND INVESTMENTS ISCHIS INVESTMENT REGALLIA HOLD. & INV. TRIENA INV. INCOME TRIENA INV. CAPITAL TRIENA INTERNATIONAL UNIGROWTH INVESTMENTS SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO SHIPPING COMPANIES SECTOR SPECIAL CATEGORY / AIANTAS INVESTMENTS M.S. BLAST SYSTEMS CEILFLOOR CYPRUS AIRWAYS D.H. CYPROTELS D&M TELEMARKETING DOME INVESTMENTS EFREMICO HOLDINGS G&K EXCLUSIVE FASHIONS KARYES INVESTMENTS KNOSSOS INV. K. KYTHREOTIS HOLDINGS LASER INVESTMENT GROUP LIBRA GROUP OCEAN TANKERS ROLANDOS ENTERPRISES SAFS HOLDINGS SEA STAR CAPITAL SUPHIRE HOLDINGS USB BANK WOODLAND DESIGNS PLC SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO

INF ISXI REG TINC TCAP TINT UNI

ΙΝΕΠ ΙΣΕΠ ΡΕΕΠ ΤΕΕΠ ΤΚΕΠ Τ∆ΕΠ ΓΙΕΠ

Price to

Profit/(Loss)

Book Value 2010 Times EUR ('000) Tιµή προς Κέρδη µετά λογιστ. αξ. φορολ.

-12 850 -112 -195 389 -446 -7 -127 -51 543

9M 2010 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2010

9M 2011 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2011

-11 689

-3 619

-118

-72

-113

-75

122

122

-356

-2

ΑΙΕΠ ΑΒΝΕ ΣΙΦΛ ΚΑΕΡ ∆ΡΟΥ ΤΕΛΕ ΝΤΟ∆ ΕΦΡΕ ΕΞΦΑ ΚΑΕΠ ΚΝΕΠ ΚΥΘΡ ΛΕΕΠ ΛΙΠΡ ΤΑΝΚ ΡΟΛΑ ΣΑΦΣ ΣΕΑΣ ΣΑΠΦ ΤΡΑΓ ΓΟΥΤ

81 202 150 000 5 055 391 155 157 138 7 700 25 000 11 385 6 698 2 000 21 827 42 450 61 739 189 377 296 665 54 166 70 220 629 785 124 009 60 674 13 000

0.21 0.17 0.03 0.086 0.17 0.12 0.43 0.43 0.68 0.43 0.17 0.17 0.06 0.01 $0.20 0.17 0.17 0.04 0.09 0.57 0.17

MARKET TOTAL / OΛIKO AΓOPAΣ

-94.43 0.03 -0.07 -1.05 -0.09 -5.00 0.48 0.23 0.21 1.08 0.09 0.29 2.47 -0.03 -0.07 0.35 33.33 -0.26 -0.08 1.14 50.55

2 197 570

2011 EUR ('000) Κέρδη µετά φορολ.

P/E ratio 2011

Dividend Per

Dividend Yield

Dividend Per

Results

Share 2010 Cents

% on 2010

Share 2011 Cents

-9 493 -165 -150 331 -136 -36 -303 -48 525

3

-1

-75

-43

-37 843

-11 682

-214

-43

28

-27

-1 353 232 -31 800 -335 -1 938 221 -3 507 -180 774 999 -2 378 -7 100 -50 257 93 -173 -50 598 -764 -6 534 -916 -155 728

-74

-70

-25 382

-29 288

2010 AIAS ANS CFL CAIR DHH TLM DOME EFR EXF KAR KNO KYTH LAS LHG OCT ROL SAFS SEAS SUP USB WOOD

Profit/(Loss)

2012 High Low EUR EUR Aνώτατο Kατώτατο

27

Last Close EUR Kλείσιµο

Price 31/12/2011 EUR Tιµή 31/12/2011

31/12/2011 Ποσ. Μετ.

31/12/2011

0.09 0.04 0.02 0.80 2.00 0.60 0.25

0.10 0.04 0.02 0.80 2.00 0.60 0.25

-10.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

0.01 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.05 0.65 0.02 0.07 0.27 0.01 0.13 0.14 0.01 0.02 0.10 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.60 6.41

0.01 0.01 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.05 0.65 0.02 0.07 0.27 0.01 0.13 0.14 0.01 0.02 0.10 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.60 6.41

0.00 -

% Change

since

0.00

2011

146 226

642

-1 534

-66 855

-67 471

-1 856 -18 954 -9 100 -245 -701 35 -260 -180 87 612 -2 656 -11 700 -32 272 -328 -320 -16 501 -60 -6 248 -4 062 -104 736

211 300

-1 288 000

-4 765 781

-53

-79

-1 480

-449

-66

44

-160

-75

-103

36

313

369

-1 198

-706

-10 748

-19 576

-3

64

-205

-40

-27 072

-12 257

-234

-137

-989

-3 801

0.06

0.03

source: Eurivex Ltd. NAV: Net Asset Value

PAT:Profit After Tax

Bold: Final results

EPS: Earnings per Share based on existing number of shares.

P/E: Price to Earnings ratio. Weighted P/E ratio: Calculated based on market cap weighting of profit reporting companies, Book Value: According to our estimates. N/A Indicates Not Applicable, Price 31/12/2009 is the closing price or in case of New Listings the opening price.

EMERGING MARKET (N.E.A.) FOCUS FINANCIAL SERVICES CONSTANTINOU BROS PROPERTIES CYPRUS LIMNI RESORTS & GOLF PHONE MARKETING S.A. ITTL TRADE TOURIST & LEISURE INT'L LIFE GENERAL INSURANCE SA ORCA INVESTMENT PLC P.C. SPLASH WATER PUBLIC CO. WARGAMING PUBLIC CO. TOTAL

CSE Code EXTE/EXTE ΚΩΑΜ/CBAM ΛΙΜΝΗ/LIMNI PHONE/PHONE ΙΤΤΛ/ITTL INLE ΟΡΚΑ/ORCA ΠΚΣΓ/PCSW ΓΚ/WG

No. of Shares (000) 1 690 1 950 300 000 1 575 100 000 8 057 1 200 35 052 3 400

Market Cap EUR (000) 11 830 36 855 300 000 5 513 75 000 21 834 14 280 42 062 3 400 510 774

Latest price EUR 7.00 18.90 1.00 3.50 0.75 2.71 11.9 1.20 1.00

Nominal Value EUR 0.30 0.01 0.10 0.30 0.50 1.00 0.01 0.25 0.10

Listing Date 29/3/10 29/3/10 29/3/10 29/3/10 06/8/10 21/7/11 10/9/10 10/10/11 2/11/11

WARRANTS EUROPROFIT (WAR. 2005/2012) ALKIS HADJ. FROU-FROU (WAR. 2015) AMATHUS NAVIGATION (WAR.07-2013) UNIGROWTH INVESTMENTS (WAR.10/12) TOTAL

EMERGING MARKET (N.E.A.) GreenTea SA - Unsecured/Unguaranteed

Ignores weighted number of shares in circulation Forecasted profits are liable to change without notice and responsibility No. of warrants (000) 893 24831 17606 2218

CSE Code GRTEA

Mkt Cap (000) 9 497 176 319 1 000

No. of Bonds 1040

Exercise Period

Exercise Price euro cents

Expiry Date

30 October - 2005 until 2012 20-30 Jun 2001-2015 1-15 May & 1-15 Nov 07-2013 1-15 Nov 2010 and 2012

8.67 173 20c or EUR 35c 29

30-10-2012 30-06-2005 15-11-2013 15/11/2012

Latest Close 0.01 0.02 0.01 0.01

Market Cap EUR (000) 104 000 000

Latest price EUR 100 000

Listing Date 8 Nov 2011

Type Bonds Corporate

DISCLAIMER: The information, comments, analyses and financial data published in this newspaper were obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed and may change without notice.

Any of the information or opinions published herein should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell investments. No liability is accepted whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this publication.

28

BACK PAGE

FINANCIAL MIRROR, March 14 - 20, 2012

Stocks may avert pullback… again!

WALL ST WEEKAHEAD For a moment, U.S. stocks looked like they were headed for a longawaited pullback last week.

But that didn’t happen.

After the latest signs of a healthier economy, stocks may have more room to rally in the week ahead.

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index registered another week of gains on Friday, its fifth in six weeks, once again defying calls for a reversal in its five-month rally.

Friday also marked the three-year anniversary of the S&P 500’s plunge to a 12-year low, a move that was followed by a sharp rally. The S&P 500 still is up 102% from that low. “Everyone’s looking for a correction here, which just tells me we’re probably going to have another little run up before we get that correction,” said Scott Billeaudeau, a portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset Management in Minneapolis.

Much of the optimism has come from signs of further improvement in the U.S. economy. Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report — the most widely watched U.S. economic indicator — gave the stock market more wind in its sails.

The S&P 500 ended the week up 0.1%, even though on Tuesday, it marked its weakest day so far in 2012 on concerns about a default by Greece on its country’s debt.

Still, Friday’s news of a technical default by the country was mostly brushed aside by investors. A derivatives group said Greece triggered the payment on default insurance contracts by using legislation that forces losses on all private creditors.

“While concerns about Greece aren’t going away, the worst-case scenario has been averted, and the payroll report is another reason for investors to be confident,” said Leo Grohowski, who oversees about $171 bln in client assets as chief investment officer at BNY Mellon Wealth Management in New York.

Natalie Trunow, chief investment officer of equities at Calvert Investment Management in Bethesda, Maryland, said U.S. stocks may still sell off in the near term, but it was not likely to be a drastic decline.

“There’s so much cash in institutional portfolios, in individuals’ portfolios,” said Trunow, whose firm manages about $13 bln in assets.

So much money “left equity asset classes and then went elsewhere for safety,” she added. “I think the long-term move is on the upside.”

Technically, the market is hovering near key resistance levels, which could influence stocks’ direction this week, said Chris Burba, a short-term market technician at Standard & Poor’s in New York.

If the S&P 500 pushes above 1,376, that could suggest further gains ahead, while holding at or below that level could indicate more selling, he said.

FED AHEAD Speculation that the Federal Reserve may announce more quantitative easing has kept some investors upbeat, but there has been nothing to suggest that the Fed will change its policy.

The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s policymaking panel, is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with a statement expected afterward.

February retail sales, due on Tuesday morning, will be among the week’s most-watched reports. That data, due on Tuesday, is expected to show that last month’s retail sales rose 1%, according to economists polled

by Reuters, compared with a gain of just 0.4% in January. Excluding autos, February retail sales are seen up 0.7%, matching January’s gain.

Saving biodiversity: a $300 billion-a-year challenge l

New UN biodiversity chief sees scope for private investment Saving biodiversity — the vast and essential variety of the natural world — will be expensive, at an estimated $300 billion a year for the next eight years. But losing it would cost even more, in terms of disease, hunger, poverty and diminished resilience to climate change, according to the new chief of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity.

“Biodiversity is the basis of everything we do in agriculture, everything we do in health,” Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias told Reuters.

“So the development of new vaccines, the development of new cultured varieties of plants is based on biodiversity, genetic resources. If we lose biodiversity, we lose the options for future development in these areas.”

Human destruction of natural habitats, unbridled economic development, pollution and climate change are among the threats to plant and animal life, on land and underwater.

Preserving biological diversity is an uphill fight as the needs of the world’s growing human population - now numbering about 7 billion - increasingly come into conflict with protecting nature. Dias, named to the job in January, starts from a position of certainty: 192 nations already have agreed on what needs to be done by 2020 to preserve biodiversity.

His job is to help them figure out how to do it. He will have the chance to do that when global representatives gather in Rio de Janeiro in June, 20 years after the first Earth Summit set out a plan for worldwide environmental protections.

This year, the meetings will focus on sustainable development, a theme purposely chosen to avoidèclimate change controversies. It is an important one for Dias, who previously headed biodiversity for the Brazilian ministry.

Dias has been impressed by some of the biodiversity pilot programs launched by companies and governments around the world, but he believes these efforts need to be quickly expanded.

PRIVATE INVESTOR ROLE The independent $300 billion-a-year cost estimate - which includes sustainable management of agriculture, forests, fresh water and coastal and marine ecosystems - is about 10 times the amount now being spent by governments, private industry and nongovernmental organizations on biodiversity protection. There is as yet no globally agreed official estimate of the cost, but assessments are under way.

Dias said that does not mean governments will bear the full cost. The United Nations is encouraging private investment, such asèefforts by paper products firm Stora Enso to move toward sustainably harvested wood. Costa Rica is using fossil fuel revenues to make ecosystem service payments to landowners, paying them for sustainable forest management.

Public-private partnerships can absorb other costs, he said.

Still, preservation costs pale in comparison to estimates of what it would cost to simply do nothing. An international study supported by the United Nations estimates that taking no action would cost between $2 trillion and $4.5 trillion a year.

The global biodiversity effort stems from the principle that all living things — from intestinal bacteria to human beings to redwood trees — play a role in the ecosystem. While it is natural that some species die out over time, new environmental threats may prematurely wipe out entire species.

Dias says the impact can be devastating. If, for example, the Amazon rainforest morphs into the Amazon savannah, the biological diversity that people have depended upon for centuries could be endangered.

With oil prices well above $100 a barrel, investors will take note of February inflation data this week. The U.S. Producer Price Index is due on Thursday, followed by the Consumer Price Index on Friday.

Last month’s overall PPI is forecast to have gained 0.5% — well above January’s rise of just 0.1%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, February core PPI is expected to have edged up just 0.2%, down from January’s 0.4% gain.

Inflation at the consumer price level, measured by the overall CPI in February, is forecast to have risen 0.4% - or twice January’s gain of just 0.2%. Excluding food and energy, core CPI is seen up just 0.2%, matching January’s percentage gain.

Consumer sentiment data also is expected on Friday. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index is forecast to show an increase to 76.0 in the preliminary March reading, from February’s level at 75.3.

The recent string of stronger data has raised expectations that the trend will continue.

“It was a decent payroll number today, to be sure, but the market needed a decent number,” said Barry Knapp, managing director of equity research at Barclays Capital in New York, after Friday’s jobs report for February. “We need the data to be good at this point.”

While the overall S&P 500 is up 102% from its March 9, 2009, closing low, there is a wide difference in the performance of individual S&P sectors, which is evidence of investors’ uncertainty, Standard & Poor’s analyst Howard Silverblatt said.

Since the March 2009 low, the S&P consumer discretionary index has performed the best — up about 175%. The S&P telecommunications index has done the worst, with a gain of 49%.

“Investors, to some degree, have reacted to short-term events as opposed to longer-term investing,” Silverblatt said.