Financial Mirror digital edition

October 17 - 23, 2012

FinancialMirror.com

2 | NEWS

Spain aid, Schaeuble ideas raise EU summit tempo l

Germany wants euro zone budget tsar, to discuss banking union, future of euro area

Rising expectations that Spain will soon ask for a euro zone credit line to help cut its borrowing costs look set to dominate a European Union summit beginning on Thursday, potentially crowding out talks on a disputed banking union.

The two-day summit, the fourth among the 27 EU leaders this year, was meant to focus on efforts to establish a single supervisor for the euro zone’s banks, as well as longer-term plans for closer integration of the currency union.

But indications from Spain that it is approaching the point of formally requesting aid, potentially allowing the European Central Bank to step in and buy its bonds, and a push by Germany for a super-commissioner to oversee euro states’ budgets, mean the existing agenda could be overturned.

There is even a narrow chance of a separate summit of the 17 euro zone leaders after the main meeting to discuss the most pressing issues affecting the currency bloc, including Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain, some officials said.

Spain has been ready to ask for euro zone help since the beginning of the month, officials have told Reuters, with the most likely method being a precautionary credit line of around 50 bln euros.

Such a request, leading to a binding set of commitments, would allow the ECB to intervene in the secondary market, buying unlimited amounts of short-term bonds to bring down Spanish borrowing costs. Madrid says it may not even need to draw on a credit line from the euro zone’s rescue fund, or not right away.

Germany had so far said Spain does not need assistance, concerned about the impact it could have on other shaky euro zone countries such as Italy and loath to ask the Bundestag (lower house) to approve another bailout package.

But now it appears to have opened the way for Spain to proceed, and a formal request would likely come at a finance ministers’ meeting on November 12, even if leaders discuss it first.

A German official said on Tuesday it was not clear when Spain

would ask, but aides were laying the ground for such a move.

If euro zone leaders address the issue, it is likely to push discussion of a banking union into the background, given the greater immediacy and market impact of what would be the fourth sovereign rescue since the crisis began in January 2010.

A Spain sovereign assistance programme would come on top of the 100 bln euros the euro zone made available in June to help recapitalise Spain’s debt-laden banks, around 40 bln of which is expected to be used.

“CURRENCY COMMISSIONER”

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble threw his weight into the mix ahead of the summit, saying it was time for a leap forward in European integration and that ideas such as a super-empowered commissioner for budgets needed serious consideration.

Speaking to reporters on the way back from a five-day trip to Asia, Schaeuble said he had run his ideas past Chancellor Angela Merkel and while she was “somewhat more cautious”, there was a need to take bold action to quell the debt crisis.

“We must now make bigger steps in the direction of a fiscal union,” said Schaeuble, a long-time advocate of closer EU integration who is not shy about voicing his own views.

He said a “currency commissioner” should have the power to reject national budgets that were not in line with the euro zone’s strict fiscal rules, without specifying whether such a figure should be entitled to impose penalties.

The model for the position would be the bloc’s competition commissioner, whom Schaeuble described as “feared in the whole world”. The EU antitrust czar has sole authority to bar mergers, subject to retroactive judicial review by the European courts.

The German minister also called for more flexible voting arrangements in the European Parliament to accommodate closer integration between euro zone states.

Schaeuble’s flurry of ideas, some of which have been floated quietly in the past, appeared designed partly to focus minds on what will be required if the euro zone is to forge much deeper links and better insulate itself from any future crises.

His comments reinforced a trend towards a two-speed Europe, with the euro zone looking to integrate at a much faster pace than the ten countries outside the currency union — a message to EU-sceptical Britain and other euro “outs”.

He may also have been trying to distract attention away from the establishment of a common banking supervisor, which he has sought since June to slow down and limit in scope.

Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council and chairman of EU summits, had intended to focus discussion on growth, employment and the banking union, as well as broader issues such as the future structure of the single currency bloc and the idea of setting up a separate euro zone budget.

All those items will be raised, but the time available to discuss them will depend on whether Spain and other immediate market-sensitive issues end up crowding out the agenda.

Indebted south helps boost euro zone trade l

Greece exports up 12% in Jan-July

Europe’s indebted Mediterranean region has begun to show signs of competitiveness by boosting exports, contributing to a strong euro zone trade surplus in the first eight months of this year.

Eurostat released the trade data on Tuesday separately from figures showing euro zone September inflation stayed stubbornly high at 2.6% on an annual basis, with clothing, energy and food prices rising despite the bloc’s shrinking economy.

Some economists said there may still be room for a European Central Bank interest rate cut in coming months, although it is more intent now on improving the pass-through of low official rates to borrowers throughout the 17-nation currency bloc.

For now, an improving trade balance may offer the euro zone its best route to recovery, as exports gain ground.

The euro zone’s trade balance in the first eight months of this year swung to a 46.9 bln euro surplus from a 26.8 bln euro deficit in the same period a year ago, most of which was delivered in the June-to-August period.

“The improvement is gaining steam,” said Dominique Barbet, a senior economist at BNP Paribas. “It is vital that recovery continues ... exports are the only source of economic growth available for peripheral Europe,” she said.

Countries such as Greece, where the debt crisis erupted three years ago, are highly dependent on oil imports, but in a sign that Europe’s contentious austerity policies may be bearing some fruit, exports grew and imports fell in Greece, Italy and Spain in the first seven months of this year.

Italy moved to a trade surplus of 4.4 bln euros in the Januaryto-July period from a deficit in the same period a year ago, while Greece’s exports jumped 12%. Spain saw export growth of 2% in the period, while imports fell 3%.

Wage cuts after a decade of a credit-fuelled boom have been painful for millions of southern Europeans, but by toughing it out, they are becoming more competitive as the cost of labour falls - what policymakers call “internal devaluation”.

INFLATION LOWER

Consumer prices in the 17 countries sharing the euro rose 2.6% in September on an annual basis - the same level as August, Eurostat said, although lower than the 2.7% rise economists polled by Reuters had forecast.

Some economists now think inflation has peaked after a spike in August, which would be good news for European households struggling with record unemployment, wage cuts and the euro zone’s second recession in just three years.

Economists still expect inflation to remain above the ECB’s target of close to 2% until the middle of next year, but after cutting out energy prices, core inflation at 1.5% in September looks more stable. “The ECB has very little room to move on rates, but we expect them to go to 0.5% by the end of the year,” said Francois Cabau, an economist at Barclays in London.

Further cuts to the cost of borrowing seem difficult to justify when inflation has been above the bank’s target for almost two years.

A slim majority of economists see the ECB holding rates at 0.75% until the end of the year, according to a Reuters poll. But most expected the Frankfurt-based bank will cut rates by the end of the first quarter of 2013. “Euro zone inflation is probably going to show a very gradual descent,” said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING. “We still anticipate a 25 basis point cut in the refinancing rate to 0.5% around the turn of the year,” he said.

But with the IMF forecasting a 0.4% contraction in the euro zone’s economy this year and very modest growth in 2013, there is an economic rationale to cutting the cost of borrowing for companies and households.

Very weak domestic demand is at the heart of the euro zone’s slump, with consumer spending driving half of the bloc’s economic output.

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October 17 - 23, 2012

CYPRUS | 3

TAKING AIM: Union targets banks As if the bank recapitalisation problems and the fraudulent securities sale were not enough, bank managers now have to deal with the powerful trade union, ETYK, that seems to have woken up from hibernation and is trying to negotiate down the austerity measures needed to revive the sector.

Probably waiting to see how the banks’ restructuring plans play out before setting out their own aims, union leaders at ETYK have made it clear that they will not accept a 13% pay cut at Laiki Bank and that KPMG’s strategic recovery plan “is not workable”.

Union boss Loizos Hadjicostis said that the bank’s “unacceptable” proposal foresaw a flat 6% pay cut, a 4% reduction from the provident fund and the abolition of any overtime and allowances, and that it would mostly hurt the lower-income employees and benefit the higher earners.

However, he said that the government’s plan for an average 12.5% pay cut, leaning more towards the higher earners and less on the low-paid was deemed acceptable by the union.

Hadjicostis said that KMPG’s plan for Laiki provided for 600 redundancies, mostly in Greece where it would account for 50% of the workforce there.

“But 15 days ago, the bank said no one would leave before 2014. This makes the [KPMG] plan fit for the dustbin.”

On the other hand, Laiki’s management has let it be known that it plans to conclude some sort of deal with ETYK “by the end of October”, coinciding with the Cyprus govern-

ment’s counter-proposals to the Troika inspectors, which, if accepted, would pave the way for a 10 bln euro bailout, half of which for the banking sector and the rest to pay down the huge public sector deficit.

ALL CALM AT HB, NOT SOCGEN The bank employees’ trade union also seems to have worked out a deal on overtime with Hellenic Bank, the island’s third largest lender, that seems unaffected by the banking crisis due to its minimal exposure to the Greek market and toxic sovereign debt, as well as due to a conservative investing policy.

The deal provides for a calculation of all overtime work that has not been paid and to exchange the amount with increments on annual leave within 2013. A similar was also reportedly concluded at another bank.

Meanwhile, the oft-militant trade union has resorted to its older tactics of picking on smaller banks to drive through its arguments and drum up support among its members.

It seems that having committed to not closing its branch in Paralimni, Societe Generale Bank Cyprus did exactly that and laid off four staff. ETYK argued that the bank had a staff shortage and that collective labour agreements provided for hirings to come within union ranks. However, it seems that the trade union has not realised that in times of economic crisis, the initial action of employers is to contain costs, which unavoidably comes from layoffs.

Perhaps this time round, the union will avoid the rhetoric of the past and try to save

the wellbeing of its remaining members.

COOPS DIG HEELS On the other hand, the island’s Co-ops, insulated from the banking crisis with the justification that they enjoy independent regulation, are unhappy with the suggestion of the Troika inspectors from the international lenders who want to see the Coop banking sector consolidate, just as the commercial banks.

Co-op leaders have been vociferous in their allegations that any consolidation would wipe out the people-centric policies and ideals of the cooperative financial institutions that have undoubtedly been the cornerstone of social and welfare development in Cyprus, primarily after Independence in the 1960s and in the reconstruction of the economy in the 1970s after the Turkish invasion.

Fearing they would lose control to the Central Bank of Cyprus, Co-op leaders have also objected to Governor Paniccos Demetriades’ compromise offer to transfer control of the Coop banks to the Cooperative Central Bank, as opposed to the current regulator, the Superintendent of Cooperative Development who is appointed by the collective of Coop bank managers.

Maintaining a strong and unfairly competitive cooperative banking sector would ensure that trade unions and political parties would continue to enjoy access to and control over the Co-ops and their funds, to the detriment of the commercial banking sector.

CB gold “not for sale” Central Bank officials claim that the nation’s gold reserves, presently valued at 800 mln euros, will not be sold off in order to help reduce the bankrupt government’s debt, despite the adamant wishes of the communist-led administration.

Growing concern has fired rumours with central bank officials denying talk of selling all or part of the gold, even suggesting that signing a memorandum of understanding for a bailout from the Troika of international lenders – EU, ECB, IMF – is unavoidable.

The only consolation given by central bank officials is that any decision to sell gold reserves would first require the approval of the five-member Governing Council, even though all are appointed by the government.

October 17 - 23, 2012

FinancialMirror.com

4 | CYPRUS

EU launches “late payment” awareness campaign Late payments constitute a major obstacle to the free movement of goods and services in the single market and could substantially distort competition. The resulting administrative and financial burdens impede cross-border trade. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the craft sector are most vulnerable. Despite the adoption and application of Directive 2000/35/EC on combating late payment in commercial transactions, late payment is still a common practice across the European Union.

In order to protect European businesses, in particular SMEs, against late payment and to improve their competitiveness, a new Directive 2011/7/EU on combating late payment in commercial transactions was adopted on 16 February 2011 and must be integrated into national law by member states by 16 March 2013, at the latest.

“Across the EU, paying suppliers late is common. It costs little and is considered acceptable. But it does great harm. Every year, hundreds of thousands of European businesses have closed waiting for late payments. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly exposed to late payment, end business selling across borders are particularly vulnerable. The late payment culture has to change, and the European Union is equipping business with the tools to make this change happen,” an announcement by the EU’s Late Payment Information Campaign said.

The reality for European enterprises, and especially for SMEs, is that late payment for goods delivered and services provided leads them into bankruptcy, with the direct effect of increasing unemployment. As a result the entire European economy is negatively affected by this phenomenon.

Cyprus calls for a new way to tackle the financial crisis The Cyprus EU Presidency has called for a new way to tackle the financial crisis with a more fair burden-sharing.

The call was made during a meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee in Nicosia titled “restoring stability, trust and confidence in Europe; civil society for a new form of governance.”

ECSC President Staffan Nilsson said that he awaits “bold decisions” from the European leaders, who will hold a new Summit on 18-19 October to discuss the progress for more integrated economic governance.

“I do hope that EU members at the summit meeting, especially the most influential ones, will take a decision to move forward towards a more cohesive and integrated Europe. If such decision is not take the situation is only going to get worse,” Nilsson warned.

On her part, Labour and Social Insurance Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous referred to the “Compact for Growth and employment singed by the EU leaders last June.

“The big question we are all invited to answer today is what next. How do we move forward?”

She noted that Europe should invest in the creation of new job positions utilising the opportunities in the green economy, energy information technology, health and social services.

Charalambous said youth employment should remain the main priority for the EU member-states, adding that “we have a duty to provide young persons with the necessary skills and tools so that they can find a job. She also noted that Europe should also support the other population groups, which have problems re-entering the job market.

School of Molecular Medicine to be inaugurated Wednesday The Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine (CSMM) of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING), will be inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of Nobel Laureate, Professor James Watson.

Prof. Watson, who is considered the father of modern genetics, together with his fellow scientist Prof. Francis Crick, discovered the molecular structure of DNA. The School commenced its operation last September and it offers two programmes in “Molecular Medicine” and “Medical Genetics” at MSc and PhD levels.

The CSMM will accept a total of 40 students during the first academic year and 70 students within three years.

Prof. Philippos Patsalis, Chief Executive Medical Director of CING and Chief Executive Director of CSMM said that this marks a historical day for the Institute as it accomplishes a huge goal.

He noted that a postgraduate school will give to the CING the prestige of an autonomous academic centre and it will strengthen the academic autonomy of Cyprus.

According to Patsalis, the cost of developing the School

was the lowest possible as it utilizes the existing state of the art infrastructure of the CING. He also stressed that the high level of interest shown by candidates confirms the Institute’s aim for excellence and places huge responsibility on its shoulders.

Nobel Laureate James Watson congratulated the CING for the operation of the School of Molecular Medicine, noting that 50 years ago a similar school was starting its operation at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in the US where he was appointed as a director in the 1960s.

He encouraged students to seek the light and study in order to understand the simplicity of life.

Prof. Watson referred to the discovery of the double helix for DNA along with Francis Crick, which is considered one of the greatest achievement of science in the 20th century.

For this work, Watson and Crick, together with Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology /Medicine in 1962.

The Nobel Laureate also noted that there should be a focus on the research of the cure of cancer.

A Guinness record for road safety: 1,000 helmets for 1,000 children!

Let’s Do It collects 3300 bags of trash The organisers of Let’s Do It Cyprus presented the results of the national clean up campaign that was held last month, sponsored by Alpari Financial Services and supported by 3339 volunteers who collected waste from 200 waste points.

During the campaign, volunteers gathered 3306 bags of trash, of which 1106 were recyclable products and 376 bags of recycled cans were given to the Cans for Kids NGO. Environment Commissioner Charalampos Theopemptou said: “Our aim was not only cleaning up Cyprus, but to induce a broader awareness and public education regarding environmental issues. The results show that Cypriots care about a healthy clean environment and that this campaign must become an institution in Cyprus”.

The organisers also thanked CYTA (main partners and sponsors) and the other sponsors: Lanitis Bros Ltd, Vileda, Green Dot, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Agropolis, Tseriotis Company and the NKS Shacolas Group.

The joint initiative by Cyta and the Cyprus Police – to gather more than 1,000 children at the Police Road Safety Park on Monday, 15 October, and have them all wearing protective cycle helmets at the same time – was a huge success.

Specifically, 1,196 fifth and sixth year primary school children from all districts (including occupied Rizokarpaso) gathered at the Police Road Safety Park in Nicosia and, in the presence of a representative of the Guinness World Records all donned their protective cycle helmets provided by Cyta.

The message was clear: “1,000 helmets for 1,000 children – Helmets Save Lives!”

The event, which took place under the auspices of the

Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was an initiative of the Police and Cyta, organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The Police Road Safety Park has operated with great success since 2004, offering road safety instruction to thousands of children every year. Moreover, Cyta provides 20,000 cycle helmets each year for the children visiting the Park. Over the past five years, more than 100,000 helmets have been given free. Cyta’s involvement comes in the context of its commitment to the European Road Safety Charter and the Organisation’s continuous contribution to Road Safety.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

CYPRUS | 5

Five JVs awarded Stelios Award for business co-operation Five joint ventures comprising a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot entrepreneur each received 50,000 euros on Monday, after winning the “Stelios Award” established by British-Cypriot businessman Sir Stelios HajiIoannou to reward bi-communal initiatives aiming to foster the peace process on the island.

At a packed prize ceremony held at Limassol’s Stelios House (formerly CYMEPA House), finalists in the Stelios Award for Business Co-operation and other guests witnessed the handing over of cheques worth 250,000 euros to this year’s winners.

Sponsored by the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, the education-to-entrepreneurship charity headed by the easyGroup founder, a total of one million euros has been awarded as prize money since 2009.

In all, 30 applications were received this year and the final stage involved an in-depth assessment of the entrepreneurial partnerships by the Foundation’s management with the five winners.

The winners are: AuntieEli’s Cake Story – Eleni, Panayiotis, Piril and Batuhan: A sweet partnership creating fancy baked goods, recipes,

baking and decorating tutorials both through online and high street shops.

Hyperlife Technologies – Christos and Ergec: A long-standing partnership offering web development, web design, software solutions and computer support to clients in both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Funky Workshops and Artcrafts – Maroushia and Ayten: Celebrating the founders’ arts and crafts talents, Funky offers jewellery, knitwear, handbags and toys through its ateliers and workshops.

LitigoConsult – Philippos and Ulas: A partnership specialising in turn-key business structures in Cyprus and abroad as well as other legal and business consulting services to a variety of start-ups and SMB’s.

Lefkara Lace – Iacovos and Hasan: A partnership which has run in the respective families for two generations, Lefkara Lace supplies high quality, lace handicrafts to souvenir shops throughout the island.

“This year’s entrants have proved the spirit of entrepreneurship can overcome the division and mistrust that has scarred our island since 1974,” said Stelios speaking at the ceremony.

“I believe this is another small but significant step in the continuing process of breaking down the barriers between our two communities and ensuring lasting peace. What the politicians have failed to achieve in the last 38 years, the entrepreneurs are now achieving by themselves”.

He added that for the first time since launching the Stelios Award for Business Cooperation in Cyprus, they received more applications from start-up partnerships. Many were businesses formed less than year ago.

“We see this as tangible proof that change

for peace is in the air on the island and the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well in Cyprus. This is despite the economic crisis and despite the best effort s of the politicians who do nothing to ensure lasting peace on the island”, he added.

Stelios announced that he will continue to support entrepreneurship in Cyprus in 2013 with ten awards of 10,000 euros each.

He has called on other organisations, companies and entrepreneurs to join in the support of this Award with equal amounts of matched funding.

Strong tourism arrivals in September The shuffling to and fro of delegates for the EU presidency is likely to be behind the strong rise in tourism arrivals in September, which rose by 10.2% over the year earlier to reach 335,352.

However, the strongest increase continued to be from Russia, with an increase of 54.7% to 77,149 i.

There was a 2.1% increase from Greece (from 10,817 to 11,044), a 9.4% increase from Norway (from 9,340 to 10,221) and a 22% increase from Switzerland (from 6,223 to 7,593 this year).

There was a fall of 0.4% in tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom (134,589 in September 2012 compared with 135,103 in September 2011), a 5.8% decrease from Sweden (17,060 compared with 18,113) and a 10.7% decrease from Germany (12,664 compared with 14,185 last year).

For the period January - September 2012 arrivals of tourists rose by 4.6% to reach 2,064,118 compared with 1,974,147 in the corresponding period of 2011.

INVITATION The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has the pleasure to invite you to the 4th annual

‘Holland Trader Evening’

Trade deficit narrows to EUR 2.9 bln in Jan-Aug The trade deficit narrowed to EUR 2.9 bln in January to August, from EUR 3.3 bln in the same period of 2011, according to preliminary data for August.

Total imports in August reached a preliminary EUR 465.2 mln, of which EUR 318.0 mln were arrivals from other member states of the EU and EUR 147.2 mln imports from third countries.

Total exports reached EUR 105.7 mln of which EUR 62.5 mln were dispatches to other member states of the EU and EUR 43.2 mln exports to third countries.

In January-July total imports/arrivals amounted to EUR 3,430.6 mln compared with EUR 3,697.1 mln in January-July 2011.

Total exports/dispatches rose to EUR 855.8 mln compared with EUR 838.3 mln in JanuaryJuly 2011.

The trade deficit narrowed to EUR 2,574.7 mln in January-July 2012 compared with EUR 2,858.9 mln in the corresponding period of 2011.

Theme: Corporate Social Responsibility Two speakers have been invited: - Mrs. Irma Keijzer (Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture & Innovation) - Mrs. Georgia Lefkariti-Ioannou (PR Manager at Petrolina Holdings Ltd., winner of CSR Award 2011) Reception will follow at the roof garden Date: Venue:

Thursday 18th of October 2012 The Royal Hall (former Theatre Royal) (next to Ochi roundabout Nicosia)

Building permits rise 2% in July The number of building permits in July rose by 2% over the year earlier to reach 613.

However, the total value of these permits fell by 16.5% over the year earlier to EUR 147.9 million and the total area fell by 23.6% to 142,702 square metres.

In January-July the number of building permits fell by 7.4% to reach to 4,284.

The total value of these permits decreased by 26.5% and the total area by 31.7%.

The number of dwelling units authorised decreased by 38.6%.

Time:

19:30 – 21:30 Parking areas in front of the venue Please confirm your attendance before Monday 15th October by e-mail nic-ez@minbuza.nl, tel. 22 873 663 or fax 22 872 399

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

6 | OPINION

Mumbo jumbo economic journalism EDITORIAL The biggest threat to the current economic crisis comes not from the corrupt political or financial leaders who resort to anything in order to get what they want, but to the lack of controls from the Fourth Estate.

Apart from a handful of professional journalists and financial editors in some parts of the media who do a good job, the rest of the hacks could be described as ‘biased’ at best, or, at worst, plain incompetent.

With the news of the day focusing on the dire economic situation and how to come out of this mess, very few reporters or TV presenters within the private or public media have the knowledge or competencies to check their facts, research their subject or grill their

on-air guests. Resorting to sensationalist statements with the likes of “murdering the COLA” or “butchering the Co-ops” only fuels the short-fused audience who will blindly believe in whatever the reporters or broadcasters are telling them, simply because “if they said so, then it must be true.”

Well, half the time it isn’t and we, journalists, are equally to blame for not conducting our jobs with standards of professionalism, clarity, ethics and fairness.

Efforts by past governments to regulate the press and the broadcast media will only backfire as we will be facing further lax controls, resulting in a gullible audience believing whatever they are told, or allowed to be told.

On the other hand, the uncontrolled news avalanche emanating from the boom and bust of the stock market in 1999-2002, allowed investors to be duped into buy-

ing shares in companies that were poorly screened before being listed. At the time, the media industry was inundated with information, news and interviews, followed by minimal checks and balances, either by the regulators or the press.

Even though market forces often help differentiate good, quality journalism from the yellow press and celebrity news, we still need more troops in the trenches. The best remedy would be for the media industry to be allowed to flourish and become a new employer for professionals. With the energy sector taking off and expected to reach new heights, Cyprus still lacks journalists with expertise in this field. The more we invest in specialist media for energy, maritime and financial services, the sooner we will be creating the news and keeping Cyprus in the limelight, as opposed to just reading about it elsewhere.

A New Year’s Banking Union Five years after the outbreak of the financial crisis, Europe’s economic and political situation remains fragile. A mild recession is expected in Europe this year, and unemployment is on the rise. Beyond deficit reduction, we need to implement a €120 billion ($155 billion) European investment plan, and deepen the European Single Market to unleash its growth potential.

But we also need other structural measures. The European Union must put an end to the negative feedback loop between individual member states and their national banking systems. Between 2008 and 2011, EU taxpayers granted banks €4.5 trillion in loans and guarantees. In some countries, the threat of bank recapitalization with public funds has resulted in a drop in market confidence and a huge rise in interest rates.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has taken decisive action to break this vicious circle. Moreover, there is now a consensus that the 17 eurozone countries need a banking union to accompany their common currency. The European Commission has proposed a single rulebook for banks’ capital requirements; mutual support between national deposit guarantee schemes; and Europe-wide rules for resolving failing banks that place the main burden on bank shareholders and creditors, not on taxpayers.

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On June 29, European heads of state and government committed themselves to the creation of a single European supervisor for banks in the eurozone. This is good news for both financial stability and public finances: once the single supervisor is in place, supervision will be more credible and impartial, which is important for dealing with ailing banks and managing their return to viability.

By MICHEL BARNIER

The European Commission also put forward a set of legislative proposals to establish the single supervisory mechanism and confer key supervisory tasks on the ECB. This proposal must now be amended and approved as soon as possible by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers if we are to have a chance of activating the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and proceeding with the other essential pillars of a banking union.

Further work, however, is still needed in several areas: The scope of the new supervisory mechanism. Some member states favor restricting European supervision to systemically important banks. But the Commission believes that it should cover all 6,000 banks in the eurozone. After all, “systemically important” is impossible to define. The failures of banks like Northern Rock, Dexia, and Bankia are reminders that small and medium-size banks can endanger the entire financial system.

And it would be inherently unstable to have two supervisory mechanisms for banks operating in the same market.

The participation of non-eurozone countries in the new supervisory scheme. The Commission’s proposal confers powers on the ECB for the supervision of all banks in the eurozone. For non-eurozone countries, the proposals provide for a mechanism to join on a voluntary basis and submit to the ECB’s authority. But the EU treaties make it complicated to give these non-eurozone countries full voting powers. I do not see any political problem with giving these countries a full voice in shaping the decisions of the European supervisor, but creativity will be needed to find a legally sound and fair solution.

National supervisors’ role in the new system. Clearly, the European Council has decided on a paradigm shift: powers are moving to the ECB. But national supervisors will be

members of the board that will take key decisions, which they will prepare and implement. In the current negotiations, we can still fine-tune the roles of the European and national supervisors, but ultimate authority must rest with the ECB. Non-eurozone EU members that do not want to join the single supervisory mechanism. These countries have expressed concerns about the new powers conferred on the ECB. In particular, they question the ECB’s voting rights within the European Banking Authority, which will remain in charge of developing a single rulebook for all 27 countries in the EU’s single market and enhancing convergence of supervisory practices. We need to find ways to preserve fully the influence of non-eurozone countries within the European Banking Authority.

Democratic accountability for the ECB’s new supervisory powers. The ECB must, of course, maintain its full monetary-policy independence, despite its new role. So a key question is how, in addition to giving an important role to the European Parliament, national parliaments can play their part in overseeing supervisory decisions.

Timing. According to some EU countries, the Commission’s proposal is too ambitious to enter into force at the beginning of 2013. But an effective single banking supervisor is a prerequisite for the ESM’s direct recapitalization of banks. Only with this possibility and strong unified supervision will Europe be in a position to break the vicious circle between banks’ balance-sheet weakness and sovereign debt, and thus resolve the eurozone crisis.

Entry into force in January 2013 would bring about supervision by the ECB of banks that have received or requested public funding. Only in July 2013 would all banks of major systemic importance be subject to ECB supervision. The remaining banks would be subject to the new mechanism at the start of 2014.

Intense discussions are normal for such a high-stakes project. Countries like Germany, Finland, and the Netherlands are right to argue that rapid progress cannot come at the expense of the new supervisory structure’s quality. But EU countries have to stick to the commitment that they made in June and strike a deal in time for a gradual entry into force in January 2013.

Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, is a former French foreign minister and minister for Europe. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

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October 17 - 23, 2012

FinancialMirror.com

COMMENT | 7

ELEFTHERIA and the technology of power Cyprus is at a crossroads: non-sustainable public and private debt among the highest in Europe, bank liquidity dependent on European assistance, competitiveness among the lowest in the Eurozone and sliding, unemployment at its highest levels since 1974. Everybody agrees that we are headed for turbulent and difficult times. But how do we proceed?

We can hide our heads in the sand –as we did until 2011- waiting for the storm to pass.

Or we can avoid facing up to our problems hoping for better times to come, waiting, for example, for the natural gas to flow out of the pipeline —although no one is sure when this will happen. But if we proceed like this we allow others to set the rules of the game. This is preBy STAVROS A. ZENIOS and ELIANA NICOLAOU

cisely what happened with the “leak” of the Troika recommendations. The carefully managed “leak” was the first shot in a war not against the true and real problems of the economy but against the Troika. Along the way we forgot the inconvenient truth that we invited them!

The “technology of power” -the methods that keep the political establishment in power, to use Fucault’s term- leads to denial and paralysis in front of the crisis. Why? Because if the political establishment faces the true and real

problems they will first discover that the problems are of their own making, and second, that they have no role to play in the post-crisis environment morphed after the problems are solved. Denial and paralysis is one-way street for the political elites, and they inch forward by playing passing-the-blame games. With only a few months to go until the presidential elections the management of the crisis is determined by: False expectations –Russian loans, Chinese investments and donations from the Hobbits.

Political tactics –who and when will sign the Troika memorandum.

The calculus of party loyalty across irrelevant fault lines –e.g., who is to blame for the failed reelection bid of Tassos Papadopoulos.

But there is a better way. We can look at the crisis as the beginning of an era of renewal. To do away with amateurism, short-termism and political dogma and grasp the historic moment of careful long-term planning and responsible collective action.

We can face up to truths we have been avoiding for years, face the facts behind the sad state of the economy, and search for solutions that serve the future of Thought and action.

Cyprus and not We must work special interest groups. But first harder, work better we must recog- and work smarter. nize, to paraphrase Henley, that «we are the masters of our fate, we are the captains of or soul». Our fate is in our hands -not in the hands of third parties.

To succeed in our bid for renewal we should be innovative and bold in addressing key questions: What is the true state of our economy? What are the root problems of the crisis? What can we do? These are the questions addressed by the study of citizens action group ELEFTHERIA (FREEDOM): “Food for Thought and Action: Cyprus economy, realities and prospects.”

The contribution of this study is not so much the specific proposals it puts forward but the viewpoint it presents. “Thought and action” is what this is all about, “to give meaning and direction to the sacrifices asked by the citizens so that we find ourselves back on a path of prosperity”. We need to work harder, to work better and work smarter, the authors of the study point out, adding that it is us that must work hard, it is us that must work better and we must get smarter. Neither the Russians, nor the Chinese nor the Hobbits will work harder, better or smarter for our sake.

The message is political. Instead of the tech-

nology of power we should let Freedom guide our thoughts and actions in facing the challenges. For the last half a century we are free citizens and with freedom comes responsibility.

Now it is the time to shoulder our responsibilities so that our freedom acquires a new meaning: the citizen to have access and means of influence to the political institutions of the country, create opportunities for our young and prosperity for all, provide the social bases for development and self-actualization, ensure transparency and security.

Freedom and the Truth are values that will guide us to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Our fate is in our hands and we should grasp the moment to turn the crisis into the start of a new era of renewal and creativity for Cyprus and its people.

Note. Hobbits are fictional characters, creations of J.R.R. Tolkiens from his books Lord of the rings. The Russian loans and Chinese investment are creations of the “technology of power”. ELEFTHERIA is a coordinated group of citizens working for progress and pride in the country, an open network that seeks creative collaborations.

Stavros A. Zenios and Eliana Nicolaou are members of the interim governing board of ELEFTHERIA/FREEDOM. Zenios is professor of finance at the University of Cyprus and President of the Rectors of the Universities of the European Capitals. Nicolaou is a lawyer, holder of a Doctorate in legal studies and served as Ombudsman of the Republic of Cyprus. zenios.wordpress.com

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

8 | CΟΜΜΕΝΤ

Closing America’s Jobs Deficit The latest data on employment in the United States confirm that the American economy continues to recover from the Great Recession of 2008-2009, despite the slowdown engulfing the other G-20 nations. Indeed, the pace of private-sector job growth has actually been much stronger during this recovery than during the recovery from the 2001 recession, and is comparable to the recovery from the 1990-1991 recession.

During the last 31 months, private-sector employment has increased by 5.2 million and the unemployment rate has now fallen below 8% for the first time in nearly four years. But the unemployment rate is still more than two percentage points above the long-run value that most economists view as normal when the economy is operating near its potential.

Moreover, the number of long-term unemployed (27 weeks or longer) is about 40% of the total – the lowest share since 2009, but still far higher than in the previous recessions since the Great Depression, and about double what it would be in a normal labor market. So the US labor market, while healing, is still far from where it should be.

That is partly because the job losses during the Great Recession were so large – twice as large as those of previous recessions since the Great Depression. In terms of US economic history, what is abnormal is not the pace of private-sector job growth since the 2008-2009 recession ended, but rather the length and depth of the recession itself.

The downturn was a distinctive balance-sheet recession that caused sizeable declines in household wealth and necessitated painful deleveraging. Consistent with recoveries from such recessions, demand has grown slowly, despite unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus, and that explains why the unemployment rate remains high. Indeed, businesses cite uncertainty about the strength of demand, not uncertainty about regulation or taxation, as the main factor holding back job creation.

Public-sector demand has also contracted, owing to state and local governments’ deteriorating budgets. As a result, public employment, which usually rises during recoveries, has been a major contributor to high unemployment during the last three years. Despite a modest uptick in the last three months, government employment is 569,000 below its June 2009 level – a 30-year

low as a share of the adult civilian population. According to Hamilton Project calculations, if this share were at its 1980-2012 average of about 9.6% (it was actually higher between 2001 and 2007), there would be about 1.4 million more public-sector jobs and the unemployment rate would be around 6.9%.

Recent reports suggest that there are more than three million unfilled job openings, and about 49% of employers say that they have difficulty filling positions, especially in information technolo-

By LAURA TYSON A former chair of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers, is a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

gy, engineering, and skilled trades. This has fanned speculation that a “mismatch” between workers’ skills and employers’ needs is a significant factor behind the elevated unemployment rate.

But there is scant evidence to support this view. The relationship between the unemployment rate and the job vacancy rate is consistent with patterns in previous recoveries. Nor is there anything unusual about the size of mismatches between job openings and worker availability by industry.

Such industrial mismatches become larger during recessions, reflecting greater churn in the labor market as workers move between shrinking and expanding sectors; but they decline as the economy recovers. This pattern also characterizes the current recovery, and recent data suggest that mismatches between the demand and supply of labor by industry are back to pre-recession levels.

But, as the US economy recovers, technological change is accelerating, fueling demand for more skills at a time when the workforce’s educational-attainment levels have plateaued. This is the real skills gap that existed before the Great Recession, and it is getting worse over time.

The gap manifests itself in much higher unemployment rates for high-school educated workers than for college-educated workers at every stage of the business cycle. The gap also shows up in significant – and rising – inequality between the earnings of high-school

educated workers and those with a college degree or higher.

Earnings gains have been especially strong for those with tertiary degrees, while the real wages of high-school educated workers, especially men, have fallen sharply. It is becoming increasingly difficult for workers with low levels of educational attainment to find high-paying jobs in any sector, even when the economy is operating near full capacity.

The US was the world leader in high school and college graduation rates for much of the twentieth century. Today it ranks in the middle of the OECD countries.

A major factor behind that relative decline has been the US school system’s failure to ensure high-quality education for disadvantaged Americans, particularly children from poor, minority, and immigrant households. According to the most recent census, about one-quarter of children under the age of six live in poverty. They are less likely to have access to early-childhood programs that prepare them for school, and are more likely to attend schools that have high student/teacher ratios and that cannot attract and retain skilled teachers.

As a result of these and other problems, the average American secondary-school student receives inadequate preparation in core subjects such as writing, mathematics, and analytical reasoning, which in turn reduces college enrollment and completion rates. The US experience is consistent with OECD evidence that students from countries with greater income inequality score lower on academic achievement tests. And a recent study by McKinsey suggests that the gaps in educational opportunity and attainment by income impose the equivalent of a permanent recession of 3-5% of GDP on the US economy.

To address the skills gap, the US must boost the educational attainment of current and future workers. That means investing more in education at all levels – in early-childhood education programs, elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, trade-school programs for specific jobs in specific sectors, and financial aid for higher education. Above all, it means addressing the income disparities in educational opportunity and attainment. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

Micro, Macro, Meso and Meta Economics HONG KONG – Given the crisis weighing down the world economy and financial markets, it is not surprising that a substantive reconsideration of the principles of modern economics is underway. The profession’s dissident voices, it seems, are finally reaching a wider audience.

For example, the Nobel laureate Ronald H. Coase has complained that microeconomics is filled with black-box models that fail to study the actual contractual relations between firms and markets. He pointed out that when transaction costs are low and property rights are well defined, innovative private contracts might solve collective-action problems such as pollution; but policymakers rely largely on fiscal instruments, owing to economists’ obsession with simplistic price theory.

Another Nobel laureate, Paul Krugman, has claimed that macroeconomics over the last three decades has been useless at best and harmful at worst. He argues that economists became blind to catastrophic macro failure because they mistook the beauty or elegance of theoretical models for truth.

Both Coase and Krugman bemoan the neglect of their profession’s patrimony – a tradition dating at least to Adam Smith – that valued grand and unifying theories of political economy and moral philosophy. The contemporary obsession with reductionist and mechanical models seems to have driven the profession from theory toward ideology, putting it out of touch with the real economy. The simplicity and elegance of micro and macro models make them useful in explaining the price mechanism and the balance or imbalance of key aggregate economic variables. But both models are unable to describe or analyze the actual behavior of key market participants.

For example, the textbook theory of the firm does not examine the structure of corporate contracts, and delegates the study of assets, liabilities, incomes, and expenditures to “accounting.” How can firms be understood without examining the corporate contracts that bring together their stakeholders – that is, their shareholders, bankers, suppliers, customers, and employees – whose complex relationships are manifested in companies’ balance sheets and transaction flows? In concentrating on production and consumption flows, national accounts aggregate or net out such data, thus neglecting the importance of financing and balancesheet leverage and fragilities. Indeed, today’s mainstream microand macroeconomic models are insufficient for exploring the

dynamic and complex interactions among humans, institutions, and nature in our real economy. They fail to answer what Paul Samuelson identified as the key questions for economics – what, how, and for whom are goods and services produced, delivered and sold – and rarely deal with “where” and “when,” either.

The division of economics into macroeconomics (the study of economic performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making at the national, regional, or global level) and microeconomics (the

By ANDREW SHENG and GENG XIAO

study of resource allocation by households and firms) is fundamentally incomplete and misleading. But there are at least two other divisions in economics that have been neglected: mesoeconomics and meta-economics.

Meso-economics studies the institutional aspects of the economy that are not captured by micro or macroeconomics. By presupposing perfect competition, complete information, and zero transaction costs, neoclassical economics assumes away the need for institutions like courts, parties, and religions to deal with the economic problems that people, firms, and countries face.

By contrast, the economists Kurt Dopfer, John Foster, and Jason Potts have developed a Macro-Meso-Micro theory of evolutionary economics in which “an economic system is a population of rules, a structure of rules, and a process of rules.” The most important feature of a meso-economic framework is to study the actual web of contracts, formal or informal, in family, corporate, market, civil, and social institutions. Doing so provides a natural linkage between micro and macro, because the micro-level rules and institutions typically imply macro-level consequences.

Meta-economics goes still further, by studying deeper functional aspects of the economy, understood as a complex, interactive, and holistic living system. It asks questions like why an economy is more competitive and sustainable than others, how and why institutions’ governance structures evolve, and how China developed four global-scale supply chains in manufacturing, infrastructure, finance, and government services within such a

short period of time.

In order to study the deep hidden principles behind human behavior, meta-economics requires us to adopt an open-minded, systemic, and evolutionary approach, and to recognize the real economy as a complex living system within other systems. This is difficult, because official statistics mismeasure – or simply miss – many of the real economy’s hidden rules and practices.

For example, measurements of GDP currently neglect the costs of natural-resource replacement, pollution, and the destruction of biodiversity. Furthermore, it is common to assume in public policy that what is not easily measured statistically is insignificant or does not exist. Static, linear, and closed analyses applied to open, nonlinear, dynamic, and interconnected systems are bound to be faulty and incomplete.

The British economist Fritz Schumacher understood that human institutions, as complex structures with dynamic governance, require systemic analysis. He defined meta-economics as the humanizing of economics by accounting for the imperative of a sustainable environment; thus, he included elements of moral philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and sociology that transcend the boundaries of profit maximization and individual rationality.

Similarly, Eric Beinhocker, at the newly established Institute for New Economic Thinking, argues for “a new way of seeing and understanding the economic world.” Such an approach requires incorporating psychology, anthropology, sociology, history, physics, biology, mathematics, computer science, and other disciplines that study complex adaptive systems.

We believe that the framework of “micro-macro-meso-metaeconomics” – what we call “systemnomics” – is a more complete way to analyze human economies, understood as complex living systems evolving within dynamically changing complex natural systems. This is a particularly useful framework for analyzing the evolution of ancient but re-emerging economies such as China and India, which are large enough to have a profound impact on other economies and on our natural environment.

Andrew Sheng is President of the Fung Global Institute.

Xiao Geng is Director of Research at the Fung Global Institute. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

October 17 - 23, 2012

FinancialMirror.com

COMMENT | 9

Japan’s Secret Demographic Weapon As the annual World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings get underway in Tokyo, Japanese leaders must confront an unfolding demographic disaster. Japan’s National Institute of Population and Social Security Research recently forecast that by 2060, the country will have lost nearly one-third of its 2010 population of 128 million, and just half of this smaller population will be between 15 and 65 years old – the most productive age group in any economy.

These are the kinds of numbers usually produced by wars and epidemics, and they imply both a dramatic drop in the number of young people able to provide for their elders and a much greater debt burden for a country that is already carrying one of the world’s heaviest.

To solve this problem, Japan’s political leaders have three options: find some way to raise the country’s birthrate dramatically, open a long-insular society to a wave of immigrants, or finally unveil the country’s secret weapon – the energy, talents, and ingenuity of Japanese women.

Opening the country to a surge of immigrants makes sense, but Japan is not about to become an American-style melting pot, and this solution alone would be inadequate to the scale of the demographic challenge. Foreigners make up less than 2% of Japan’s population, and a United Nations report from 2001 found that Japan would need inflows averaging 609,000 immigrants per year until 2050 to maintain the percentage of its working-age population.

That is why Japanese policymakers should prioritize drawing more women into the workforce. For the moment, things are moving in the wrong direction. Japan slipped from 80th place in the World Economic Forum’s gender-gap rankings in 2006 to 98th in 2011, a worrying sign that a critical opportunity is being missed. For women in the workplace, Japan remains the Saudi Arabia of the developed world.

The first step toward reversing this trend could be to create work environments that are better suited to the needs of Japanese women,

and that promote their talents. Government officials have taken modest steps in this direction, but culture and inertia remain powerful obstacles.

Still, the prize for getting this right is worth the effort. A 2010 Goldman Sachs study concludes that an increase in female labor-force participation rates to parity with men would add 8.2 million workers

By IAN BREMMER and SUSAN SCHWAB

to Japan’s economy, virtually erase the projected decline in the country’s working-age population, and boost GDP growth by 15%.

The problem is not that Japanese women lack opportunities for higher education; the university enrollment rate for 18-year-old women already exceeded that of men in 2005. But just 65% of women with college degrees are now working.

One problem is that working for Japanese firms often requires both long hours on the job and post-work socializing with colleagues – customs that make life harder for working mothers. But Japanese men, who spend less time caring for children than fathers in most other industrialized countries, could share more of the responsibilities of parenting. Better work-life balance would benefit both men and women. And increasing the availability of affordable child care would help, too.

Those who resist feminizing the workforce might argue that doing so would mean fewer children – and thus a new demographic complication. But the evidence suggests otherwise. OECD countries with higher female labor-force participation rates also have higher

birth rates. Japan’s birthrate has already fallen to just 1.37 children per female, far below the level that would keep the population constant.

Beyond the cultural obstacles, Japanese policymakers could take many concrete steps. According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, 54.7% of women were employed on a non-regular basis in 2011. Officials could encourage employers to offer women permanent, full-time positions, rather than all-too-common temporary contracts, which mean lower pay, less stability, and a lack of opportunity for advancement.

More important, current tax policies that reinforce women’s overrepresentation in temporary contract work should be changed. Both the OECD and the Goldman Sachs study identify rules that discourage women from working. A “special dependent” exemption that could be claimed by heads of households (mainly men) for dependents (mainly women) who earned less than about $12,000 per year was eliminated in 2004, but a “dependent” exemption still remains.

Policymakers could also find creative ways to increase the odds that women will return to the labor market after having children.

They could close Japan’s salary gender gap – wider than in any OECD country except South Korea – in part by establishing rules that reward performance rather than seniority. And they could help to create credible opportunities for women to rise to leadership positions.

Opening Japan to more immigrants could help it to meet its demographic challenge. But the more durable solution is already inside the country.

Ian Bremmer is President of Eurasia Group and the author of Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World. Susan Schwab is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. © Project Syndicate, 2012. www.project-syndicate.org

October 17 - 23, 2012

FinancialMirror.com

COMPANY NEWS | 11

Nicosia rocks with first Hard Rock Café The latest Hard Rock Cafe opened in the heart of Nicosia over the weekend, taking up all of 21 Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue with a 560-square-meter location over three floors with space for 300 guests, including an 80seat rooftop garden, a live music area and two vibrant bars. The cafe also features a Rock Shop with limitededition items and city-specific merchandise.

Memorabilia from Hard Rock’s iconic collection adorns the walls in Nicosia, including a jumpsuit worn by Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee; drumsticks owned by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich; a set list handwritten by Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins; a Carolina Herrera scarf worn by Will.I.Am of Black Eyed Peas; Jon Bon Jovi’s acoustic guitar and much more.

The Legendary Experience menu features a selection of 10-ounce Legendary Burgers, while the Smokehouse Menu uses Hickory wood chips to slowly cook its ribs, chicken and pork to juicy, tender perfection.

The award-winning drinks menu includes Hurricanes, Margaritas, signature favourites and Alternative Rock (alcohol-free) beverages, all available in souvenir collectible glassware.

KPMG is world’s 2nd most attractive employer

PwC global revenues rise to $31.5 bln

For the third year running KPMG was ranked the world’s second most attractive employer. The rankings are associated with Universum’s annual survey, “World’s Most Attractive Employer”. In all, 75,000 business students from the world’s leading academic institutions selected KPMG for the prestigious second spot.

“Attracting top students into our firms enables us to bring the best talent, expertise and knowledge to our clients” says Michael Andrew, chairman of KPMG International. “We are proud that students globally are recognizing our employment offer and have ranked us so highly for the third consecutive year. What makes the ranking especially meaningful is that it is based on the opinions of those who represent the future of KPMG and our clients.”

For his part, Christos Vasiliou, KPMG Cyprus board member and Head of HR, stated: “We are extremely proud of this achievement. With 760 people, KPMG Cyprus is one of the largest employers on the island. The continuous recruitment of graduates forms an integral part of our success. Recognising the fact that our people are our most valuable asset, especially in recessionary times, we contribute our outmost into their training and development needs.

Universum, a global talent consultant, develops its global index of the top 50 most attractive employers by asking students pursuing business and engineering degrees to identify their “ideal” employer. Responses are gathered at leading academic institutions in the 12 largest economies: Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, the US and the UK.

PwC reported record total gross revenues for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2012 of US$31.5 bln. At constant exchange rates, PwC’s total global revenues rose by 8%. PwC firms reported particularly strong revenue increases of 13% in both North America and South America. This sustained growth follows a similarly strong performance last year and consolidates PwC’s market position in the region.

Revenue growth in the Middle East and Africa was also strong - up 15%. PwC firms in Asia continued to grow well with FY 2012 revenues up 8%.

The network’s aggregate revenues also increased in Europe, despite the impact on growth of the uncertain outlook for the Eurozone. PwC firms reported revenue growth of 4% in Western Europe and 8% in Central and Eastern Europe, both higher growth rates than in the previous year.

Overall, PwC firms enjoyed underlying revenue growth in all its major markets around the world both developed and developing. Revenues from developing markets now account for 20% of PwC’s

aggregate global revenues. They are expected to reach 40% by 2017.

In addition to boosting revenues, PwC also continued its focus on recruitment and training. In FY 2012 PwC firms recruited a record 20,500 graduates, making it one of the largest graduate recruiters around the world.

In total, PwC expanded its workforce by 7% in FY 2012, taking the total number of people to over 180,000 for the first time.

“We are in the midst of a global economic rebalancing,” said Dennis Nally, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd. “Economic growth in the developing markets will continue to outpace expansion in the more established economies. That shift heightens the ongoing need to attract talented, skilled people and make sure they are located where our clients require them. We are committed to making the investments to recruit and retain the best people and to focus on consistently providing the highest quality services.”

Emirates SkyCargo boosts Australia trade links Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, will carry up to 14 tonnes of freight per flight between South Australia and Dubai when four weekly flights to Adelaide launch on November 1, significantly boosting cargo capacity between Dubai and South Australia.

The additional 56 tonnes will take the weekly capacity to and from Australia to 1,500 tonnes. Emirates SkyCargo’s capacity, which includes three dedicated freighter services from Sydney

each week, will be further strengthened from 1st March 2013, when the number of services operating from Dubai to Australia rises to 84 per week.

Emirates’ flights to Adelaide will be operated with a B777300ER, and will rise to a daily service from February 1, 2013.

Emirates flies daily between Dubai and Larnaca. Every morning, flight EK 107 arrives from Dubai while in the afternoon EK108 arrives from Malta on its flight back to Dubai.

Gulf Air Cargo marks major milestone with e-Freight Gulf Air has launched the electronic Air Way Bill (e-AWB), replacing the traditional paper Air Way Bill that consumed significant time, cost and paperwork.

The first cargo shipment under the e-AWB was moved from Bahrain to Dubai recently and with this achievement, Gulf Air has joined the ranks of the few e-Freight capable airlines in the region. The move also marks another important environmentfriendly initiative as the e-AWB; it reduces the use of tonnes of paper used for filling in several forms and documents.

“We are hopeful of turning our Bahrain hub into a complete

e-freight station by the middle of 2014 with support from Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority, Bahrain Airport Company, Bahrain Airport Services and freight forwarders in tune with IATA’s vision of achieving 100% e-freight by 2015,” said Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali.

The e-AWB is a crucial step towards adoption of full eFreight, which replaces up to 20 paper documents with electronic versions for every shipment. E-Freight increases the speed and security of air cargo, which will serve to benefit world trade and economic growth.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

12 | WORLD

Cold, calm and cloudy may mean power cuts for W. Europe l

Delayed French reactor restarts cause concern, while Belgian reactor problems add to tightness

Western Europe faces a potential electricity supply crisis this winter as France and Belgium struggle with their ageing reactors and after Germany took out a big chunk of its nuclear capacity.

Tight power supply may spark local blackouts in the event of a severe cold spell and could also trigger price spikes at a time industry, bruised by the economic slowdown, badly needs to save energy costs.

As winter nears, policymakers and the energy industry are under high pressure to implement pre-emptive remedies to avoid any disruption.

France, the world’s most nuclear-reliant nation, has been grappling with heavy maintenance work and delayed restarts at its reactors for the past six months. Germany shut eight of its oldest reactors after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

“In statistical terms, there is more probability to have heightened problems (this winter)... and we are more worried about extreme scenarios,” said Fabien Roques, who leads European power research at IHS Global Insight.

Extreme weather conditions could be a cold snap with grey skies and no wind, curbing wind and solar power output, he said.

“That would be a catastrophic situation, not just in Germany but also in neighbouring countries... a situation of maximum (network) tension with a higher probability of local blackouts or bigger electricity cuts.”

Cross-border flows in Europe are meant to even out problems in individual countries. Electricity flows between France and Germany represent capacity equivalent to five nuclear reactors.

But Germany in the first half of this year saw a 40% drop in imports from France, on which it relied last year to make up for shortfalls, industry data shows. France in 2011 had stepped up exports to Germany by nearly a third, but is not currently in a position to do that.

A big blow to supply in the region has also come from cracks at Belgian nuclear reactors Tihange 2 and Doel 3, which have grounded 2,000 MW when Belgium would be typically expected to be a net exporter to France.

LUCKY ESCAPE IN FEBRUARY

The region was already hit by a cold snap in February when

French consumption peaked at 102,100 megawatts (MW), pushing the network to its limits and obliging it to import a record of 9,000 MW from its neighbours, including Germany.

Germany then came dangerously close to a network breakdown because of errors in the forecasts for balancing power made by suppliers.

If anything the situation is more critical now. In February, French nuclear power capacity, which meets three-quarters of electricity consumption, stood at over 95%, compared to just 72.6% today.

Wind turbines were also operating at full capacity during the cold snap in Germany, Denmark and Belgium, Roques pointed out, adding this may not be the case in future tight scenarios.

ANALYSIS While France generally has steady power supplies thanks to its 58 nuclear reactors, it lacks flexible capacity - usually generated by gas, coal or oil-fired plants - to meet peak evening-time demand during cold snaps when workers return home and switch on heating and appliances.

“In case of insufficient production, several solutions exist such as calling on the population to turn down their heating... as well as cutting electricity for one or two hours in some neighbourhoods that don’t have hospitals,” said Jean-Marie Chevalier, who heads Paris-Dauphine university’s energy centre.

France and Germany make up two-thirds of European power consumption in a converging wholesale market that relies on cross-border flows and trading in order to optimise prices and allocate of supplies.

If freezing weather comes earlier this winter, France’s EDF may not have enough time to bring its nuclear reactors back up to full capacity, leaving the system vulnerable to supply strains.

EDF and its transport arm RTE declined to comment on the matter. RTE will release a study on the issue later in October.

France relies heavily on electric heating developed by successive governments to absorb supplies generated by its nuclear reactors. Germany uses mainly gas and fuel oil heaters.

“France has also pushed for electrical heating beyond reasonable levels so during extreme cold temperatures there is additional demand which is hard to manage,” Chevalier added.

France reaches new power demand records nearly each time a cold snap hits. Although its population is 15 mln less than Germany’s, its power use can be double that recorded by its neighbour.

NO PRICE SHOCK YET

Germany, the euro zone’s biggest economy, has nearly 60,000 MW of wind and solar capacity - equivalent to France’s nuclear power capacity, quite apart from large thermal capacity.

This green power provides it with a buffer, but the variable nature of both wind and solar can reduce its ability to offer supply at home and across its borders.

Wind can come in variable gusts and the midday sun wanes - challenging engineers who have to balance the networks accordingly, and managers buying balancing power.

Germany otherwise has comfortable supply, thanks to thermal power stations fuelled by gas, uranium and coal, but bad forecasts and unplanned outages can threaten the balance.

Network disruptions have grown significantly over the years, Germany’s lobby for industrial users (VIK) said. Outages below a duration of even one second can matter significantly for makers of high-precision goods.

“This can briefly idle production in some firms and cause enormous costs,” said Hans-Peter Keitel, the head of Germany’s Federation of Industry (BDI).

To maximise safety, Germany’s energy regulator requires 2,000 MW of thermal reserve capacity for this winter.

“When things became a bit hairy last February, Germany accessed its cold reserve and they had enough to cover,” said Paolo Coghe, a senior power analyst at Societe Generale.

So far lower demand due to the euro zone crisis and mild weather forecasts have played a part in preventing an electricity price spike on the fragile winter supply scenario.

But a more important factor has been the increasing mismatch of price levels and supply risk. German green power, which must be absorbed by grids when available, curbs prices and erodes the profitability and investment case of conventional power. “The huge additions of especially solar capacity this year mean that spot prices have fallen,” said Konstantin Lenz of Berlin-based Lenz Energy. “As a consequence, the price levels overall are down and make it increasingly difficult to achieve profitability with power capacity fired by gas.”

$1.2 trln gap for U.S. public pensions l

Underfunding estimates in line with previous studies

The largest 100 U.S. public pension funds have around $1.2 trln of unfunded liabilities, about $300 bln above the nearly $900 bln they reported themselves, according to a new actuarial study.

The pension systems reported a median funding level of 75.1%. The study by the actuarial firm Milliman, which used different ways to value assets and measure liabilities, finds an aggregate level of funding of 67.8%.

But Milliman, one of the world’s largest actuarial firms, took a close look at U.S. public pension funding for the first time, and said the multibillion-dollar difference was good news.

Rebecca Sielman, the report’s author, said results should reassure the public that America’s public pensions in general are accurately reporting their funding shortfalls.

The difference between what public pensions across the United States have reported and what Milliman found wasn’t significant, Sielman said. She noted that a relatively small change in the way the figures are calculated could lead to seemingly outsized results because the funds are so large.

“The numbers really didn’t change that much,” she said. “It really didn’t move the needle.”

Both the pension funds’ reported results and Milliman’s findings fell within the range of previous estimates from other studies of the total size of the public pension shortfall in the United States.

With the study, Milliman, stepped into the debate about whether public pensions are underreporting the size of their

liabilities. That hot-button issue revolves around how much money public employers - and, by extension, taxpayers - will have to contribute to cover future payouts for member benefits.

It is a key issue at a time of dwindling revenues and tighter budgets for states and local governments.

Pension funds get money from the returns on their assets and from members’ contributions. States and cities also pay into the funds, but their contributions are discounted based on how much money they think their investments will make over time.

The 100 funds Milliman studied used a median rate of return for their investments of 8%. But the recession slashed into the market, dropping actual median returns to just 3.2% for the last five years, according to data from Callan Associates.

The difference has prompted critics to claim that the funds are underreporting their unfunded liabilities, or the gap between what they’ve promised to pay retirees in the future and what they’ll actually have on hand to cover the benefits.

Critics have called for public pensions to reduce their assumed rates of return to as little as 5% or less, which would cause unfunded liabilities to soar and likely leave taxpayers having to cover the difference.

But without the change, critics say, future generations will be left to deal with a financial bomb.

Other studies have tried to measure the overall size of the problem. The Pew Center on the States found that the shortfall is about $766 bln. Moody’s Investors Service said in July that

the collective gap would be $2.2 trln if funds used a 5.5% discount rate.

Milliman has studied the health of the 100 largest private pension funds for about a decade. But this is its first study of public plans, conducted specifically to determine whether the systems were using unrealistically high return-rate assumptions as the critics claimed. “I thought that we would find fairly pervasive use of interest rates that are high relative to current market consensus about future investment returns, and we didn’t find that,” Sielman said.

The firm, which has done actuarial work for nearly all of the U.S. states in the past, examined each individual fund in the study, using market valuations instead of smoothed valuations to measure assets and recalibrating liabilities based on Milliman’s own benchmarks of expected long-term returns.

The firm found that the median discount rate should actually be 7.65%, rather than the 8% median rate the funds used in aggregate.

A third of the plans were using lower rates than they needed to, Milliman found, according to Sielman.

EB¢OMA¢IAIA OIKONOMIKH ¶√§π∆π∫∏ EºHMEPI¢A AÚ. 885

www.financialmirror.com

∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 17 √∫∆øµƒπ√À, 2012

∞Ó·Ù·Ú¿ÍÂȘ ÛÙÔÓ ÙÚ·Â˙ÈÎfi ÙÔ̤· ·fi ÙËÓ ∂∆À∫ ΑποκαλυπτικÞσ Þσον αφορά τισ εισηγήσεισ τησ ∆ιοίκησησ τησ Λαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ για αποκοπέσ στισ απολαβέσ του προσωπικού του Οµίλου στην Κύπρο, ήταν ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Ενωσησ Τραπεζικών Υπαλλήλων, Λοϊζοσ Χατζηκωστήσ. Ùπωσ είπε «η πρÞταση τουσ ήταν για 13%. Εµείσ διαφωνήσαµε γιατί θίγονται οι χαµηλά αµοιβÞµενοι και προστατεύονται τα υψηλÞβαθµα στελέχη. Με βάση τισ σηµερινέσ προτάσεισ τησ Τράπεζασ που µιλά Þτι δεν θα είχε κανένα που θα γλίτωνε τη µείωση του µισθού του θα είχε µια µείωση 6%, πρÞσθετα 4% αποκοπή απÞ το Ταµείο Προνοίασ και αφαίρεση των επιδοµάτων που παίρνουν λÞγων ειδικών καθηκÞντων». Κατά τον κύριο Χατζηκωστή, η ΕΤΥΚ θα συναινέσει σε αποκοπέσ 12,5% που προβλέπονται στο διάταγµα τησ κυβέρνησησ, προσ Þφελοσ των χαµηλά αµειβÞµενων. Κατέθεσε και την άποψη του, γιατί δεν µπορεί να εφαρµοστεί το σχέδιο αναδιάρθρωσησ τησ Λαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ, που εκπÞνησε η KPMG και προβλέπει αποχώρηση εξακÞσιων στελεχών σε βάθοσ πενταετίασ. «Το σχέδιο προέβλεπε την αποχώρηση του 50% του προσωπικού στην Ελλάδα. Πριν 15 µέρεσ η Τράπεζα υπέγραψε Þπωσ µην αποχωρήσει κανένασ υπάλληλοσ µέχρι το 2014. Θεωρώ Þτι το σχέδιο πρέπει να πάει στα σκουπίδια». ΑπÞ πλευράσ Λαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ αναφέρθηκε Þτι στÞχοσ είναι να καταλήξουν σε συµφωνία µε την ΕΤΥΚ µέχρι το τέλοσ Οκτωβρίου. Ενώ η θέση τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ είναι Þπωσ βρεθεί σύντοµα µια κοινή συνισταµένη που θα µειώνει το λειτουργικÞ κÞστοσ τησ Τράπεζασ και να διασφαλίζει τη βιωσιµÞτητα τησ.

∆· ‚ڋΠ̠∂ÏÏËÓÈ΋ ∆Ú¿Â˙· ÁÈ· ˘Âڈڛ˜ Την ίδια ώρα η ΕΤΥΚ κατήλθε σε σηµαντική συµφωνία µε την Ελληνική Τράπεζα Þσον αφορά στο θέµα των υπερωριών των εργαζοµένων του Οµίλου. Συγκεκριµένα συµφωνήθηκε Þπωσ γίνει καταγραφή των δεδουλευµένων υπερωριών, σε Παγκύπρια κλίµακα, απÞ 1η Σεπτεµβρίου 2012 και Þσεσ απÞ αυτέσ δεν έχουν αποζηµιωθεί µέσα απÞ τη συµβατική διαδικασία, θα υπολογισθούν και θα καταβληθούν στουσ δικαιούχουσ υπÞ µορφή ετήσιασ άδειασ. Αυτή η διευθέτηση θα ισχύσει µέχρισ Þτου ικανοποιηθούν οι τρέχουσεσ έκτακτεσ ανάγκεσ τησ Τράπεζασ. Η διευθέτηση αυτή επιτεύχθηκε στο πρÞτυπο παρÞµοιασ διευθέτησησ µε άλλη Τράπεζα και αντανακλά την κοινή θέση ΕΤΥΚ και Τράπεζασ για συγκράτηση των εξÞδων. Θέλουµε Þµωσ ταυτÞχρονα να τονίσουµε και την ευθύνη που φέρουν οι ∆ιευθυντέσ τµηµάτων, υπηρεσιών και καταστηµάτων σε Þτι αφορά την ορθή καταγραφή των υπερωριών, Þπωσ επίσησ και την ευθύνη των ίδιων των συναδέλφων να καταγράφουν την ορθή ώρα προσέλευσησ και αποχώρησησ τουσ απÞ την εργασία.

∞ÓÙÈ·Ú¿ıÂÛË ÌÂ Societe Generale Bank Η ΕΤΥΚ αναµένεται να αντιδράσει έντονα πάντωσ σε τισ αποφάσεισ τησ διοίκησησ τησ

Societe Generale Bank Kύπρου Þσον αφορά το κλείσιµο του υποκαταστήµατοσ τησ στο Παραλίµνι και την απÞλυση 4 υπαλλήλων ωσ πλεονάζον προσωπικÞ. Ùπωσ υποστηρίζει η ΕΤΥΚ η διοίκηση τησ Τράπεζασ πάσχει απÞ έλλειψη προσωπικού και Þφειλε µε βάση τη νοµοθεσία που επικαλείται να προσφέρει τισ θέσεισ εργασίασ αυτέσ, στουσ συναδέλφουσ τησ του Παραλιµνίου. Σύντοµα αναµένεται να γίνει συζήτηση τησ κατάστασησ που δηµιουργείται και λήψη αποφάσεων για τον περαιτέρω χειρισµÞ τησ.

√¯˘ÚÒÓÔÓÙ·È Ù· ™˘ÓÂÚÁ·ÙÈο Την αντίθεσή τησ στισ εισηγήσεισ τησ ΤρÞϊκα, για ανάληψη τησ εποπτείασ των Συνεργατικών Πιστωτικών Ιδρυµάτων απÞ την Κεντρική Τράπεζα, εκφράζει η Παγκύπρια Συνεργατική Συνοµοσπονδία. Ùπωσ σηµειώνει πιθανή ανάληψη τησ εποπτείασ των Συνεργατικών Πιστωτικών Ιδρύµάτων απÞ την Κεντρική Τράπεζα, θα έχει ωσ αποτέλεσµα τη

συρρίκνωση του συνεργατικού πιστωτικού τοµέα, καθώσ και την αλλοίωση του ανθρωποκεντρικού χαρακτήρα, µε Þλεσ τισ συνεπακÞλουθεσ συνέπειεσ για τα κατώτερα και µεσαία εισοδηµατικά στρώµατα τησ κυπριακήσ κοινωνίασ, προειδοποιεί µε ανακοίνωση τησ η Παγκύπρια Συνεργατική Οµοσπονδία. Ωσ γνωστÞ τα ΣΠΙ διαφωνούν και µε την εισήγηση του ∆ιοικητή τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ Πανίκου ∆ηµητριάδη Þπωσ η εποπτεία τουσ να µεταφερθεί απÞ τον Έφορο Συνεργατικήσ Ανάπτυξησ στη Συνεργατική Κεντρική Τράπεζα η οποία ελέγχεται έµµεσα απÞ την Κεντρική Τράπεζα. Η Συνεργατική Οµοσπονδία αναφέρει, τέλοσ, Þτι παραµένει ανοικτή σε συζήτηση εναλλακτικών λύσεων που θα µπορούσαν να γίνουν αποδεκτέσ απÞ την ΤρÞϊκα, αλλά που σε καµία περίπτωση δεν θα οδηγούν σε κατάργηση τησ ξεχωριστήσ αρµÞδιασ εποπτικήσ αρχήσ ή σε επιβολή λύσεων που θα θέσουν σε σοβαρÞ κίνδυνο το συνεργατισµÞ στην Κύπρο.

∫ÂÓÙÚÈ΋ ∆Ú¿Â˙·: ¢ÂÓ ˆÏÂ›Ù·È Ô ¯Ú˘Ûfi˜ Φρένο στη φηµολογία που φέρει την Κεντρική Τράπεζα να εµφανίζεται έτοιµη να προχωρήσει σε πώληση των αποθέµατων που έχει σε χρυσÞ ώστε να αποφευχθεί η στάση πληρωµών σε περίπτωση που οδηγεί σε ναυάγιο η προσπάθεια τησ κυβέρνησησ ∆ηµήτρη ΧριστÞφια µε την ΤρÞϊκα για υπογραφή µνηµονίου βάζει η εποπτική αρχή των Τραπεζών. ΥψηλÞβαθµη πηγή τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ που µίλησε στην εφηµερίδα µασ

τÞνισε Þτι ούτε υπήρξε, ούτε θα υπάρξει τέτοιο ζήτηµα καθώσ δεν σκοπεύουν σε καµιά περίπτωση να πωλήσουν Þλο είτε µέροσ του ποσοστού που κατέχουν σε χρυσÞ το οποίο µε βάση τισ σηµερινή αξίασ τησ τιµήσ του χρυσού πλησιάζει τα 800 εκατοµµύρια ευρώ. Η ίδια πηγή χαρακτήρισε ωσ δρÞµο χωρίσ επιστροφή του κυπριακού µνηµονίου προσθέτοντασ πωσ η

Ευρωζώνη σε καµία περίπτωση δεν θα άφηνε ένα µέλοσ τησ να χρεοκοπήσει καθώσ αυτÞ θα είχε αρνητικÞ αντίκτυπο για τα υπÞλοιπα 16 µέλη που την αποτελούν. Ùπωσ πληροφορείται η εφηµερία µασ, εάν και εφÞσον ηγερθή θέµα πώλησησ του χρυσού θα πρέπει

πρώτα να εγκριθεί απÞ το ∆Σ τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ. Η Κεντρική µε βάση συµφωνία που υπέγραψε µε τισ υπÞλοιπεσ Κεντρικέσ Τράπεζεσ των χωρών κρατών τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Ένωσησ δεν µπορεί να προχωρήσει σε πώληση Þλων των αποθεµάτων τησ αλλά µÞνο κάποιου µικρού ποσοστού απÞ αυτά, ενώ η κυβέρνηση διά νÞµου µπορεί να επωφεληθεί µε το 80% των καθαρών κερδών τησ αγοραπωλησίασ που προέβη η Κεντρική Τράπεζα.

∆ÚfiÈη ·ÎÔ‡˜… ∫¿Ùˆ Ù· ¯¤ÚÈ· ·fi ÙÔ ™˘ÓÂÚÁ·ÙÈÛÌfi ΟµÞφωνα αποφάσισε η Επιτροπή Εµπορίου τησ Βουλήσ την αποστολή επιστολήσ στον ΠρÞεδρο τησ ∆ηµοκρατίασ και τουσ

πολιτικούσ αρχηγούσ, στην οποία στηρίζεται η ανεξαρτησία του Συνεργατισµού στην Κύπρο. Λίγο πολύ οµÞφωνα η Επιτροπή Εµπορίου θέλει να στείλει το µήνυµα και προσ την ΤρÞικα και προσ κάθε ενδιαφερÞµενο: κάτω τα χέρια απÞ το ΣυνεργατισµÞ, τÞσο απλά. Στην επιστολή αναφέρεται πωσ το ΣυνεργατικÞ κίνηµα στην Κύπρο µε το συγκεκριµένο µοντέλο λειτουργίασ και ανάπτυξησ κατÞρθωσε να διαγράψει µια επιτυχή πορεία πέραν του ενÞσ αιώνοσ, προσφέροντασ στον απλÞ πολίτη, στον απλÞ άνθρωπο, στο κοινωνικοοικονοµικÞ σύστηµα και ευρύτερα αποτέλεσε παράδειγµα και υπÞδειγµα σωστήσ διαχείρισησ. «Τονίζουµε Þτι µπορούν να υπάρξουν

βελτιώσεισ και τροποποιήσεισ για θωράκιση και ενίσχυση του Συνεργατισµού, αλλά σε καµία περίπτωση δεν υιοθετείται η άποψη τησ τρÞικασ για αλλαγή και αλλοίωση του χαρακτήρα, του δυναµισµού, τησ λειτουργίασ Συνεργατισµού», είπε ο ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ Λευτέρησ ΧριστοφÞρου. Ο ΣυνεργατισµÞσ, είπε, «ήταν πάντα το καταφύγιο των χαµηλά αµειβοµένων, των συνταξιούχων, των µικροµεσαίων επιχειρήσεων, αλλά και του ευρύτερου επιχειρηµατικού κÞσµου για βοήθεια».

∞Ú¯ÈÂ›ÛÎÔÔ˜: ™Â‚·ÛÌfi˜! «Κάτω τα χέρια απÞ τον ΣυνεργατισµÞ», δήλωσε και ο Αρχιεπίσκοποσ Κύπρου

ΧρυσÞστοµοσ Β’. «Οφείλει η ΤρÞικα να σεβαστεί τον ΣυνεργατισµÞ, γιατί αν επεβίωσε αυτÞσ ο λαÞσ στισ δύσκολεσ ηµέρεσ που εµείσ οι παλαιÞτεροι ζήσαµε είναι εξαιτίασ του Συνεργατισµού», δήλωσε. Ανατρέχοντασ στην παιδική του ηλικία, ο Αρχιεπίσκοποσ είπε Þτι Þσοι κατάγονταν Þπωσ αυτÞσ απÞ φτωχέσ οικογένειεσ, δεν µπορούσαν να ξοφλήσουν το χρέοσ γιατί κάθε χρÞνο διπλασιαζÞταν και αν δεν ήταν ο ΣυνεργατισµÞσ, πάρα πολλέσ οικογένειεσ θα πεινούσαν και θα έτρωγαν Þλη την περιουσία τουσ χωρίσ να µπορούν να βγουν απÞ πάνω. «Για αυτÞ πρέπει Þλοι µασ να προσέξουµε τον συνεργατισµÞ», ανέφερε.

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

17 OKTΩΒΡΙΟΥ, 2012

2/14 | ΕΙ∆ΗΣΕΙΣ

¡¤Ô ¯·Ú¿ÙÛÈ ÛÙ· ·Î›ÓËÙ· Αντιδράσεισ στην πλειοψηφία των κοµµάτων τησ αντιπολίτευσησ προκάλεσε η επιβολή νέων τελών στην εκχώρηση τησ ακίνητησ περιουσίασ που προωθεί η κυβέρνηση. Το νοµοσχέδιο τησ Κυβέρνησησ προβλέπει νέα τέλη για υπηρεσίεσ που προσφέρονται απÞ το Τµήµα Κτηµατολογίου και Χωροµετρίασ. Το νοµοσχέδιο αφορά την επιβολή τελών σε περιπτώσεισ Þπου ο αγοραστήσ καταθέσει στο κτηµατολÞγιο συµφωνία µε την οποία θα εκχωρεί τα δικαιώµατα πώλησησ ακίνητησ ιδιοκτησίασ Μέχρι σήµερα οι συµφωνίεσ που κατατίθεντο στο κτηµατολÞγιο ήταν τα αγοραπωλητήρια γησ. Με τη νέα τροποποίηση του νÞµου -την οποία έχει ψηφίσει η Βουλή εδώ και ένα χρÞνο και αφορά την ειδική εκτέλεση µεταβίβασησ ακινήτου - πλέον ένασ αγοραστήσ δικαιούται να εκχωρήσει τα δικαιώµατα µιασ συµφωνίασ για την αγορά µιασ ακίνητησ περιουσίασ σε ένα τρίτο πρÞσωπο. Πλέον ο αγοραστήσ θα δικαιούται να καταθέσει αυτή τη

συµφωνία στο κτηµατολÞγιο και αυτή η συµφωνία µπορεί να αποτελέσει και εξασφάλιση για την παροχή ενÞσ δανείου. Σύµφωνα µε το νοµοσχέδιο, στÞχοσ είναι η ρύθµιση τησ καταβολήσ τελών και δικαιωµάτων για υπηρεσίεσ που προσφέρονται απÞ το Τµήµα Κτηµατολογίου και Χωροµετρίασ «και ωσ εκ τούτου προβλέπεται Þτι θα επηρεάσει θετικά τα κρατικά έσοδα». Το νοµοσχέδιο προτείνει συγκεκριµένα επιβολή τέλουσ πενήντα ευρώ για κατάθεση συµβάσεωσ πώλησησ ακινήτου, απÞ 1,71 ευρώ που ισχύει σήµερα. Προτείνεται, επίσησ, επιβολή τέλουσ 50 ευρώ σε περίπτωση εκχώρησησ του ακινήτου απÞ γονέα προσ τέκνο ή απÞ συγγενή προσ συγγενή µέχρι και του τρίτου βαθµού συγγένειασ, ή απÞ σύζυγο προσ σύζυγο. Το νοµοσχέδιο προτείνει ακÞµη επιβολή τέλουσ 50 ευρώ σε περίπτωση εκχώρησησ απÞ ή εκ µέρουσ εταιρείασ, τησ οποίασ οι µέτοχοι είναι σύζυγοι ή και τέκνα αυτών, σε σύζυγο

ºˆÙÔ‚ÔÏÙ·˚ο Û˘ÛÙ‹Ì·Ù· Û οı Û›ÙÈ Το γενικÞτερο ενεργειακÞ σχεδιασµÞ σε Þ,τι αφορά τισ Ανανεώσιµεσ Πηγέσ Ενέργειασ και την εφαρµογή του συστήµατοσ ‘net metering’ συζήτησε η Επιτροπή Εµπορίου τησ Βουλήσ, µε τουσ Βουλευτέσ να τοποθετούνται υπέρ του µέτρου. Με το µέτρο επιτρέπεται στουσ πολίτεσ η εγκατάσταση φωτοβολταϊκού συστήµατοσ, η σύνδεσή του µε το δίκτυο τησ ΑΗΚ και η αφαίρεση του παραχθέντοσ ηλεκτρισµού απÞ το λογαριασµÞ τουσ. Το πρÞγραµµα εφαρµÞζεται ήδη σε πιλοτική φάση, η

οποία Þπωσ ανέφερε ενώπιον τησ Επιτροπήσ ο εκπρÞσωποσ τησ ΡΑΕΚ Ανδρέασ Θεοφάνουσ, θα λειτουργήσει για 12 µήνεσ. ΣτÞχοσ είναι να µπορεί να µελετηθεί κατά πÞσο το δίκτυο που υπάρχει µπορεί να ανταπεξέλθει µε πολλέσ µικρέσ µονάδεσ τέτοιου είδουσ σε Þλεσ τισ εποχέσ. Η εγκατάσταση φωτοβολταϊκού συστήµατοσ τησ τάξησ των 7kw που θα τοποθετούσε ένα µέσο σπίτι κοστίζει σύµφωνα µε τουσ επιχειρηµατίεσ φωτοβολταϊκών µεταξύ 11.500 και 15.500 ευρώ, συν ΦΠΑ, ενώ η απÞσβεση υπολογίζεται Þτι θα πάρει µεταξύ 5,5 και 7 χρÞνων.

ª¤¯ÚÈ ÙȘ 21 √ÎÙˆ‚Ú›Ô˘ ÙÔ Motorshow Με πολλέσ εκπλήξεισ και µεγάλεσ προσφορέσ για τουσ φίλουσ του αυτοκινήτου και γενικά τουσ οδηγούσ άνοιξε χθεσ τισ πύλεσ τησ η Έκθεση Αυτοκινήτου Motorshow 2012. Η Έκθεση πραγµατοποιείται στουσ χώρουσ τησ Αρχήσ Κρατικών Εκθέσεων και θα διαρκέσει µέχρι τισ 21 Οκτωβρίου 2012. Ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Αρχήσ Κρατικών Εκθέσεων και ο ΠρÞεδροσ του Συνδέσµου Εισαγωγέων Μηχανοκίνητων Οχηµάτων (ΣΕΜΟ) κ.κ. Λοϊζοσ Κωνσταντίνου και Αλέξανδροσ ∆ιογένουσ αντίστοιχα, τÞνισαν τη σηµασία του φετινού Motorshow τÞσο για τον κλάδο Þσο και για την αγορά. Ùπωσ τÞνισαν, παρά την παρατεταµένη οικονοµική κρίση και το ρευστÞ περιβάλλον, οι ενδιαφερÞµενοι για αγορά αυτοκινήτου έχουν να κερδίσουν πάρα πολλά. Και αυτÞ, πρÞσθεσαν, αφενÞσ γιατί οι εταιρείεσ εισαγωγήσ αυτοκινήτων θα παρουσιάσουν Þλα τα νέα µοντέλα τησ αγοράσ και αφ΄ ετέρου διÞτι θα προσφέρουν στουσ επισκέπτεσ πολύ ελκυστικέσ τιµέσ και προσφορέσ.

Èڛ˜ ¿‰ÂÈ· 400 Á˘ÌÓ·ÛÙ‹ÚÈ· ΜÞνο 50 γυµναστήρια απÞ τα 450 που λειτουργούν στην Κύπρο έχουν τισ άδειεσ λειτουργίασ του ΚΟΑ, σύµφωνα µε στοιχεία που παρουσιάστηκαν ενώπιον τησ Επιτροπήσ Παιδείασ τησ Βουλήσ. Κατά 85% οι λÞγοι είναι πολεοδοµικοί λÞγω µη κατοχήσ άδειασ απÞ τα γυµναστήρια, προσθέτοντασ Þτι η Επιτροπή έχει θέσει χρονοδιάγραµµα για να ψηφιστεί η σχετική νοµοθεσία πριν να κλείσει η Βουλή. Ωσ τισ 20 Νοεµβρίου οι αρµÞδιοι πρέπει να παρουσιάσουν προτάσεισ κανονισµούσ που θα αφορούν τον εκσυγχρονισµÞ τησ νοµοθεσίασ και εισηγήσεισ για επίλυση των προβληµάτων.

ÀÔ¯ÒÚËÛË ÙÔ˘ ÏËıˆÚÈÛÌÔ‡ Σηµαντική υποχώρηση του ετήσιου εναρµονισµένου πληθωρισµού στην Κύπρο το Σεπτέµβριο, καταγράφουν τα στοιχεία που δηµοσιοποίησε η Εurostat. Σύµφωνα µε τα κοινοτικά στοιχεία, ο ετήσιοσ εναρµονισµένοσ πληθωρισµÞσ κυµάνθηκε στην Κύπρο το Σεπτέµβριο στο 3,6% απÞ 4,5% που ήταν τον Αύγουστο. Στην ευρωζώνη ο µέσοσ πληθωρισµÞσ παρέµεινε στα επίπεδα του Αυγούστου, δηλαδή στο 2,6%, Þπωσ και στην ΕΕ στο 2,7%.

Ã∞ƒ∞§∞ª¶π¢∏™ ∫ƒπ™∆∏™: ŒÓ· Á¿Ï·!

Οι τιµέσ καθώσ και οι παρεµφερείσ προσφορέσ που θα υπάρχουν στο Motorshow 2012, είπαν, θα είναι Þτι καλύτερο υπήρξε ποτέ στην αγορά. Στην έκθεση λαµβάνουν µέροσ 34 εταιρείεσ εισαγωγήσ αυτοκινήτων, οι οποίεσ θα παρουσιάσουν τα τελευταία µοντέλα τησ διεθνούσ αυτοκινητοβιοµηχανίασ. Οι ώρεσ λειτουργίασ τησ έκθεσησ είναι καθηµερινέσ απÞ τισ 17:00 – 22:00, Σάββατο 15:00 – 22:00 και Κυριακή 10:00 – 22:00.

M·˜ ¤ÌÂÈÓ·Ó Ù· ·ÓËÁ‡ÚÈ· ÁÈ· ÙËÓ ÎÈÓ¤˙ÈÎË Â¤Ó‰˘ÛË Το θέµα µε την κινεζική επένδυση στο παλιÞ αεροδρÞµιο Λάρνακασ παραµένει ανοικτÞ µεν παγωµένο δε, σύµφωνα µε την ενηµέρωση τησ οποίασ έτυχε χθεσ η Κοινοβουλευτική Επιτροπή Ελέγχου, που κατέληξε στο συµπέρασµα Þτι η διαδικασία που ακολουθήθηκε µέχρι το πάγωµα αντιβαίνει του κεκτηµένου και ωσ εκ τούτου είναι νοµικά διάτρητη. Με βάση αυτά τα δεδοµένα, φαίνεται αδύνατο να προχωρήσει η επένδυση µε το χρονικÞ ορίζοντασ τησ 50ετίασ. Η συζήτηση θα συνεχισθεί την προσεχή εβδοµάδα στην παρουσία του Υπουργού Συγκοινωνιών, ο οποίοσ εξέφρασε την επιθυµία να παραστεί σε επÞµενη συνεδρία για να απαντήσει στα πολιτικά ερωτήµατα που αναφύονται. Το βασικÞ συµπέρασµα, Þπωσ αυτÞ καταγράφεται στην έκθεση τησ Γενικήσ Λογίστριασ είναι Þτι η Þλη διαδικασία για την επιλογή του οικονοµικού φορέα τησ επένδυσησ στο παλιÞ αεροδρÞµιο Λάρνακασ (κινεζική Phoenix) θα έπρεπε να πλη-

ή τέκνο τέτοιου µετÞχου. Προτείνεται, επίσησ, επιβολή τέλουσ ύψουσ 0,5% επί του τιµήµατοσ πώλησησ που καθορίζεται στη σύµβαση πώλησησ ή επί του ποσού για την εκχώρηση που καθορίζεται στη συµφωνία εκχώρησησ, οποιοδήποτε απÞ τα δύο αυτά ποσά είναι το µεγαλύτερο, µε ελάχιστο τέλοσ 50 ευρώ και µέγιστο τέλοσ 3,000ευρώ. Το νοµοσχέδιο προτείνει, επίσησ, επιβολή τέλουσ 200 ευρώ για κατάθεση σύµβασησ εκχώρησησ εξασφάλισησ δυνάµει του περί Πώλησησ Ακινήτων(Ειδική Εκτέλεση) ΝÞµου του 2011. Τισ πρÞνοιεσ του νοµοσχεδίου παρουσίασε ενώπιον των µελών τησ επιτροπήσ Οικονοµικών ο κτηµατολογικÞσ λειτουργÞσ Κλεάνθησ Κλεάνθουσ, ο οποίοσ έκαµε µεταξύ άλλων λÞγο περί τησ ύπαρξησ παρακτηµατολογίου, σηµειώνοντασ Þτι η τροποποίηση τησ νοµοθεσίασ θα βάλει ένα τέλοσ σ’ αυτÞ το φαινÞµενο και το κράτοσ θα πάψει να χάνει εκατοµµύρια ευρώ.

ροί τισ γενικέσ αρχέσ του κοινοτικού δικαίου για τισ δηµÞσιεσ συµβάσεισ, δηλαδή τη διαφάνεια, την ίση µεταχείριση και τη µη διάκριση, πρÞσθεσε ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ Ελέγχου Γιώργοσ Γεωργίου. Αναφέροντασ ακολούθωσ Þτι «οι αρχέσ αυτέσ δεν έχουν τηρηθεί και συνεπώσ η διαδικασία που έχει ακολουθηθεί παραβιάζει το κοινοτικÞ κεκτηµένο και είναι νοµικά διάτρητη», πρÞσθεσε Þτι αυτÞ είναι το βασικÞ συµπέρασµα το οποίο έχει διατυπωθεί. Ο κ. Γεωργίου είπε Þτι το θέµα βρίσκεται σε στάδιο αναµονήσ, παρά το γεγονÞσ Þτι η συγκεκριµένη εταιρεία έχει ενηµερώσει το Υπουργείο Συγκοινωνιών Þτι δεν ενδιαφέρεται για την επένδυση. Ανέφερε Þτι ο επενδυτήσ επανήλθε και σε συνάντηση που είχε µε τον ΥπουργÞ Συγκοινωνιών ζήτησε να παραµείνει ανοικτÞ το θέµα ενÞψει και των διαδικασιών που έχουν ξεκινήσει.

Οι ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ και ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ ενώνονται προσφέροντασ στουσ καταναλωτέσ ένα και µοναδικÞ φρέσκο γάλα. Πλέον απÞ τισ 18 Οκτωβρίου 2012, σταµατά η διάθεση δύο διαφορετικών ονοµάτων και το καταναλωτικÞ κοινÞ τησ Κύπρου, θα βρίσκει στην αγορά φρέσκο γάλα µε την ονοµασία ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ. Ο καταναλωτήσ µπορεί να βρεί γάλα ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ 3% λιπαρά για πλούσια γεύση, ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ 1,5% λιπαρά ελαφρύ για ισορροπηµένη διατροφή, ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ 0% λιπαρά, άπαχο για απÞλαυση χωρίσ λιπαρά, ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ active, µε φυτικέσ ίνεσ που βοηθάει στην καλή λειτουργία του εντέρου, ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ delact, σχεδÞν χωρίσ λακτÞζη που βοηθά άτοµα µε δυσανεξία στη λακτÞζη, και ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΙ∆ΗΣ ΚΡΙΣΤΗΣ plus, µε επιπλέον 40% ασβέστιο για γερά οστά και υγιή οργανισµÞ.

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∞˘ÙÔÊÔÚÔÏfiÁËÛË ·ÎÈÓ‹ÙˆÓ – ªÚ¿‚Ô Ì·˜; ∞¡∆ø¡∏™ §√π∑√À ∞ÓÙÒÓ˘ §Ô›˙Ô˘ F.R.I.C.S. & ™˘ÓÂÚÁ¿Ù˜ §Ù‰, ∂ÎÙÈÌËÙ¤˜ ∞ÎÈÓ‹ÙˆÓ & ¢È·¯ÂÈÚÈÛÙ¤˜ ŒÚÁˆÓ ∞Ó¿Ù˘Í˘

Τον Αύγουστο του 2011 σε αυτÞ το έντυπο υποβάλαµε την άποψη Þτι ήταν αδύνατον το ΚτηµατολÞγιο να προβεί σε εκτιµήσεισ ακινήτων για σκοπούσ φορολογίασ έστω µε τιµέσ 1.1.80 σε σύντοµο χρονικÞ διάστηµα. Εισηγηθήκαµε τÞτε να υιοθετηθεί ένα σύστηµα αυτοφορολÞγησησ (Þπωσ και µε τον φÞρο εισοδήµατοσ) και µασ χαροποιεί που τώρα η Κυβέρνηση υιοθετεί-προτείνει τέτοιο µέτρο. Έχοντασ υπÞψη το επείγον τησ υπÞθεση και υιοθετώντασ Þτι οι τιµέσ για σκοπούσ φορολÞγησησ θα είναι εκείνεσ τησ 1.1.80 ή εναλλακτικά σηµερινέσ τιµέσ (πιο δύσκολο µια και θα γίνει εξ’ αρχήσ) σασ παραθέτουµε τισ πιο κάτω λεπτοµέρειεσ. Κατά την άποψη µασ η εφαρµογή αυτού του µέτρου είναι µια απλή λύση-προσέγγιση στο θέµα χωρίσ να κοστίσει στο Κράτοσ «ένα σεντ», ενώ ταυτÞχρονα θα υπάρχει και το αίσθηµα δικαιοσύνησ απÞ τον φορολογούµενο πολίτη.

- Το ΚτηµατολÞγιο να θέσει σε γενικέσ γραµµέσ τισ αξίεσ των ακινήτων, ανά ευρείσ περιοχέσ και ανά τοποθεσία/ανά είδοσ. Αυτέσ οι αξίεσ (Valuation Bands) σε αυτήν την µορφή, έχουν ήδη υιοθετηθεί (δική µασ εισήγηση) ωσ θέµα αρχήσ απÞ την Κυβέρνηση στην πρÞταση τησ Οικοδοµικήσ Αµνηστίασ για τον προσδιορισµÞ τησ αγοράσ του συντελεστή δÞµησησ. Ωσ ενδεικτικÞ παράδειγµα αναφερÞµεθα στα πιο κάτω (σηµερινέσ τιµέσ): ΣτρÞβολοσ: - Οικιστικά οικÞπεδα µε Σ. ∆Þµησησ 100% αξία σήµερα 800 ευρώ/τ.µ.

- Εµπορικά 1.000 ευρώ/τ.µ. Αύξηση/µείωση απÞ τον Σ. ∆Þµησησ του 100% να αυξάνεται/µειώνεται ανάλογα του Σ.∆. Λευκωσία:

- οικÞπεδα οικιστικά µε 100% Σ.∆. προσ 1.000 ευρώ /τ.µ. Ανάλογη αύξηση/µείωση µε τον Σ.∆.

- οικÞπεδα εµπορικά µε βάση το 100% Σ.∆. 2.000 ευρώ /τ.µ µε βάσει Σ.∆. Εργοστάσια: Bιοµηχανική γη προσ 200 ευρώ /τ.µ. µε βάση το 100% Σ.∆. Τουριστική γη: Με βάση το 40% Σ.∆. προσ 300 ευρώ /τ.µ. (± κλπ) ∆ιαµερίσµατα: Βάση 2.000 ευρώ /τ.µ. ωσ καινούργια. Αφαιρείται 1% ανά έτοσ τησ ηλικίασ µέχρι 15 ετών. Κατοικίεσ: ΟικÞπεδο και ΚÞστοσ κατασκευήσ (να καθορισθεί ωσ γενικÞ) µείον 1% ανά έτοσ ηλικίασ µέχρι 15 ετών. Κτίρια: Ωσ ανωτέρω πχ για εργοστάσια 400 ευρώ/τ.µ. Ωσ εµπορικά έργα προσ 850 ευρώ /τ.µ. κλπ κλπ. ΚÞστοσ Κατασκευήσ: Να υιοθετείται το κÞστοσ του τµήµατοσ στατιστικήσ. Οι αξίεσ αυτέσ να ανταποκρίνονται σε τιµέσ τησ 1.1.80 (Þπωσ αναφέρθηκε το ΚτηµατολÞγιο µείον 30% ή 40% ανάλογα). Ασφαλώσ οι αξίεσ αυτέσ είναι πολύ γενικέσ και κάποιοι θα ωφεληθούν εάν η πραγµατική αξία του ακινήτου είναι πιο ψηλή και ίσωσ κάποιοι να αδικηθούν εάν η αξία του είναι πιο χαµηλή. Εάν Þµωσ υιοθετηθούν αυτού του είδουσ οι «αξίεσ πρακέττου» (έστω 20% πιο κάτω απÞ τισ γενικά επικρατούσεσ τιµέσ), τÞτε οι «αδικίεσ» θα περιοριστούν.

- ∆ιαδικασίεσ: Ο κάθε ιδιοκτήτησ οφείλει να υποβάλει ειδικÞ έντυπο µε τα χαρακτηριστικά του κτήµατοσ (τοποθεσία, ζώνη, τ.µ. κτιρίου κλπ κλπ) και βάσει τησ γενικήσ ένδειξησ έχει µÞνο να πολλαπλασιάσει το εµβαδÞν µε την αξία. Ίσωσ το έντυπο αυτÞ να υποβάλλεται απÞ ένα εκτιµητή ο οποίοσ και θα φέρει και την ευθύνη τησ ορθÞτητασ του (ασφαλώσ και θα πρέπει να υπάρχει δειγµατοληπτικÞσ έλεγχοσ απÞ την Κυβέρνηση µε πρÞστιµο στον εκτιµητή (ή ιδιοκτήτη) σε περίπτωση εσκεµµένου λάθουσ). Το κÞστοσ υποβολήσ δεν αναµένεται να είναι πέραν των 150 – 200 ευρώ ανά τεµάχιο (χρειάζεται η επίσκεψη επί τÞπου εκεί που δεν έχει ο εκτιµητήσ πλήρεισ πληροφορίεσ και θα πρέπει να κάνει αυτο-

ψία). Επίσησ ο εκτιµητήσ θα αποφασίσει εάν π.χ. τα κτίρια έχουν αξία ή Þχι και τισ διάφορεσ αναπροσαρµογέσ που χρειάζονται.

- Κίνητρα και Αντικίνητρα: Ο ιδιοκτήτησ θα πρέπει να υποβάλει την αίτηση του µαζί µε την επιταγή εντÞσ περιÞδου 6 µηνών απÞ την εφαρµογή του µέτρου. Σε τέτοια περίπτωση και σε περίπτωση που εντÞσ του κτήµατοσ προϋπήρχαν κτίρια για τα οποία Þµωσ ουδέποτε δηλώθηκαν (πχ. οικÞπεδο στο οποίο ανεγέρθηκε κατοικία µετά την 1.1.80 τώρα φορολογείται ωσ οικÞπεδο), ο ιδιοκτήτησ να απαλλάσσεται τησ φορολογίασ των προηγούµενων χρÞνων. Το κίνητρο αυτÞ θα αποφέρει µεν στον ιδιοκτήτη αρκετέσ εκατοντάδεσ-χιλιάδεσ ευρώ, αλλά ταυτÞχρονα θα τον ενθαρρύνει να δηλώσει ορθά τα κτίρια ωσ είχαν και διÞτι δεν θα του ξαναδοθεί η ευκαιρία και πάλι. Πχ σε περίπτωση ελέγχου το Κράτοσ θα µπορεί να τον φορολογεί απÞ την 1.1.80 και µετά, πλέον τÞκουσ, πρÞστιµο κλπ για κτίρια κλπ που δεν δήλωσε πριν.

- Ιδιώτεσ: ∆ειγµατοληπτικÞσ έλεγχοσ θα µπορούσε να γίνεται εκ µέρουσ του Κράτουσ και απÞ ιδιώτεσ εκτιµητέσ οι οποίοι Þµωσ να µην µπορούν να αναλάβουν εργασίεσ ιδιωτών. Τα πρÞστιµα θα καλύπτουν το κÞστοσ

των Κυβερνητικών/ιδιωτικών εκτιµητών.

- Κλπ κλπ Για µασ το θέµα είναι απλÞ και είναι και η µÞνη λύση για άµεση εκτέλεση του έργου χωρίσ ιδιαίτερο κÞστοσ στο Κράτοσ, µε επίλυση του προβλήµατοσ, άµεση, αφού τώρα θα είναι και η είσπραξη (άλλο θέµα εάν τώρα οι ιδιοκτήτεσ έχουν την ευχέρεια πληρωµήσ). ΤαυτÞχρονα µια που οι τιµέσ θα είναι καθορισµένεσ, θα υπάρχει η διαφάνεια, ελάχιστεσ ενστάσεισ κλπ. Νέα Κτίρια – Εάν δεν δηλώνονται νέα κτίρια, τÞτε Þπωσ αναφερθήκαµε πιο πάνω σε περίπτωση ελέγχου θα φορολογηθεί ο ιδιοκτήτησ για τον χρÞνο τησ µη δήλωσησ +10% πρÞστιµο +9% τÞκο απÞ την ηµεροµηνία που υπάρχουν τα κτίρια. Κάποτε θα ανακαλυφθεί η παράληψη του πολίτη και τÞτε το κÞστοσ του θα είναι πολύ ψηλÞ. Πιστεύουµε Þτι θα είναι δύσκολη η εσκεµµένη αποφυγή απÞ ιδιοκτήτεσ. Οι αξίεσ να αναθεωρούνται ανά 3 χρÞνια ούτωσ ώστε να υπάρχει και ο ανάλογοσ εκσυγχρονισµÞσ µε δηµοσίευση νέων «τιµών πρακέττου» κλπ. Τροφή για σκέψη λοιπÞν απÞ τουσ υπουργούσ των εσωτερικών και οικονοµικών;

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ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

4/16| ΕΙ∆ΗΣΕΙΣ

¶·›ÚÓÂÈ ÛÙ· ‰ÈηÛÙ‹ÚÈ· ÙÔÓ ÎfiÛÌÔ Ë Î˘‚¤ÚÓËÛË ∫·ı˘ÛÙÂÚË̤ӷ ‰¿ÓÂÈ· ‡„Ô˘˜ €51 ÂÎ. Στα 51 εκ. ευρώ ανέρχονται τα καθυστερηµένα δάνεια που παραχώρησε το Ταµείο ∆ηµÞσιων ∆ανείων, σύµφωνα µε τη Γενική Λογίστρια τησ ∆ηµοκρατίασ και ΠρÞεδροσ του ∆Σ του Ταµείου Ρέα Γεωργίου. Η κ. Γεωργίου παρουσίασε τον προϋπολογισµÞ του Ταµείου για το 2013 ενώπιον τησ Κοινοβουλευτικήσ Επιτροπήσ Οικονοµικών. Ùπωσ δήλωσε η Γενική Λογίστρια Ρέα Γεωργίου το υπÞλοιπο των δανείων την 31η ∆εκεµβρίου του 2011 ήταν ύψουσ 99 εκ ευρώ, απÞ τα οποία τα 51εκ ευρώ είναι ληξιπρÞθεσµα. «Το κράτοσ θα εντατικοποιήσει τισ προσπάθειεσ του για είσπραξη των µη εξυπηρετούµενων δανείων και δεν αποκλείεται να κινηθεί νοµικά εναντίον σε Þσουσ δεν καταβάλλουν τισ οφειλέσ τουσ. Σύντοµα θα προχωρήσουµε στην αγορά υπηρεσιών απÞ τον ιδιωτικÞ τοµέα για να εισπράξου-

ŸÏÔ Î·È ÂÚÈÛÛfiÙÂÚÔÈ ÙÔ‡ÚÎÔÈ ÛÙ· ηÙ¯fiÌÂÓ· ÁÈ· ‰È·ÎÔ¤˜ Αύξηση τησ τάξεωσ του 24% στην άφιξη τουριστών στα κατεχÞµενα σηµειώθηκε κατά τουσ πρώτουσ µήνεσ του 2012, σύµφωνα µε την πρÞεδρο τησ λεγÞµενη ένωσησ ξενοδÞχων στα κατεχÞµενα Αϊσέ Ντονµεζέρ.

H κ. Ντονµεζέρ είπε Þτι παρÞλο που υπάρχει αύξηση στην έλευση τουριστών στα κατεχÞµενα εντούτοισ λÞγω των λεγÞµενων εµπάργκο, των µη απευθείασ πτήσεων στα κατεχÞµενα αλλά και την διαγραφή ξενοδοχείων των κατεχÞµενων απÞ την ιστοσελίδα τουριστικών προϊÞντων «booking.com» δεν υπάρχει η επιθυµητή αύξηση. Κατά τον µήνα Αύγουστο η πληρÞτητα των ξενοδοχείων στα κατεχÞµενα ήταν µεταξύ 60-80%, σύµφωνα µε τουσ ισχυρισµούσ τησ κ, Ντονµεζέρ, και είπε Þτι µεγάλο ποσοστÞ τουριστών που επισκέπτονται τα κατεχÞµενα προέρχονται απÞ την Τουρκία και την Βρετανία. ΩστÞσο σύµφωνα µε τον υπουργÞ τουρισµού, περιβάλλοντοσ και πολιτισµού των κατεχοµένων Ουνάλ Ουστέλ ο φετινÞσ αριθµÞσ των τουριστών που µετέβησαν απÞ την Τουρκία στα κατεχÞµενα ήταν σχεδÞν διπλάσιοσ απÞ την αντίστοιχη περσινή περίοδο. Συνέχισε, λέγοντασ Þτι σε αυτÞ συνέβαλαν τα προγράµµατα τουριστικήσ προβολήσ του ψευδοκράτουσ στην Τουρκία, τα κίνητρα που παρέχονται για τον τοµέα του τουρισµού, καθώσ και η ανακήρυξη του 2012 στην Τουρκία ωσ «έτοσ τησ ΒÞρειασ Κύπρου». Το τελευταίο χρονικÞ διάστηµα, είπε, άρχισε να επιδεικνύεται ενδιαφέρον απÞ επενδυτέσ Þχι µÞνο για την περιοχή τησ Κερύνειασ και τησ Αµµοχώστου, αλλά και για την κατεχÞµενη ΜÞρφου και τη Λεύκα. Σύντοµα, πρÞσθεσε, θα αρχίσει στη ΜÞρφου η ανέγερση απÞ Αγγλο επενδυτή, παράνοµου ξενοδοχείου το οποίο θα έχει δυναµικÞτητα 1000 κλινών, καθώσ και γήπεδο γκολφ.

µε αυτά που οφείλουν οι πολίτεσ», σηµείωσε.. Το ταµείο παραχωρούσε δάνεια σε πολίτεσ και το 2006 σταµάτησε η πρακτική τησ παραχώρησησ δανείων και τώρα λειτουργεί µε σκοπÞ την είσπραξη των καθυστερηµένων οφειλών. ΠρÞκειται για παλιά δάνεια του κράτουσ, τα οποία στην ουσία είναι µη εξυπηρετούµενα και καταβάλλεται προσπάθεια να εισπραχθούν Þσα ποσά µπορούν να εισπραχθούν. Σε δηλώσεισ µετά το τέλοσ τησ συνεδρίασ, ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ ΝικÞλασ ΠαπαδÞπουλοσ είπε Þτι «Είναι παλιέσ αµαρτίεσ, είναι παλιά δάνεια, η πλειοψηφία των οποίων είναι ληξηπρÞθεσµα δάνεια», είπε και πρÞσθεσε Þτι «η πρακτική τησ παραχώρησησ δηµοσίων δανείων µέσω τησ διαχείρισησ του Ταµείου έχει τερµατιστεί εδώ και αρκετά χρÞνια».

Είπε Þτι «απÞ το 2006 η προσπάθεια είναι να εισπραχθούν τα εναποµείναντα ληξηπρÞθεσµα δάνεια έτσι ώστε να τερµατιστεί και η ανάγκη ύπαρξησ ενÞσ τέτοιου Ταµείου».

M·˜ Ù›ÌËÛ·Ó ‰ÂfiÓÙˆ˜ ÔÈ ƒÒÛÔÈ ÙÔ˘Ú›ÛÙ˜ ªÂÁ¿ÏË ·‡ÍËÛË 10% ÛÙȘ ·Ê›ÍÂȘ ÙÔ ™Â٤̂ÚÈÔ Μεγάλη αύξηση 10,2% παρουσίασαν οι αφίξεισ τουριστών το Σεπτέµβριο του 2012, σε σύγκριση µε τον περσινÞ Σεπτέµβριο, λÞγω τησ εντυπωσιακήσ αύξησησ πέρα του 50% στισ αφίξεισ τουριστών απÞ τη Ρωσία, δίνοντασ έτσι συνέχεια στην αύξηση που καταγράφεται στισ αφίξεισ τουριστών απÞ τον περασµένο Μάιο, σε ετήσια βάση. Για την περίοδο Ιανουαρίου – Σεπτεµβρίου 2012, οι αφίξεισ τουριστών ανήλθαν σε 2.064.118 σε σύγκριση µε 1.974.147 την αντίστοιχη περίοδο του 2011, σηµειώνοντασ αύξηση 4,6%.

Mε βάση τα αποτελέσµατα τησ Έρευνασ Ταξιδιωτών, οι αφίξεισ τουριστών το Σεπτέµβριο 2012 ανήλθαν σε 335.352 σε σύγκριση µε 304.260 το Σεπτέµβριο 2011.Το Σεπτέµβριο σηµειώθηκε αύξηση 54,7% στισ αφίξεισ τουριστών απÞ τη Ρωσία (απÞ 49.863 το Σεπτέµβριο του 2011 σε 77.149 το Σεπτέµβριο του 2012), 2,1% αύξηση απÞ την Ελλάδα (απÞ 10.817 σε 11.044), 9,4% αύξηση απÞ τη Νορβηγία (απÞ 9.340 σε 10.221) και 22,0% αύξηση απÞ την Ελβετία (απÞ 6.223 σε 7.593 φέτοσ). Αντίθετα µείωση 0,4% σηµειώθηκε στισ αφίξεισ τουριστών απÞ το Ηνωµένο Βασίλειο (134.589 το Σεπτέµβριο του 2012 σε σύγκριση µε 135.103 το Σεπτέµβριο του 2011), 5,8% µείωση απÞ τη Σουηδία (17.060 σε σύγκριση µε 18.113) και 10,7% µείωση απÞ τη Γερµανία (12.664 σε σύγκριση µε 14.185 πέρσι).

ÃÂÈÌÂÚÈÓfi ÏԢΤÙÔ ÛÙËÓ ¶¿ÊÔ Την ίδια ώρα παρά τα θετικά στοιχεία απÞ τισ αφίξεισ τουριστών και σύµφωνα µε τον ΠρÞεδρο του ΠΑΣΥΞΕ στην Πάφο, Θέµη Φιλιππίδη το 44% περίπου των ξενοδοχειακών µονάδων στην Πάφο αναµένεται να κλείσουν τη χειµερινή περίοδο. «∆ώδεκα µε 12,5 χιλιάδεσ κλίνεσ, περίπου το 44% των ξενοδοχειακών µονάδων προγραµµατίζουν να κλείσουν το χειµώνα στην Επαρχία Πάφου», είπε χαρακτηριστικά. ∆υστυχώσ, είπε ο κ. Φιλιππίδησ, ενώ κάποτε η Πάφοσ αποτελούσε το σηµαιοφÞρο του ολÞχρονου τουριστικού προορι-

σµού, χρÞνο µε το χρÞνο Þλο και περισσÞτερεσ ξενοδοχειακέσ µονάδεσ καταλήγουν να κλείνουν κατά τη διάρκεια τησ χειµερινήσ περιÞδου. Επεξηγώντασ τουσ λÞγουσ για τουσ οποίουσ οι ξενοδÞχοι κλείνουν το χειµώνα τισ επιχειρήσεισ τουσ, ανέφερε πωσ αυτοί έχουν να κάνουν µε την πολιτική που εφαρµÞζει το Υπουργείο Εργασίασ, η οποία σύµφωνα µε τον κ. Φιλιππίδη επιβραβεύει τα ξενοδοχεία τα οποία κλείνουν, αντί να επιβραβεύσει τα ξενοδοχεία τα οποία παραµένουν ανοικτά. Εµείσ, πρÞσθεσε, ζητούµε «το ίδιο ακριβώσ κÞστοσ µε το οποίο επιχορηγεί το Υπουργείο Εργασίασ τα ξενοδοχεία τα οποία κλείνουν µε το επίδοµα ανεργίασ, αυτÞ το κÞστοσ να το κατανέµει στα ξενοδοχεία τα οποία παραµένουν ανοικτά». Ο κ. Φιλιππίδησ αναφέρθηκε και στην τιµολογιακή πολιτική τησ Αρχήσ Ηλεκτρισµού Κύπρου, λέγοντασ πωσ είναι πολύ δύσκολο για µια ξενοδοχειακή µονάδα να παραµένει ανοικτή κατά τη διάρκεια τησ χειµερινήσ περιÞδου, έχοντασ τουλάχιστον τισ βασικέσ υποχρεώσεισ, Þπωσ είναι η διατήρηση τησ θέρµανσησ τÞσο στουσ χώρουσ τουσ κοινÞχρηστουσ, στα δωµάτια αλλά και στισ θερµαινÞµενεσ πισίνεσ. Το κÞστοσ, συνέχισε, είναι πολύ µεγάλο για µια περίοδο που οι τιµέσ που δίδονται για τισ διανυκτερεύσεισ είναι πολύ χαµηλέσ σε σύγκριση µε την καλοκαιρινή περίοδο. Ο πρÞεδροσ του Τοπικού ΠΑΣΥΞΕ αναφέρθηκε και στισ πτήσεισ που περιορίζονται απÞ και προσ τον αερολιµένα Πάφου τη χειµερινή περίοδο. Κάλεσε Þλουσ τουσ εµπλεκÞµενουσ φορείσ - το κράτοσ, την τοπική αυτοδιοίκηση και τη βιοµηχανία - να εγκύψουν µε ιδιαίτερη σοβαρÞτητα στο θέµα τησ εποχικÞτητασ γιατί, Þπωσ ανέφερε, η σµίκρυνση τησ χειµερινήσ περιÞδου χρÞνο µε το χρÞνο θα επιφέρει αρνητικέσ επιπτώσεισ στον τÞπο µασ. Η τουριστική βιοµηχανία, ανέφερε, είναι η µοναδική βιοµηχανία αυτή την περίοδο που έµεινε να κρατά την οικονοµία τησ Κύπρου εν ζωή.

∫√∆: ∂ÏȉÔÊfiÚ· ÌËӇ̷ٷ ∂ÏÏËÓÈ΋: H “P” Card ·fi ÙËÓ Ô˘ÎÚ·ÓÈ΋ ·ÁÔÚ¿ ۯ‰ȷṲ̂ÓË ÁÈ· Ó¤Ô˘˜

Stelios: €1 ÂÎ. Û Ӥ˜ ÂȯÂÈÚ‹ÛÂȘ

Με αισιÞδοξα µηνύµατα, επέστρεψε απÞ την Ουκρανία Þπου µετέβη για επαφέσ αντιπροσωπεία του Κυπριακού Οργανισµού Τουρισµού µε επικεφαλήσ τον ΠρÞεδρο του Αλέκο Ορουντιώτη ο οποίοσ έκανε λÞγο για προοπτικέσ ενίσχυσησ του τουριστικού ρεύµατοσ απÞ τη χώρα αυτή προσ την Κύπρο. Η αντιπροσωπεία είχε εποικοδοµητικέσ επαφέσ µε οργανωτέσ ταξιδιών, ανοίγοντασ έτσι την προοπτική για την αύξηση του τουριστικού ρεύµατοσ απÞ την Ουκρανία, Οπωσ δήλωσε ο ΠρÞεδροσ του ΚΟΤ «τα µηνύµατα απÞ την Ουκρανία είναι ενθαρρυντικά και Þλεσ οι ενδείξεισ οδηγούν στο συµπέρασµα Þτι το 2013 θα υπάρξει σηµαντική αύξηση απÞ την ουκρανική αγορά». Σε αυτÞ συνέβαλε πρÞσθεσε ο κ. Ορουντιώτησ, και το γεγονÞσ Þτι έχει απλοποιηθεί η διαδικασία έκδοσησ βίζασ απÞ την Ουκρανία, καθώσ επίσησ και το γεγονÞσ Þτι νέεσ αεροπορικέσ εταιρείεσ έχουν ανακοινώσει την πρÞθεση τουσ να αρχίσουν δροµολÞγια µεταξύ Κύπρου και Ουκρανίασ. Η µεγάλη σηµασία που φαίνεται να δίνει ο ΚΟΤ στην ουκρανική αγορά, καταδεικνύεται και απÞ το γεγονÞσ Þτι ο ΚΟΤ λειτούργησε πρÞσφατα γραφείο στο Κίεβο.

Η Κύπροσ θα βγει απÞ την οικονοµική κρίση µε τη δηµιουργία νέων και µικρών επιχειρήσεων, δήλωσε ο γνωστÞσ επιχειρηµατίασ, ιδρυτήσ τησ easyGroup, Σερ Στέλιοσ Χατζηιωάννου, ο οποίοσ απένειµε τα πέντε Επιχειρηµατικά Βραβεία ∆ικοινοτικήσ Συνεργασίασ 2012, που οργανώνει το φιλανθρωπικÞ του ίδρυµα “Stelios” και τα οποία στοχεύουν στην προώθηση και αρµονική συνεργασία Ε/κ και Τ/κ επιχειρηµατιών του νησιού. Τα βραβεία συµπληρώνουν φέτοσ τέσσερα χρÞνια ζωήσ και συνολικά έχουν δώσει 1 εκ. ευρώ σε 20 κοινοπραξίεσ που απαρτίζονται απÞ Ε/κ και Τ/κ επιχειρηµατίεσ, οι οποίοι έλαβαν 50,000 ευρώ, για την απÞ κοινού δραστηριοποίηση τουσ, προσ Þφελοσ ολÞκληρου του νησιού. Φέτοσ, είναι το τελευταίο έτοσ τησ αρχικήσ δέσµευσησ του Στέλιου Χατζηιωάννου για παραχώρηση 1 εκ,, για την προώθηση τησ επιχειρηµατικÞτητασ και τησ επιχειρηµατικήσ συνεργασίασ µεταξύ των δυο κοινοτήτων στο νησί και, Þπωσ ο ίδιοσ δήλωσε στα ΜΜΕ, αυτή η στήριξη θα συνεχιστεί και το 2013, µε άλλα δέκα βραβεία των 10,000 ευρώ για κάθε νικήτρια οµάδα.

Tη νέα προπληρωµένη κάρτα “P” Card Art, παρουσίασε η Ελληνική Τράπεζα. ΠρÞκειται για µια καινοτÞµα κάρτα, η οποία σχεδιάστηκε απÞ νέουσ για νέουσ! Η νέα κάρτα επιλέγηκε µέσα απÞ διαγωνισµÞ φιλοτέχνησησ που διοργάνωσε η Ελληνική Τράπεζα, ο οποίοσ απευθυνÞταν σε φοιτητέσ και µαθητέσ λυκείου. Κατά την εκδήλωση παρουσίασησ τησ κάρτασ βραβεύτηκε η πρώτη νικήτρια και εµπνεύστρια τησ κάρτασ Μαρία Αλεξάνδρου. Η νέα “P” Card Art διαθέτει Þλα τα µοναδικά χαρακτηριστικά τησ σειράσ των “P” Card τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ: Είναι η µοναδική ανώνυµη προπληρωµένη κάρτα που προσφέρεται, απÞ το 2004, απÞ κυπριακή τράπεζα και µπορεί να αποκτηθεί σε λίγα µÞλισ λεπτά, χωρίσ άνοιγµα τραπεζικού λογαριασµού, ενώ χρησιµοποιείται για αγορέσ, αναλήψεισ µετρητών και για χρήση στο διαδίκτυο.

17 OKTΩΒΡΙΟΥ, 2012

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

ΕΥΡΩΠΗ | 5/17

∂ÂÈÁfiÓÙˆ˜ ‰ËÌÔÛÈÔÓÔÌÈ΋ Â͢Á›·ÓÛË Î·È ·Ó¿Ù˘ÍË Η δηµοσιονοµική εξυγίανση και η ενίσχυση τησ κοινωνικήσ συνοχήσ πρέπει να γίνουν παράλληλα, υπογράµµισε η ΥπουργÞσ Εργασίασ και Κοινωνικών Ασφαλίσεων Σωτηρούλλα Χαραλάµπουσ σε κοινή συνέντευξη Τύπου µε τον ΠρÞεδρο Ευρωπαϊκήσ Οικονοµικήσ και τησ Κοινωνικήσ Επιτροπήσ (ΕΟΚΕ) Στάφαν Νίλσον, στα πλαίσια συνεδρίου που διοργανώνει η ΕΟΚΕ στην Κύπρο µε τίτλο “Η κοινωνία των πολιτών για µια νέα µορφή διακυβέρνησησ”. Ο κ. Νίλσον είπε Þτι τα σχÞλια Ευρωπαίων πολιτικών για την ανάγκη µιασ βαθύτερησ συνεργασίασ δίνουν ελπίδεσ για βελτίωση τησ κατάστασησ στην Ευρώπη. “Η Ευρώπη βρίσκεται σήµερα σε ένα σταυροδρÞµι” ανέφερε στισ δηλώσεισ τησ η κ. Χαραλάµπουσ και πρÞσθεσε: “Ένα σταυροδρÞµι στο οποίο πρέπει να καθορίσει τα επÞµενα τησ βήµατα µε στÞχο να υπάρξει ανάπτυξη, ανάκαµψη, απασχÞληση και κοινωνική συνοχή και ταυτÞχρονα µε στÞχο να αποκαταστήσει την εµπιστοσύνη των πολιτών προσ την Ευρώπη”. Υπενθυµίζοντασ πωσ το σλÞγκαν τησ Κυπριακήσ Προεδρίασ τησ ΕΕ είναι για µια Καλύτερη Ευρώπη, η κ. Χαραλάµπουσ πρÞσθεσε πωσ “µια καλύτερη Ευρώπη για να επιτευχθεί χρειάζεται ταυτÞχρονα και παράλληλα µε την προσπάθεια για υγιή δηµÞσια οικονοµικά να στηρίξουµε τισ προσπάθειεσ και να διοχετεύσουµε πÞρουσ στην ανάπτυξη”. “∆εν µπορεί να περιµένουµε και δεν µπορεί να περιµένουµε ιδιαίτερα να εξυγιανθούν τα δηµÞσια οικονοµικά και µετά ωσ αποτέλεσµα να έρθουν η κοινωνική προστασία και η κοινωνική συνοχή. ΧρειαζÞµαστε παράλληλεσ και ταυτÞχρονεσ πολιτικέσ”, υπογράµµισε. ΑπÞ την πλευρά του, ο κ. Νίλσον ανέφερε Þτι η κρίση δηµιουργεί προκλήσεισ, προσθέτοντασ Þτι υπάρχουν θετικά σηµάδια.

Ερωτηθείσ αν υπάρχει κάποια ελπίδα για την κοινωνική συνοχή, εν µέσω τησ οικονοµικήσ κρίσησ, ο κ. Νίλσον αναγνώρισε Þτι είναι δύσκολο να δει κανείσ Þτι υπάρχει ελπίδα. Αναφέρθηκε ωστÞσο στισ εξελίξεισ σε οικονοµικÞ επίπεδο και σε επίπεδο ευρωπαϊκήσ διακυβέρνησησ, σηµειώνοντασ Þτι υπάρχουν προσδοκίεσ για βελτίωση τησ κατάστασησ. Είπε Þτι υπάρχουν διαφορέσ µεταξύ των κρατών-µελών και Þτι υπάρχει κατανÞηση Þτι ήρθε η ώρα τησ εµβάθυνσησ τησ συνεργασίασ στην ΕΕ. Υπενθύµισε πρÞσφατη αναφορά του Προέδρου τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Επιτροπήσ Ζοζέ Μανουέλ ΜπαρÞζο για τη σύσταση µιασ οµοσπονδίασ στην Ευρώπη, αναγνωρίζοντασ Þτι υπάρχουν διαφορετικέσ απÞψεισ για το περιεχÞµενο τησ προτεινÞµενησ οµοσπονδίασ. Ο κ. Νίλσον επεσήµανε την ανάγκη η Ευρώπη να παραµείνει ενωµένη, λέγοντασ σχÞλια του Γερµανού Υπουργού Þτι Οικονοµικών και τη θέση Þτι πρέπει να είµαστε ενωµένοι τα ερµηνεύει ωσ µια ισχυρή ένδειξη κατανÞησησ Þτι δεν µπορεί να αφήσουµε τα κράτη µέλη πίσω.

Αναγνώρισε Þτι θα είναι δύσκολο για τισ χώρεσ που αντιµετωπίζουν πρÞβληµα µε το δηµÞσιο χρέουσ τουσ, ενώ σηµείωσε Þτι “σε

¶Ôχ ÛËÌ·ÓÙÈÎfi ÙÔ ÎÔÈÓˆÓÈÎfi ÌÔÓÙ¤ÏÔ Ù˘ ∂∂ Tην ίδια ώρα απÞ την πλευρά τησ η ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ ΑπασχÞλησησ και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων του Ευρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου Περβένσ Μπέρεσ σε οµιλία τησ κατά τη συζήτηση για τη «Στρατηγική Ευρώπη 2020. Ανάκαµψη απÞ την οικονοµική κρίση», που πραγµατοποιήθηκε στην Κύπρο υπογράµµιζε πωσ αν η ΕΕ βγει απÞ την κρίση κακοποιώντασ το κοινωνικÞ τησ µοντέλο, τÞτε δεν θα υπάρξει πραγµατική έξοδοσ απÞ

την κρίση, διÞτι δεν µπορούµε να έχουµε στην Ευρώπη ένα κοινωνικÞ µοντέλο που να έχει εισαχθεί απÞ το εξωτερικÞ. Η κ. Μπέρεσ προειδοποίησε πωσ αν αγνοήσουµε τα θετικά στοιχεία του ευρωπαϊκού κοινωνικού µοντέλου και το τί σηµαίνει να είσαι Ευρωπαίοσ, θα χάσουµε πάρα πολύ στον παγκÞσµιο ανταγωνισµÞ. Το ευρωπαϊκÞ κοινωνικÞ µοντέλο δεν είναι κάτι που ανήκει στο παρελθÞν, ανέφε-

√È ÌÈÎÚÔÌÂÛ·›Â˜ ÂȯÂÈÚ‹ÛÂȘ ·ÚÈÔ˜ ¿ÍÔÓ·˜ Ù˘ Â˘Úˆ·˚΋˜ ÔÈÎÔÓÔÌ›·˜ ∞Ó¤Ú¯ÔÓÙ·È ÂÚ›Ô˘ ÛÙ· 20,7 ÂÎ. ÂÙ·ÈÚ›˜ Ì ÂÚÈÛÛfiÙÂÚÔ˘˜ ·fi 87 ÂÎ. ÂÚÁ·˙Ô̤ÓÔ˘˜ Οι µικρέσ και µεσαίεσ επιχειρήσεισ τησ Ευρώπησ εξακολουθούν να αγωνίζονται για την ανάκαµψη επισηµαίνει η ΚοµισιÞν. ΑυτÞ προέκυψε µέσα απÞ έκθεση που αξιολογεί τισ επιδÞσεισ των µικροµεσαίων επιχειρήσεων για το 2012, και την οποία δηµοσιοποίησε η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή, στο πλαίσιο τησ έναρξησ τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ εβδοµάδασ για τισ ΜΜΕ απÞ Παρά τισ προκλήσεισ που παρουσιάζει το δύσκολο περιβάλλον, οι ΜΜΕ δικαίωσαν το ρÞλο τουσ ωσ κύριου άξονα τησ ευρωπαϊκήσ οικονοµίασ, που αντιπροσωπεύει πάνω απÞ το 98% Þλων των επιχειρήσεων µε περίπου 20,7 εκατοµµύρια εταιρείεσ και περισσÞτερα απÞ 87 εκατοµµύρια εργαζοµένουσ. Τη µερίδα του λέοντοσ (92,2%) των ΜΜΕ εκπροσωπούν οι πολύ µικρέσ επιχειρήσεισ που απασχολούν λιγÞτερουσ απÞ δέκα εργαζοµένουσ. Εκτιµάται Þτι οι ΜΜΕ αντιπροσωπεύουν το 67% τησ συνολικήσ απασχÞλησησ και το 58% τησ ακαθάριστησ προστιθέµενησ αξίασ (ΑΠΑ). Αναφορικά µε την Κύπρο, η έκθεση αναφέρει Þτι οι ΜΜΕ αντιπροσωπεύουν το 99,8% του συνÞλου των επιχειρήσεων και καλύπτουν 76,0% τησ οικονοµικήσ προστιθέµενησ αξίασ και 81,4% τησ απασχÞλησησ στον ιδιωτικÞ µη χρηµατοπιστωτικÞ τοµέα.Το 14% των ΜΜΕ δραστηριοποιείται στον τοµέα τησ υψηλήσ τεχνολογίασ κατασκευήσ και έντασησ γνώσησ τοµείσ υπηρεσιών που θεωρούνται κλειδί για τη µελλοντική ανταγωνι-

µακροοικονοµικούσ Þρουσ µπορώ να δω Þτι τα σχÞλια απÞ τουσ αρµÞδιουσ πολιτικούσ είναι κάπωσ πιο θετικά”.

στικÞτητα τησ χώρασ. Αν και οι προβλέψεισ δείχνουν µια θετική τάση στην οικονοµική προστιθέµενη αξία, ο αριθµÞσ των ΜΜΕ στην Κύπρο και τα στοιχεία για την απασχÞληση τουσ εξακολουθούν να είναι κάτω απÞ τα προ τησ κρίσησ τιµέσ για το 2008. Σύµφωνα µε την έκθεση, οι ΜΜΕ στην Κύπρο αποδίδουν καλύτερα στουσ τοµείσ τησ “ΕπιχειρηµατικÞτητασ” και “∆ιεθνοποίησησ”, ενώ στουσ περισσÞτερουσ τοµείσ βρίσκονται πάνω απÞ το µέσο Þρο τησ ΕΕ, µε εξαίρεση το «Περιβάλλον» και τη «Responsive διοίκηση», Þπου εξακολουθεί να υστερεί. Η Επιτροπή, σε συνεργασία µε τα κράτη µέλη, επεξεργάζεται µια σειρά παράλληλων και επικείµενων πρωτοβουλιών για να υποβοηθηθούν οι ΜΜΕ. Η έναρξη τησ ευρωπαϊκήσ εβδοµάδασ ΜΜΕ σηµατοδοτεί επίσησ µια σειρά εκδηλώσεων για τον εορτασµÞ των ΜΜΕ σε Þλη την Ευρώπη. Το σχέδιο δράσησ για την επιχειρηµατικÞτητα µια σειρά συγκεκριµένων δράσεων µε στÞχο την ενίσχυση τησ επιχειρηµατικÞτητασ στην ΕΕ θα δροµολογηθεί επίσησ αργÞτερα εντÞσ του τρέχοντοσ έτουσ. Το σχέδιο θα συµπληρώνει και θα αξιοποιεί τον «Small Business Act» για την Ευρώπη, µε επικεφαλήσ ένα δίκτυο εθνικών απεσταλµένων των ΜΜΕ. Η επÞµενη συνεδρίαση των απεσταλµέ-

νων των ΜΜΕ, στην οποία θα συζητηθεί η πρÞοδοσ σε συγκεκριµένουσ τοµείσ πολιτικήσ των ΜΜΕ, θα πραγµατοποιηθεί κατά τη διάρκεια τησ συνÞδου των ΜΜΕ στισ 15-16 Νοεµβρίου στην Κύπρο.

ρε, σηµειώνοντασ παράλληλα πωσ η στρατηγική «Ευρώπη 2020» θα µασ επιτρέψει να εκσυγχρονίσουµε το ευρωπαϊκÞ κοινωνικÞ πρÞτυπο. Αναφέρθηκε στη σηµασία τησ προώθησησ τησ στρατηγικήσ Ευρώπη 2020 για τουσ νέουσ, σηµειώνοντασ πωσ εάν δεν κάνουµε τίποτε, η γενιά που βρίσκεται στην εξουσία κινδυνεύει να καταστήσει την επÞµενη γενιά µια χαµένη γενιά.

€100,000 ÚfiÛÙÈÌÔ ÁÈ· ÌË ÚÔÛÙ·Û›· ÙÔ˘ ¢ÚÒ ∆ιοικητικÞ πρÞστιµο µέχρι 100.000 ευρώ σε χρηµατοπιστωτικά ιδρύµατα που δεν ακολουθούν τισ διαδικασίεσ και δεν λαµβάνουν τα αναγκαία µέτρα για την προστασία του ευρώ απÞ την παραχάραξη, προβλέπει νοµοσχέδιο που συζητήθηκε στην Κοινοβουλευτική Επιτροπή Οικονοµικών. ΠρÞκειται για ένα εναρµονιστικÞ νοµοσχέδιο που έχει ωσ στÞχο να διασφαλίσει τη σωστή εποπτεία των νοµισµάτων που κυκλοφορούν στην Κυπριακή ∆ηµοκρατία. Ùπωσ δήλωσε ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ ΝικÞλασ ΠαπαδÞπουλοσ υπάρχουν συγκεκριµένεσ διαδικασίεσ, οι οποίεσ θα επιβάλλονται δια τησ νοµοθεσίασ, έτσι ώστε να διασφαλίζεται Þτι τα χρηµατοπιστωτικά ιδρύµατα µέσω των οποίων διακινούνται νοµίσµατα και συνάλλαγµα θα ελέγχουν τη γνησιÞτητα των νοµισµάτων, των χαρτονοµισµάτων που διαχειρίζονται, έτσι ώστε να διαπιστώνεται εάν υπάρχει η Þποια παραχάραξη. Σηµείωσε Þτι «η νοµοθεσία προνοεί Þτι θα επιβάλλεται διοικητικÞ πρÞστιµο µέχρι 100,000 ευρώ σε χρηµατοπιστωτικά ιδρύµατα που δεν ακολουθούν τισ διαδικασίεσ που καθορίζει η νοµοθεσία για την εποπτεία των νοµισµάτων».

17 OKTΩΒΡΙΟΥ, 2012

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

6/18 | ∆ΙΕΘΝΗ

™Ù¿ÛË ·Ó·ÌÔÓ‹˜ ÛÙÔ Â˘ÚÒ ™Ù·ıÂÚÔÔÈËÙÈο ÎÈÓÂ›Ù·È Ë ÈÛÔÙÈÌ›· ∂˘ÚÒ – ¢ÔÏ·Ú›Ô˘ ÂÓfi„ÂÈ Ù˘ ÎÚ›ÛÈÌ˘ Û˘Ófi‰Ô˘˜ ÎÔÚ˘Ê‹˜ ÙˆÓ ∂˘Úˆ·›ˆÓ ÛÙȘ 18 Î·È 19 √ÎÙˆ‚Ú›Ô˘ ¡π∫√™ ªπÃ∞∏§π¢∏™ Foreign Exchange Analyst Email: michailidisn@aol.com

Σταθεροποιητικά και χωρίσ σηµαντικέσ διακυµάνσεισ κινήθηκε η ισοτιµία Ευρώ – ∆ολαρίου την εβδοµάδα που µασ πέρασε παραµένοντασ για ακÞµα µια εβδοµάδα εντÞσ πολύ στενού εύρουσ. Συγκεκριµένα η ισοτιµία απÞ τα 1.2950 τησ περασµένησ εβδοµάδοσ αν και αρχικά υποχώρησε κάτω απÞ τα 1.2900 στην συνέχεια ενισχύθηκε και πάλι κοντά στα 1.2950 Þπου και κινείται τισ τελευταίεσ ηµέρεσ. Η ισοτιµία συνεχίζει να κινείται για τρίτη συνεχÞµενη εβδοµάδα σε πολύ στενÞ εύροσ, µια εξέλιξη απÞλυτα φυσιολογική αφού αναµένονται τισ επÞµενεσ εβδοµάδεσ πολύ σηµαντικέσ εξελίξεισ. Αρχικά έχουµε την πολύ σηµαντική Σύνοδο Κορυφήσ αυτή την εβδοµάδα Þπου πολύ σηµαντικά ζητήµατα θα τεθούν στο τραπέζι. Οι ηγέτεσ τησ Ε.Ε. θα επιχειρήσουν να επαναπροσδιορίσουν το σχέδιο διάσωσησ τησ ευρωζώνησ, την ώρα που η πίεση αυξάνεται κυρίωσ για να σπάσει ο δεσµÞσ ανάµεσα στισ τράπεζεσ και το κρατικÞ χρέοσ. Κορυφαίοι αξιωµατούχοι τησ Ευρώπησ αναµένουν απÞ τη Σύνοδο µία επαναβεβαίωση τησ συµφωνία του Ιουνίου. ΩστÞσο στο τελευταίο draft συµπερασµάτων τησ ΣυνÞδου, γίνεται µÞνο µια ασαφήσ αναφορά στη συµφωνία. Το προσχέδιο αναφέρει Þτι οι ηγέτεσ θα προτρέψουν τουσ υπουργούσ Οικονοµικών να αναπτύξουν ένα συγκεκριµένο πλαίσιο λειτουργίασ για τη διάσωση τραπεζών µέσω του ESM. «Το eurοgroup θα επεξεργαστεί τα ακριβή λειτουργικά κριτήρια τα οποία θα καθοδηγήσου την άµεση ανακεφαλαιοποίηση τω τραπεζών µέσω ESM, µε πλήρη σεβασµÞ στισ απο-

“∫·Ì·Ó¿ÎÈ” ¯ÚÂÔÎÔ›·˜ Τα χειρÞτερα Þχι µÞνο δεν έχουν περάσει για την Ευρωζώνη, αλλά έπονται. ΑυτÞ υποστηρίζουν οι αναλυτέσ του γερµανικού ινστιτούτου ZEW και κρούουν τον κώδωνα κινδύνου για το µέλλον τησ Ευρωζώνησ, προβλέποντασ ακÞµη και χρεοκοπίεσ κάποιων χωρών! Ùπωσ αναφέρουν σε έκθεση τουσ για την επενδυτική εµπιστοσύνη στη Γερµανία, η κρίση χρέουσ στη ζώνη του ευρώ και το ενδεχÞµενο κάποια χώρα να χρεοκοπήσει παραµένουν οι µεγάλοι κίνδυνοι για τη γερµανική οικονοµία. «(Ο µεγαλύτεροσ κίνδυνοσ) είναι ακÞµη η Ευρωζώνη. Παραµένει ο κίνδυνοσ κάποιεσ χώρεσ στην Ευρωζώνη να χρεοκοπήσουν» τονίζει ο Marcus Kappler, αναλυτήσ του ZEW. «∆εν το βλέπουµε αυτÞ άµεσα, Þµωσ η κρίση παρέλειψε να σχολιάσει και την απÞφαση τησ ΕΚΤ να αγοράσει οµÞλογα υπερχρεωµένων χωρών, τονίζοντασ πωσ αυτή η κίνηση δεν άλλαξε προσ το θετικÞ τη στάση των επενδυτών προσ την Ευρωζώνη. Αναφορικά µε τισ προοπτικέσ τησ γερµανικήσ οικονοµίασ, οι αναλυτέσ του ZEW εκτιµούν Þτι έχει να αντιµετωπίσει ακÞµη αρκετέσ προκλήσεισ κι, Þπωσ προεξοφλούν, βαδίζει προσ επιβράδυνση αντί να ανοίξει το βηµατισµÞ τησ. «Οι οικονοµικοί κίνδυνοι είναι σηµαντικοί. Η επίλυση τησ κρίσησ εµπιστοσύνησ προσ την Ευρωζώνη είναι καθοριστικήσ σηµασίασ για τη θετική πορεία των οικονοµικών µεγεθών (στη Γερµανία).

φάσεισ τησ 29ησ Ιουνίου», αναφέρει το προσχέδιο. Ùσον αφορά την τραπεζική εποπτεία, πηγέσ των Βρυξελλών εκτιµούν Þτι η Γερµανία καθυστερεί τη διαδικασία προσ την ολοκλήρωση του εποπτικού µηχανισµού. Στη Σύνοδο του Ιουνίου, οι ηγέτεσ δεσµεύθηκαν για τον εποπτικÞ ρÞλο τησ ΕΚΤ στισ ευρωτράπεζεσ, ωσ προαπαιτούµενο για τισ διασώσεισ µέσω ESM. ΩστÞσο, επιθυµία του Βερολίνου είναι να τεθούν υπÞ την εποπτεία τησ ΕΚΤ µÞνο οι µεγάλεσ συστηµικέσ τράπεζεσ τησ ευρωζώνησ, Τα συµπεράσµατα του προσχεδίου τησ ΣυνÞδου καταδεικνύουν Þτι οι ηγέτεσ θα υποστηρίξουν πωσ ο νέοσ εποπτικÞσ µηχανισµÞσ θα πρέπει να υπÞκειται στισ κατάλληλεσ σταδιακέσ ρυθµίσεισ. Πρέπει να σηµειωθεί Þτι χώρεσ εκτÞσ ευρωζώνησ, Þπωσ η Βρετανία και η Σουηδία ανησυχούν Þτι θα πιεστούν απÞ τισ αποφάσεισ σχετικά µε την Ευρωπαϊκή Τραπεζική Αρχή. Το προσχέδιο καλεί για µια αποδεκτή και ισορροπηµένη λύση που θα σέβεται τα δικαιώµατα ψήφου τησ EBA. Στο προσχέδιο των συµπερασµάτων, διαφαίνεται και η πρÞθεση των Ευρωπαίων να προωθήσουν την προοπτική ενÞσ ξεχωριστού προϋπολογισµού για την ευρωζώνη, µε τουσ αξιωµατούχουσ ωστÞσο να υποστηρίζουν Þτι εγείρονται ερωτήµατα πολιτικήσ και τεχνικήσ φύσεωσ. Και µέσα σε Þλα αυτά έρχονται και οι καθηµερινέσ υποσχέσεισ Ευρωπαίων αξιωµατούχων και κυρίωσ Γερµανών πωσ η Ευρωζώνη δεν κινδυνεύει. ΑκÞµα και η γερµανίδα Καγκελάριοσ σε συνέντευξη Τύπου προσπάθησε να πείσει τισ αγορέσ πωσ η Ευρωζώνη βρίσκεται στον σωστÞ δρÞµο. «Άκουσα τÞσεσ πολλέσ ανησυχίεσ στην Ασία και την Κίνα, Þτι µπορεί να υπάρξουν εξελίξεισ, κατά κάποιον τρÞπο ανεξέλεγκτεσ στην ευρωζώνη, αλλά συµφωνώ απολύτωσ µε τον υπουργÞ Οικονοµικών Þτι τέτοιεσ εξελίξεισ δεν θα υπάρξουν», είπε η κυρία Μέρκελ. Επίσησ επανέλαβε Þτι κατά τη διάρκεια τησ πρÞσφατησ επίσκεψήσ τησ στην Αθήνα, διαβεβαίωσε τον Έλληνα πρωθυ-

πουργÞ Þτι επιθυµεί η χώρα να παραµείνει στο ευρώ «αλλά και Þτι η δουλειά δεν έχει ακÞµη τελειώσει, καθώσ υπάρχουν πολλά που πρέπει να γίνουν τισ επÞµενεσ µέρεσ και εβδοµάδεσ». Βεβαίωσ τα ευχολÞγια είναι καλά. ΑπÞ την άλλη Þµωσ οι αγορέσ αναµένουν έργα και άµεσεσ τελεσίδικεσ λύσεισ καθώσ οι κερδοσκÞποι παραµένουν µε το χέρι στην σκανδάλη µε τισ Ισπανία και Ιταλία να παραµένουν πολύ εύθραυστεσ σε αρνητικέσ ειδήσεισ. Επίσησ εκτÞσ απÞ το Eurogroup έχουµε τισ επÞµενεσ εβδοµάδεσ τισ Αµερικάνικεσ εκλογέσ καθώσ και το ΙσπανικÞ ζήτηµα Þπου αναµένεται να ξεκαθαρίσει κατά πÞσο θα προσφύγει ή Þχι στον µηχανισµÞ στήριξησ. Πολύ σηµαντικά γεγονÞτα τα οποία σαφέστατα θα έχουν σηµαντική επίδραση στην πορεία τησ ισοτιµίασ. Τεχνικά η ισοτιµία βρίσκεται σε ένα στενÞ εύροσ 200 µονάδων γύρω απÞ τα 1,29 και ψάχνει τον καταλύτη που θα την οδηγήσει είτε προσ τα 1,25 είτε προσ τα 1,35. Ùσο Þµωσ η ισοτιµία κρατάει τα 1,28 το ανοδικÞ momentum διατηρείται µε το εβδοµαδιαίο σπάσιµο του 1,32 να απαιτείται για να ενισχύσει την ανοδική αυτή τάση. ΑπÞ την άλλη το εβδοµαδιαίο σπάσιµο του 1,28 θα ανατρέψει την τάση αυτή και θα ανοίξει τον δρÞµο και πάλι για τα χαµηλά επίπεδα του περασµένου Μάιου.

™Â ‰‡Ô ∞ÌÂÚÈηÓÔ‡˜ ÙÔ ¡fiÌÂÏ √ÈÎÔÓÔÌ›·˜ 2012 Στουσ Αµερικανούσ οικονοµολÞγουσ Άλβιν Ροθ και ΛÞιντ Σάπλεϊ απονεµήθηκε το βραβείο ΝÞµπελ Οικονοµίασ για το 2012 για τη “θεωρία των σταθερών κατανοµών και την εφαρµογή του σχεδιασµού τησ αγοράσ”, αναγνωρίζοντασ Þτι το έργο τουσ συνέβαλε στο να γίνει κατανοητή και να βελτιωθεί η επίδοση πολλών αγορών, σύµφωνα µε τη Βασιλική Ακαδηµία Επιστηµών τησ Σουηδίασ. Το βραβείο συνοδεύεται απÞ $1,2 εκ. Η έρευνα των Ροθ και Σάπλεϊ επικεντρώνεται στο πώσ αντιστοιχίζονται και αλληλεπιδρούν διάφοροι παράγοντεσ Þπωσ

οι µαθητέσ και τα σχολεία, οι δωρητέσ οργάνων µε εκείνουσ που βρίσκονται σε καταλÞγουσ ανθρώπων που χρειάζονται µεταµοσχεύσεισ, ο διορισµÞσ νέων γιατρών και τα νοσοκοµεία κ.λ.π. “Αυτή τη χρονιά, το βραβείο ανταµείβει (την έρευνα για) µια κεντρική οικονοµική προβληµατική: πώσ συσχετίζονται οι διάφοροι παράγοντεσ”, ανέφερε η επιτροπή που απένειµε το βραβείο. Σύµφωνα µε το σκεπτικÞ τησ βράβευσησ, ο Σάπλεϊ χρησιµοποίησε τη θεωρία των παιγνίων για να µελετήσει και να συγκρίνει διάφορεσ µεθÞδουσ αλληλεπίδρασησ και το πώσ θα µπορούσε να

διασφαλιστεί Þτι οι αντιστοιχίσεισ είναι αποδεκτέσ απÞ Þλεσ τισ πλευρέσ, δηµιουργώντασ επίσησ έναν ειδικÞ αλγÞριθµο γι` αυτÞ.

∆Ô ıÂÙÈÎfi ÂÂÓ‰˘ÙÈÎfi Îϛ̷ ÂÓÈÛ¯‡ÂÈ ÙÔ Â˘ÚÒ ∫ÀƒπA∫√™ √ƒ∂π¡O™ Treasury Division, Alpha Bank Cyprus Ltd Ενισχυµένο παρουσιάζεται την τρέχουσα εβδοµάδα το ευρωπαϊκÞ νÞµισµα έναντι του δολαρίου καθώσ χθεσ τύγχανε διαπραγµάτευσησ στα 1,3000 σε σχέση µε 1,2850 που βρισκÞταν την περασµένη Τετάρτη. Θετικά επηρεάζει το ευρωπαϊκÞ νÞµισµα η ενίσχυση τησ διάθεσησ για ανάληψη κινδύνου καθώσ χθεσ Τρίτη 16/10 το ευρώ κατέγραψε έναντι του δολαρίου υψηλÞ ($1,3013) µιασ εβδοµάδασ. Θετικά επίσησ επηρεάζουν το ευρώ αναφορέσ στον τύπο Þτι η Ισπανία εξετάζει το ενδεχÞµενο να αιτηθεί χρηµατοδοτική στήριξη µέσω του προγράµµατοσ πιστωτικήσ διευκÞλυνσησ προκειµένου να εκπληρώσει τισ προϋποθέσεισ που θέτει η ΕΚΤ ώστε να προβεί σε αγορέσ κρατικών οµολÞγων στη δευτερογε-

νή αγορά. Σηµειώνεται Þτι θετικÞ αντίκτυπο στο επενδυτικÞ κλίµα είχαν και οι ανακοινώσεισ καλύτερων του αναµενοµένου µακροοικονοµικών στοιχείων στισ ΗΠΑ. Συγκεκριµένα, οι λιανικέσ πωλήσεισ ενισχύθηκαν σε µηνιαία βάση το Σεπτέµβριο κατά 1,1% (εκτίµηση: 0,8%, Αύγουστοσ: 1,2%) για 3ο συνεχή µήνα και σε ετήσια βάση κατέγραψαν τη µεγαλύτερη αύξηση (5,4%) απÞ το Μάρτιο. Επίσησ ο δείκτησ µεταποίησησ Empire διαµορφώθηκε τον Οκτώβριο στισ -6,16 µονάδεσ (εκτίµηση: -4, Σεπτέµβριοσ: -10,4, µ.ο. 6 µηνών: 0,73). Επιπλέον, ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Fed Ν. ΥÞρκησ εκτιµά Þτι η Οµοσπονδιακή Τράπεζα των ΗΠΑ θα διατηρήσει τα µέτρα επεκτατικήσ νοµισµατικήσ πολιτικήσ, µέχρι να ισχυροποιηθεί η οικονοµική ανάπτυξη. Την ενίσχυση του ευρώ περιορίζει η ανησυχία για τη διαδικασία υλοποίησησ τησ τραπεζικήσ ενοποίησησ στην Ευρωζώνη. Ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ ΕΚΤ δήλωσε Þτι ο µηχανι-

σµÞσ τραπεζικήσ εποπτείασ ενδεχοµένωσ να µην τεθεί σε λειτουργία έωσ το 2014. Παράλληλα ο ΥπουργÞσ Οικονοµικών τησ Γερµανίασ δήλωσε Þτι η συµµετοχή κράτουσ µέλουσ στην Ευρωζώνη αποτελεί απÞφαση µη αναστρέψιµη και εκτίµησε Þτι η δηµιουργία τραπεζικήσ ένωσησ στην Ευρωζώνη θα συµβάλει στο διαχωρισµÞ των κινδύνων χώρασ έναντι των κινδύνων τραπεζικού συστήµατοσ, ενισχύοντασ τη σταθερÞτητα. Η Καγκελάριοσ τησ Γερµανίασ επανέλαβε Þτι επιθυµεί την παραµονή τησ Ελλάδοσ στην Ευρωζώνη. Το ενδιαφέρον τησ αγοράσ εστιάζεται την τρέχουσα εβδοµάδα στη Σύνοδο Κορυφήσ τησ Ε.Ε. (18-19/10) και στισ ανακοινώσεισ εταιρικών οικονοµικών αποτελεσµάτων γ’ τριµήνου στισ ΗΠΑ. Στη Σύνοδο Κορυφήσ αναµένεται να συζητηθούν οι οικονοµικέσ εξελίξεισ στην Ισπανία και η πρÞοδοσ αναφορικά µε την εφαρµογή του προγράµµατοσ οικονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ στην Ελλάδα.

17 OKTΩΒΡΙΟΥ, 2012

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

ΕΛΛΑ∆Α | 7/19

H ÂÏÏËÓÈ΋ ÔÈÎÔÓÔÌ›· ÛÙÔÓ 5Ô ‰È·‰Ô¯ÈÎfi ¯ÚfiÓÔ ‡ÊÂÛ˘ Η ανάκαµψη τησ ελληνικήσ οικονοµίασ έρχεται, αλλά µε κÞστοσ. Με τον τρÞπο αυτÞ επιχειρεί να περιγράψει την κατάσταση τησ ελληνικήσ οικονοµίασ στην τρέχουσα συγκυρία η Credit Suisse. Ùπωσ σηµειώνουν οι αναλυτέσ του οίκου, στην τελευταία 12σέλιδη έκθεσή τουσ µε τίτλο “What Works Commentary Global Regions”, παρά τισ αρχικέσ διαβεβαιώσεισ του Έλληνα πρφωθυπουργού Α. Σαµαρά πωσ η χώρα θα ολοκληρώσει τισ διαπραγµατεύσεισ µε την τρÞικα, προκειµένου να λάβει την επÞµενη δÞση, τελικά η συµφωνία δεν θα επέλθει πριν την κρίσιµη Σύνοδο Κορυφήσ τησ 18ησ Οκτωβρίου. Κατά την Credit Suisse, η ελληνική οικονοµία, στον 5ο διαδοχικÞ χρÞνο ύφεσησ, εµφανίζει ενδείξεισ σταθεροποίησησ, παρά τη συνεχιζÞµενη πολιτική αβεβαιÞτητα. Ειδική µνεία, για την πεποίθησή του αυτή, κάνει ο οίκοσ στην αύξηση τησ ελληνικήσ παραγωγήσ και των εξαγωγών, καθώσ και στη σταδιακή βελτίωση τησ ανταγωνιστικÞτητασ τησ ελληνικήσ οικονοµίασ. “Παρά τη συνεχιζÞµενη ύφεση και τισ

πολιτικέσ αναταραχέσ των τελευταίων µηνών (εκλογέσ, διαρκήσ συζήτηση για έξοδο τησ Ελλάδασ απÞ το ευρώ), τα δηµοσιονοµικά και οικονοµικά µεγέθη στη χώρα είναι τÞσο θετικά, σε βαθµÞ που προκαλούν έκπληξη”, σχολιάζει ο οίκοσ. “Παρατηρώντασ τα τελευταία οικονοµικά µεγέθη τησ Ελλάδασ, αποδεικνύεται πωσ πλέον η ελληνική οικονοµία εµφανίζει λιγÞτερο φτωχέσ επιδÞσεισ τώρα, σε σχέση µε Þ,τι εµφάνιζε λίγουσ µήνεσ νωρίτερα”, επισηµαίνει επίσησ η Credit Suisse.

Aλλά, Þπωσ προειδοποιεί, η δηµοσιονοµική προσαρµογή στην Ελλάδα έχει και το αναγκαίο κÞστοσ, το οποίο αποδεικνύεται ξεκάθαρα στη µείωση των µισθών και τη ραγδαία αύξηση τησ ανεργίασ. “Οι κοινωνικέσ αναταραχέσ έχουν αυξηθεί στη χώρα, γεγονÞσ που αποτελεί µεγάλη πρÞκληση για την ίδια την κυβέρνηση και ειδικά Þσον αφορά στο στÞχο για εφαρµογή του προγράµµατοσ δηµοσιονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ”, σηµειώνει στη συνέχεια ο οίκοσ. Η εφαρµογή θα είναι δύσκολη, προειδοποιεί η Credit Suisse, τονίζοντασ επίσησ πωσ

δεν υπάρχουν πολλά περιθώρια για ακÞµη πιο αυστηρά µέτρα λιτÞτητασ. Ο οίκοσ χαρακτηρίζει απίθανη την έξοδο

τησ Ελλάδασ απÞ το ευρώ, ενώ ζητά την ανάγκη επιτάχυνσησ των αναγκαίων µεταρρυθµίσεων.

ª¤ÚÎÂÏ: «√È ∂ÏÏËÓ˜ ·ÏÏ¿˙Ô˘Ó ÙÚfiÔ ÛΤ„˘» Η καγκελάριοσ τησ Γερµανίασ Αγκελα Μέρκελ εξέφρασε την ικανοποίησή τησ για µια αλλαγή στάσησ τησ Ελλάδασ και υπογράµµισε τισ προÞδουσ που έχει πραγµατοποιήσει η χώρα και τισ προσπάθειέσ τησ. “Μπορούµε να πούµε πολλά για την Ελλάδα, Þµωσ τώρα έχουν γίνει πραγµατικά πολλά εκεί πέρα ίσωσ πιο αργά και λιγÞτερο αποτελεσµατικά απ’ Þ,τι φανταζÞµασταν, αλλά κάτι έχει αλλάξει στο γενικÞ τρÞπο σκέψησ τουσ”, δήλωσε η καγκελάριοσ µιλώντασ σ’ ένα ακροατήριο Γερµανών επιχειρηµατιών στο Βερολίνο. Η Αν. Μέρκελ, η οποία επαναλαµβάνει πλέον Þτι θέλει να παραµείνει η Ελλάδα στη ζώνη του ευρώ, επιµένοντασ παράλληλα Þτι πρέπει να εφαρµÞσει τισ µεταρρυθµίσεισ και

¢ÂÓ ı· ·ÓÙ¤ÍÂÈ Ë ÂÏÏËÓÈ΋ ΢‚¤ÚÓËÛË Η ατζέντα τησ ευρωζώνησ ορίζεται κυρίωσ απÞ Þτι εξυπηρετεί τον κύκλο των γερµανικών εκλογών και Þχι απÞ Þτι εξυπηρετεί τισ ανάγκεσ τησ κάθε χώρασ ξεχωριστά, ανέφερε ο Alastair Newton, αναλυτήσ στη Nomura, εκτιµώντασ Þτι ο χειµώνασ που έρχεται θα είναι πολύ δύσκολοσ για την Ευρώπη. Σύµφωνα µε τον Newton, οι απεργίεσ και οι διαδηλώσεισ θα ενταθούν στισ χώρεσ του ΝÞτου, καθώσ αυξάνονται τα σκληρά µέτρα λιτÞτητασ που οδηγούν σε Þλο και πιο βαθιά ύφεση και κατακÞρυφη αύξηση τησ ανεργίασ. Την ίδια ώρα, οι Ευρωπαίοι συνεχώσ καθυστερούν τισ αποφάσεισ για τÞνωση τησ ανάπτυξησ και αυτÞ δεν είναι καλÞ, παρατηρεί ο Newton. Σύµφωνα µε τον αναλυτή τησ Nomura, οι κυβερνήσεισ σε Ελλάδα και Πορτογαλία πιθανÞν να µην ολοκληρώσουν τισ θητείεσ τουσ, αφού είναι εξαιρετικά αδύναµεσ να ολοκληρώσουν την εφαρµογή τησ λιτÞτητασ που απαιτείται απÞ την Ευρώπη. Η δυσαρέσκεια και οι κοινωνικέσ αναταραχέσ θα ενταθούν, ενώ πολλέσ αντιδράσεισ µπορεί να αποβούν βίαιεσ. Η παρατεταµένη λιτÞτητα θα συνεχίσει να παραλύει τον ευρωπαϊκÞ ΝÞτο και ενισχύει την λαϊκή δυσαρέσκεια, τÞνισε ο Newton.

τα µέτρα λιτÞτητασ που ζητούν οι πιστωτέσ τησ, είχε µεταβεί την περασµένη εβδοµάδα στην Αθήνα. Προηγουµένωσ είχε µεταβεί επίσησ στην

Ισπανία, άλλη µια εξασθενηµένη χώρα τησ ευρωζώνησ. “Είδαµε µε πÞση ορµή, µε πÞση προσήλωση η ισπανική κυβέρνηση εργάζεται για να βελτιώσει την ανταγωνιστικÞτητα τησ χώρασ”, υπογράµµισε η Άνγκελα Μέρκελ. Η καγκελάριοσ διαβεβαίωσε, εξάλλου, Þτι η Γερµανία «είναι σαφέσ Þτι δεν θέλει να διαιρέσει την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση». Υπογράµµισε µάλιστα πωσ ο στÞχοσ του ευρώ, Þταν εισήχθη, δεν ήταν να περιοριστεί µÞνο σε 17 χώρεσ, αλλά να επεκταθεί Þσο το δυνατÞν περισσÞτερο σε Þλεσ τισ χώρεσ-µέλη τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Ένωσησ. Η ίδια υπογράµµισε πωσ πρέπει να γίνει δουλειά για να ενισχυθεί και να εναρµονιστεί η γενική ανταγωνιστικÞτητα τησ Ευρώπησ. «Με διαφορετικά επίπεδα ανταγωνιστικÞτη-

τασ, µια νοµισµατική ένωση δεν µπορεί να αντισταθεί µακροπρÞθεσµα στα σοκ», δήλωσε προσθέτοντασ Þτι η ανταγωνιστικÞτητα θα είναι ένα απÞ τα σηµαντικά θέµατα τησ επÞµενησ ευρωπαϊκήσ συνÞδου κορυφήσ που θα διεξαχθεί, την Πέµπτη και την Παρασκευή, στισ Βρυξέλλεσ. Η Μέρκελ αναφέρθηκε, επίσησ, στο θέµα τησ αγοράσ εργασίασ. Η καγκελάριοσ εξέφρασε τη λύπη τησ για το γεγονÞσ Þτι, µολονÞτι η Ευρώπη έχει µια ενιαία εσωτερική αγορά, δεν έχει και µια ενιαία αγορά εργασίασ. Ζήτησε να υπάρξει µεγαλύτερη κινητικÞτητα των εργαζοµένων και καλύτερη εκµάθηση των γλωσσών, σε µια περίοδο που η Γερµανία αντιµετωπίζει δηµογραφική ύφεση και έλλειψη εξειδικευµένου προσωπικού.

∫. ¶·Ô‡ÏÈ·˜: ¡· ¿Ù ·ÏÏÔ‡ «Αν η Μέρκελ θέλει άλλα µέτρα, να αλλάξει λαÞ, να ψάξει να βρεί έναν άλλο» τÞνισε ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Ελληνικήσ ∆ηµοκρατίασ Κάρολοσ Παπούλιασ. «Είναι µια κατάσταση που ο λαÞσ έδωσε Þ,τι είχε να δώσει. Το είπα και στην κυρία Μέρκελ», ανέφερε ο κ. Παπούλιασ, «πωσ αν θέλει και άλλα µέτρα να αλλάξει λαÞ, να ψάξει να βρεί έναν άλλο». Ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ ∆ηµοκρατίασ χαρακτήρισε ωσ απαράδεκτο «άλλοι να φοροδιαφεύγουν και άλλοι να πληρώνουν αυτή την

κρίση». «∆ίνουµε τη µάχη κι αυτÞ που έχει πρώτα απÞ Þλα σηµασία είναι η Ελλάδα να επιζήσει. Θα πρέπει ο καθένασ να προσφέρει απÞ τη µεριά του και είναι απαράδεκτο άλλοι να διαφεύγουν, άλλοι να κάνουν τον κουτÞ και άλλοι να πληρώνουν. Κοινωνική συνοχή σηµαίνει ισοδίκαιη κατανοµή των βαρών. ∆εν βρήκαµε τον ελληνικÞ λαÞ και του φορτώσαµε την κρίση. Υπάρχουν κάποιοι άλλοι που βγάζουν τα λεφτά τουσ δεξιά κι αριστερά και άλλοι που

έχουν αγοράσει το µισÞ Λονδίνο» δήλωσε χαρακτηριστικά ο κ. Παπούλιασ.

™ÙÔ˘ÚÓ¿Ú·˜: £· Âı¿ÓÔ˘Ì ·fi ·ÛÊ˘Í›· ·Ó ‰ÂÓ ¿ÚÔ˘Ì ÙË ‰fiÛË ∆ραµατική προειδοποίηση σχετικά µε την αναγκαιÞτητα τησ άµεσησ καταβολήσ τησ δÞσησ απηύθυνε ο έλληνασ υπουργÞσ Οικονοµικών, Γ. Στουρνάρασ απÞ την Βουλή, δηλώνοντασ Þτι «θέλουµε άµεσα τη δÞση, διαφορετικά θα πεθάνουµε απÞ ασφυξία»! Μάλιστα προέτρεψε τουσ βουλευτέσ τησ Επιτροπήσ Οικονοµικών Υποθέσεων να ανοίξουν τα κινητά τουσ για να διαβάσουν την είδηση Þτι η Ισπανία θέλει να µπει στην

ΜηχανισµÞ Στήριξησ. «ΑυτÞ σηµαίνει Þτι τα κεφάλαια που διεκδικούµε εµείσ τα ζητάνε και άλλοι», υπογράµµισε ο επικεφαλήσ του οικονοµικού επιτελείου. Επιπλέον, ο κ. Στουρνάρασ τÞνισε Þτι χωρίσ την επιµήκυνση για να γίνει βιώσιµο το χρέοσ θα πρέπει να επιτευχθεί το 2014 πρωτογενέσ πλεÞνασµα 4,5% του ΑΕΠ, κάτι που Þπωσ είπε «θα απαιτούσε σήµερα µέτρα ύψουσ 18 δισ. ευρώ». «Τώρα περιορίζονται σε 13,5 δισ. ευρώ

και αν εξελιχθούν τα πράγµατα Þπωσ πρέπει δεν θα χρειαστούν νέα µέτρα τα επÞµενα χρÞνια», συµπλήρωσε αφήνοντασ Þλα τα ενδεχÞµενα ανοιχτά και για µελλοντικά µέτρα. Ανέφερε, εξάλλου, Þτι απÞ τα πακέτα στήριξησ που διασφάλισε η Ελλάδα συνολικού ύψουσ 240 δισ. ευρώ, αποµένουν 90 δισ. ευρώ. «Τα χρήµατα αυτά φθάνουν αν βέβαια τα πράγµατα εξελιχθούν θετικά, διÞτι αν δεν εξελιχθούν δεν φτάνει τίποτα», υπογράµµισε ο κ. Στουρνάρασ.

17 OKTΩΒΡΙΟΥ, 2012

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

8/20 | ΑΓΟΡΑ

Peugeot 208: ¶ÈÔ ÔÏÔÎÏËڈ̤ÓÔ ‰ÂÓ Á›ÓÂÙ·È! Ùταν ένα εργοστάσιο διαθέσει στην αγορά πάνω απÞ 15 εκατοµµύρια οχήµατα σε αυτή την κατηγορία, τÞτε η σηµασία που δίδει σε κάθε καινούριο µοντέλο είναι ιδιαίτερα µεγάλη. ΑυτÞ ακριβώσ γίνεται και στην περίπτωση του ολοκαίνουριου 208 που ξεκινά την καριέρα του και στην Κυπριακή αγορά. ΠρÞκειται για το πρώτο αυτοκίνητο που παρουσιάζεται στον τÞπο µασ υπÞ τη διεύθυνση τησ Demstar Automotive. Ένα µοντέλο που η Peugeot χρησιµοποιεί την τεχνογνωσία που απέκτησε διαµέσου των δεκαετιών απÞ τα θρυλικά 205, 206 και 207. Το Peugeot 208 είναι ένα ικανÞ να προσελκύσει ένα ευρύ καταναλωτικÞ κοινÞ µε νέεσ απαιτήσεισ, γι’ αυτÞ και η Peugeot δηµιούργησε ένα αυτοκίνητο που αντιπροσωπεύει πραγµατικά µία νέα γενιά αυτοκινήτων. Είναι ελαφρύτερο κατά 110 κιλά κατά µέσο Þρο σε σύγκριση µε το 207, µε το χώρο επιβατών να είναι αυξηµένοσ, ιδιαίτερα για τουσ πίσω επιβάτεσ ενώ αισθητά µεγαλύτεροσ είναι και ο χώροσ αποσκευών.

¡¤· ÛÂÈÚ¿ ÏÔÁÈÛÌÈÎÒÓ ·fi ÙËÓ AVG Tη νέα σειρά προϊÞντων τησ για το 2013 παρουσίασε η AVG eCommerce CY Limited. Η σειρά περιλαµβάνει νέεσ εκδÞσεισ δηµοφιλών καταναλωτικών προϊÞντων τησ AVG, Þπωσ το AVG AntiVirus FREE, αλλά και ανανεωµένο interface συµβατÞ µε Þλα τα προϊÞντα που ενσωµατώνουν τεχνολογία αφήσ και έξυπνη πλοήγηση για να συµπληρώσει τισ τελευταίεσ συσκευέσ και λειτουργικά συστήµατα. Τα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά των νέων προϊÞντων τησ AVG, είναι: - Ολοκαίνουριο interface που παρέχει στον χρήστη εύκολη πρÞσβαση στισ ρυθµίσεισ που χρησιµοποιεί πιο τακτικά. Είναι φιλικÞ προσ την αφή και εύκολο στην πλοήγηση για να υποστηρίξει τισ τελευταίεσ συσκευέσ µε οθÞνη αφήσ.

- Πιο οµαλή εµπειρία εγκατάστασησ, µέσω νέασ οθÞνησ υποδοχήσ και πολλά άλλα. Την γκάµα τησ AVG 2013 Internet Security συµπληρώνει το AVG PC TuneUp®, το οποίο βοηθά κάθε PC να λειτουργεί οµαλά µε βέλτιστη απÞδοση, καθαρίζοντασ τον σκληρÞ δίσκο, διορθώνοντασ προβλήµατα, διατηρώντασ τη διάρκεια ζωήσ τησ µπαταρίασ των laptops και εξαλείφοντασ προβλήµατα απÞδοσησ (π.χ. freezing, crashing κλπ).

ƒÂÎfiÚ Guinness ÁÈ· ÙËÓ Ô‰È΋ ·ÛÊ¿ÏÂÈ· Μεγάλη επιτυχία σηµείωσε η πρωτοβουλία τησ Cyta και τησ Αστυνοµίασ Κύπρου να συγκεντρώσουν περισσÞτερα απÞ 1.000 παιδιά στο Πάρκο Κυκλοφοριακήσ Αγωγήσ τησ Τροχαίασ Αστυνοµίασ Κύπρου και να φορέσουν ταυτÞχρονα προστατευτικά κράνη ασφαλείασ. Συγκεκριµένα, 1.196 παιδιά τησ Ε’ και ΣΤ’ τάξησ ∆ηµοτικών Σχολείων, απÞ Þλεσ τισ επαρχίεσ τησ Κύπρου, συγκεντρώθηκαν στο Πάρκο και στην παρουσία εκπροσώπου του Guinness World Records, ο οποίοσ κατέγραψε το ρεκÞρ, φÞρεσαν Þλα µαζί συγχρÞνωσ προστατευτικά κράνη ασφαλείασ τησ Cyta. Το µήνυµα τουσ ήταν ξεκάθαρο: «1.000 κράνη για 1.000 παιδιά - Το κράνοσ σώζει ζωέσ!». Αξίζει να σηµειωθεί Þτι στην εκδήλωση συµµετείχαν και παιδιά απÞ το κατεχÞµενο Ριζοκάρπασο.

H εκδήλωση, η οποία τελούσε υπÞ την αιγίδα τησ Κυπριακήσ Προεδρίασ του Συµβουλίου τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Ένωσησ, ήταν µια πρωτοβουλία τησ Αστυνοµίασ Κύπρου και τησ Cyta και διοργανώθηκε σε συνεργασία µε το Υπουργείο Παιδείασ και Πολιτισµού.

PrimeTel: °È· ·˘ÙÔ‡˜ Ô˘ ͯˆÚ›˙Ô˘Ó Η PrimeTel ήταν ένασ απÞ τουσ υποστηρικτέσ του Nicosia Beer Fun Festival, το οποίο διοργανώθηκε πρÞσφατα, στη Λευκωσία. Εξήντα διαφορετικέσ µάρκεσ µπύρασ απÞ Þλο τον κÞσµο, φαγητÞ, ζωντανή µουσική, χορÞσ και άφθονη διασκέδαση ήταν µερικά απÞ τα χαρακτηριστικά τα οποία συνέθεταν το κεφάτο σκηνικÞ του Φεστιβάλ Μπύρασ για έξι συνεχÞµενεσ ηµέρεσ! Κατά τη διάρκεια τησ βραδιάσ, γνωστοί Ελλαδίτεσ και Κύπριοι τραγουδιστέσ ένωσαν τισ φωνέσ τουσ µε αφιερώµατα στο έντεχνο και λαϊκÞ τραγούδι, ενώ ροκ και ποπ συγκροτήµατα έδιναν µία διαφορετική νÞτα στην Þλη εκδήλωση. Ξεχωριστή ήταν και η παρουσία τησ προωθητικήσ οµάδασ τησ PrimeTel, στο πλαίσιο τησ νέασ καµπάνιασ «Γι’ αυτούσ που ξεχωρίζουν», καθώσ τα κορίτσια και οι ξυλοπÞδαροι τησ εταιρείασ συνέβαλαν στη διασκέδαση µοιράζοντασ δώρα. Για περισσÞτερεσ πληροφορίεσ σχετικά µε την PrimeTel και τισ υπηρεσίεσ που προσφέρει, κάντε κλικ στο www.primetel.com.cy ή καλέστε 133 Θ. 51490 , 3506, ΛεµεσÞσ, Κύπροσ

ÕÓÔÈÍ ÙÔ Hard Rock ÛÙË §Â˘ÎˆÛ›· Και επίσηµα άνοιξε τισ πÞρτεσ του στο ευρύ το πρώτο Hard Rock Cafe στη Λευκωσία, το οποίο βρίσκεται στη ΛεωφÞρο Σπύρου Κυπριανού 21, στο κέντρο τησ Πρωτεύουσασ και αναµένεται να αναδειχθεί σε πÞλο έλξησ για τουσ κατοίκουσ τησ πÞλησ και Þχι µÞνο. Το κτίριο του Hard Rock Cafe Λευκωσίασ καλύπτει µια έκταση 560 τµ. και οι χώροι εστίασησ εκτείνονται σε 3 ορÞφουσ που µπορούν να φιλοξενούν 300 άτοµα. Στουσ χώρουσ εστίασησ, συµπεριλαµβάνεται πέραν απÞ το εστιατÞριο, roof garden 80 θέσεων, χώροσ για ζωντανή µουσική και δύο εντυπωσιακά µπαρ. Στο Hard Rock Cafe Λευκωσίασ στεγάζετε επίσησ το Rock Shop που διαθέτει προσ πώληση τα παγκοσµίου φήµησ προϊÞντα τησ αλυσίδασ, limitededition συλλογέσ, αλλά και αναµνηστικά αξεσουάρ µε το Þνοµα τησ πÞλησ (NICOSIA) που αφορούν τη Λευκωσία. Οι επισκέπτεσ στο Hard Rock Cafe Λευκωσίασ µπορούν να απολαύσουν φρέσκα και υψηλήσ ποιÞτητασ φαγητά απÞ το µενού, µεταξύ των οποίων απÞ το διάσηµο και «θρυλικÞ» Legendary Experience.

San Marco: A˘ıÂÓÙÈΤ˜ ÈÙ·ÏÈΤ˜ Á‡ÛÂȘ H San Marco «Pizzeria» είναι η νέα αυθεντική πίτσα µε λεπτή ζύµη φτιαγµένη µε αγνά Ιταλικά συστατικά. Είναι δηλαδή ακριβώσ το είδοσ πίτσασ που κάποιοσ συναντά στο µενού µιασ παραδοσιακήσ Ιταλικήσ πιτσαρίασ . Μπορείτε να την ψήσετε απευθείασ απÞ την κατάψυξη σε µÞλισ 10 µε 12 λεπτά. Πιάστε θέση λοιπÞν και απολαύστε την µοναδική ποιÞτητα και γεύση τησ «Pizzeria» στο σπίτι σασ, Þπωσ θα την απολαµβάνατε µÞνο σε µια αυθεντική, Ιταλική πιτσαρία! H San Marco «Pizzeria» είναι Þτι καλύτερο µπορεί να απολαύσει κανείσ σε προσιτή τιµή και διατίθεται σε 3 διαφορετικά είδη: Mozzarella, Special & Salame.

Lindt: ¡¤Ô ÛÔÎÔÏ·Ù¤ÓÈÔ ·ÚÈÛÙÔ‡ÚÁËÌ· Η Ελβετική σοκολάτα LINDT δίνει την ευκαιρία στουσ εκλεκτούσ καταναλωτέσ τησ να έχουν µια νέα µοναδική εµπειρία απÞλαυσησ, Þπωσ ποτέ άλλοτε! Συγκεκριµένα η γκάµα τησ Lindt Excellence εµπλουτίζεται µε τη νέα Lindt Excellence Coconut Intense, µαύρη σοκολάτα 100g µε νιφάδεσ απÞ καραµελώµενο ινδοκάρυδο! Η νέα σοκολάτα τησ σειράσ Lindt Excellence πραγµατικά θέτει νέα δεδοµένα στο χώρο τησ σοκολάτασ αφού πρÞκειται για µοναδικÞ σοκολατένιο αριστούργηµα που ανεβάζει τον πήχη ποιÞτητασ, γεύσησ και απÞλαυσησ σε πρωτοφανή επίπεδα! Η ξεχωριστή γεύση αυτήσ τησ πολύτιµησ σειράσ σοκολατών οφείλεται στα υψηλήσ ποιÞτητασ συστατικά τησ και στο γεγονÞσ Þτι περνά αρκετή ώρα στο στάδιο του conching. Εδώ η σοκολάτα παίρνει τη βελούδινή τησ υφή και απαλή γεύση για την οποία φηµίζεται η Lindt. Το conche εφευρέθηκε απÞ τη Lindt το 1879 και άλλαξε τον κÞσµο τησ σοκολάτασ.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

INVESTMENT NEWS | 21

Share the wealth – looking at dividend yield

BY OREN LAURENT President, Banc De Binary

Long term investors will know the importance and value of dividends - the distribution of a company’s profit, or a portion of the profit, to its shareholders, in the form of cash or stock.

Many companies in today’s high-tech society do not offer dividends, but prefer to reinvest profits in the hope of growing the companies. However, where companies do offer them, over the long term these payments can equate to the majority of the profit made by owning a stock.

How do you know what the best dividend payouts are? And what other factors need consideration before you commit to an investment?

The most crucial figure to consider is the dividend yield, which indicates how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price. In other words, this reveals how much you make per share. It is perhaps best indicator of which companies have enough internal growth to make your investment worthwhile.

Despite the current turmoil we are witnessing in the financial markets, 65 companies have recorded one-year highs this past week, 33 of which pay dividends. Let’s evaluate three in particular that have great investment potential.

CreXus Investment Corp. is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company is a commercial real estate company that acquires, manages, and finances, directly or through its subsidiaries, commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate debt, commercial real property, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), other commercial real estate-related assets and Agency residential mortgage-backed securities. It also engages in long-term sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions with companies in the U.S. The company is managed by Fixed Income Discount Advisory Company (FIDAC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (Annaly).

Crexus Investment (NYSE:CXS) has a market cap of $849.83 mln. The company generates revenue of $105.67 mln and has a net income of $108.40 mln. The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $89.97 mln. The EBITDA margin is 85.14% (operating margin 102.58% and net profit margin 102.58%).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 3.16% of the

company’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 3.38%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 18.14% was realised. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $1.42. Last fiscal year, the company paid $1.13 in form of dividends to shareholders. The stock is 0.36% below 52-Week High.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 7.80, P/S ratio 8.02 and P/B ratio 0.91.

Dividend Yield: 11.57%. The beta ratio is not calculable.

PPL Corporation (PPL) is an energy and utility holding company that operates in four segments: Kentucky Regulated, International Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated and Supply. Through its subsidiaries, PPL generates electricity from power plants in the northeastern, northwestern and southeastern U.S.; markets wholesale or retail energy primarily in the northeastern and northwestern portions of the United States; delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and the U.K., and natural gas to customers in Kentucky. On April 1, 2011, PPL, through its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary, WPD Midlands (PPL WEM), completed its acquisition of Western Power Distribution (East Midlands) plc and WPD Midlands Holdings Limited, the sole owner of Western Power Distribution (West Midlands) plc, together with certain other related assets and liabilities (collectively referred to as WPD Midlands), from subsidiaries of E.ON AG. PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) has a market cap of $17.10 bln. The company employs 17,722 people, generates revenue of $12,737.00 mln and has a net income of $1,510.00 mln. The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $4,309.00 mln. The EBITDA margin is 33.83% (operating margin 24.30% and net profit margin 11.86%).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 43.54% of the company’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 171.51%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 15.62% was realized. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $2.95. Last fiscal year, the company paid $1.40 in form of dividends to shareholders. The stock is 0.61% below 52-Week High.

www.bbinary.com

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 9.98, P/S ratio 1.34 and P/B ratio 1.57.

Dividend Yield: 4.89%. The beta ratio is 0.39.

Cigna Corporation (Cigna) is a holding company. It is a global health service company, with insurance subsidiaries that are providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and services. In the U.S., these products and services are offered through employers and other groups, and in selected international markets, Cigna offers supplemental health, life and accident insurance products and international health care coverage and services to businesses, governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals. The Company also has certain run-off operations, including a Runoff Reinsurance segment. Cigna operates in five segments: Health Care, Disability and Life, International, Run-off Reinsurance, and Other Operations, including Corporateowned Life Insurance. On January 31, 2012, Cigna acquired HealthSpring, Inc. In August 2012, it acquired Great American Supplemental Benefits from American Financial Group, Inc. CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) has a market cap of $14.33 bln.

The company employs 31,400 people, generates revenue of $21,998.00 mln and has a net income of $1,328.00 mln. The firm’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $9,853.00 mln. The EBITDA margin is 44.79% (operating margin 8.95% and net profit margin 6.04%).

Financial Analysis: The total debt represents 9.98% of the company’s assets and the total debt in relation to the equity amounts to 61.05%. Due to the financial situation, a return on equity of 17.71% was realized. Twelve trailing months earnings per share reached a value of $4.38. Last fiscal year, the company paid $0.04 in form of dividends to shareholders. The stock is 1.41% below 52-Week High.

Market Valuation: Here are the price ratios of the company: The P/E ratio is 11.35, P/S ratio 0.66 and P/B ratio 1.72.

Dividend Yield: 0.08%. The beta ratio is 1.39.

The above advice should of course be taken with the prerequisite of diversification. Reality has taught us time again that the markets can move in unpredictable ways, and it is always best to invest in a range of assets over a range of time spans.

Disclaimer aside, the statistics certainly indicate that the above shares are strong candidates for long term investment, with handsome dividends and growth potential. I advise going for it.

You decide what percentage of your portfolio to invest.

Mortgage boom leads to profit surge for JPMorgan, Wells Two of the biggest U.S. banks, Wells Fargo & Co and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, made record profits over the last three months from a sharp rise in mortgage lending, though performance stumbles elsewhere left investors worried about how long those profits can last. Both banks reported doubledigit increases in third-quarter earnings on Friday, as recordlow interest rates and an uptick in the housing market drove a boom in mortgages.

But analysts said those record earnings might not be sustainable, as each bank posted declining margins that suggest they may have a harder time earning as much in the future.

J.P. Morgan shares closed the day down 1.1% at $41.62, while Wells Fargo declined 2.6% to $34.25. Both underperformed the broader market, which was essentially flat.

The issue is the “net interest margin,” or the spread between what the banks earn from loans and what they pay out on deposits. That margin contracted in both cases.

“You have a battle between net interest margin and mortgage banking,” said Marty Mosby, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities, referring to the tension between profit-drivers now and potential future results.

MORTGAGES ON THE MOVE

The mortgage market dragged on banks during the worst

of the financial crisis but has become a bright spot of late.

After the Federal Reserve said in September it would buy huge quantities of mortgage bonds every month for the foreseeable future, rates fell sharply and loan applications soared.

Wells Fargo, by far the largest mortgage lender in the country - three times the size of its closest peer - made $139 bln in mortgages in the three months ending in September, up $50 bln from a year earlier. There is a limit to that growth, though, warned J.P. Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.

“We don’t expect to count on high margins and mortgage origination forever,” Dimon said on Friday. The refinancing trend, he added, will continue “next quarter, maybe for a couple of quarters after that, but it won’t last much longer.”

SMALLER WHALES

Besides the good news about the housing market, J.P. Morgan also reported that losses are shrinking rapidly from the bad trades engineered by the so-called London Whale, which cost the bank almost $6 bln in the first half of the year.

The losses cast a harsh light on Dimon, the chief executive viewed by some as a potential leading candidate for U.S. Treasury secretary in a second Obama administration. He has apologized repeatedly, and at length, for failing to catch the problem before it grew so big. The nation’s largest bank

by assets posted net income of $5.71 bln, or $1.40 a share, up 34% from a profit of $4.26 bln, or $1.02 a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.24 a share, according to surveys by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Barclays Capital said it was the 17th time in the last 18 quarters that the bank beat Wall Street’s forecasts.

Net interest margin contracted to 2.43% in the quarter, 4 basis points less than the prior quarter and 23 basis points lower than a year earlier.

Wells Fargo, the nation’s fourth-largest bank by deposits, earned $4.9 bln in the quarter, 22% more than a year earlier.

Per-share earnings of 88 cents just beat the average Wall Street forecast of 87 cents, although revenue missed estimates by some $270 mln.

Wells, Warren Buffett’s favorite bank, stumbled on the net interest margin. It fell 25 basis points to 3.66% in the third quarter. That was a sharper drop than expected, though bank executives insisted they were unconcerned and that investors should focus on overall profitability.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Frederick Cannon, in a research report for clients, said the strength in mortgages was good but the weakness in the interest margin was more important.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

24 | MARKETS

Brent steady above $115 on supply worries Brent futures held steady above $115 on Tuesday, underpinned by supply concerns after the European Union slapped more sanctions on Iran, while ample supplies and healthy inventory in top consumer U.S. capped gains.

Front-month Brent crude slipped 10 cents to $115.70 a barrel, after settling up $1.18. U.S. oil gained 9 cents to $91.94. “Fundamentally there is no shortage of oil, with Saudi Arabia and others maintaining high output while inventory levels are also good,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity sales manager with Newedge in Tokyo. “On the other hand, there is tension in the market with what is happening in Iran and the Turkey-Syria issue. That has put a floor on prices.”

The twin factors of ample supply and worries over a worsening crisis in the Middle East will keep oil well balanced unless the geopolitical situation worsens, Hasegawa said. He expects Brent to trade between $110 and $118 in the short term, for the next ten days, with U.S. oil in an $88-$95 range.

Brent may edge up towards $117.92 per barrel as a rebound from the October 3 low of $107.67 seems to have been extended, while U.S. oil may rise towards $94.06 per barrel, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Adding to overall supplies, Saudi Arabia produced an average of 9.77 mln bpd of crude oil in September. According to official Saudi government figures supplied to OPEC, the world’s biggest oil exporter produced 9.75 mln bpd in August and 9.80 mln bpd of crude in July.

Iraq and Libya have also ramped up output as the countries return to normal.

Wall Street rallies on Citigroup Stocks climbed, rebounding from last week’s losses after Citigroup’s earnings and retail sales sharply exceeded expectations.

Citigroup Inc shares shot up 5.5% to $36.66 and gave the biggest lift to the S&P 500 after the third-largest U.S. bank reported quarterly adjusted earnings that surged from the year-ago quarter and beat expectations. The growth came as mortgage lending increased and capital markets results rebounded.

Worries about third-quarter U.S. earnings have put a damper on stocks in recent weeks, with the S&P 500 falling 2.2% last week - its worst weekly performance in four months. But the S&P 500 is still up 14.5% for the year.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 kept above technical support levels at their 50day moving averages. Last week’s declines had left each index on the precipice of breaking below those levels. “The market’s reasonably priced, and while it’s had a good move this year, I think most people have not participated so there might be an opportunity for a bit of a tailwind,” said Mark Foster, chief investment officer at Kirr Marbach & Co in Columbus, Indiana.

With about 8% of S&P 500 companies having reported, 58% of companies have topped profit expectations - less than the average beat rate of 67% for the past four quarters, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Fed’s divergent views on inflation risks Federal Reserve officials offered divergent opinions about the correct stance for monetary policy, differing most sharply on the inflation risk posed by the central bank’s massive efforts to buoy U.S. growth.

The Fed, which meets to review policy next week, in September announced a third round of quantitative easing and pledged to keep interest rates near zero until mid-2015 in an effort to underwrite a durable economic upswing.

Anti-inflation hawks were outnumbered by the doves on the Fed’s policy-setting committee, who view inflation as a distant threat in the face of tepid U.S. growth and high levels of joblessness, plus other gauges of economic slack.

“If we were to see some good news on growth I would not expect us to respond in a hasty manner,” said William Dudley, president of the New York Federal Reserve and a close ally of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Dudley, a voting member of the Fed’s policy setting committee, also told the National Association for Business Economics at an event in New York on Monday that fears the Fed’s extraordinary stimulus steps will cause financial asset bubbles or inflation were misplaced. He said the Fed’s ability to adjust the interest it pays banks to park funds there - called interest on excess reserves, or IOER - “means we can keep inflation in check regardless of the size of our balance sheet.”

FOREX COMMENTARY TECHNICAL ANALYSIS The dollar hit a one-month high against the yen on Tuesday and tested a key resistance level after U.S. retail sales data came in stronger than expected. That added to positive sentiment for the U.S. currency which has been supported by the Softbank-Sprint deal and speculation of more easing from the Bank of Japan.

The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 78.88 yen. Earlier, it rose to as high as 78.91 yen on trading platform EBS, the dollar’s highest level since Sept. 19. Although many traders expect the dollar’s 77-79 yen trading range to persist, a substantial break above its Ichimoku cloud top, which now lies at 78.90, could be seen as one of the strongest bullish signs for the pair in many months.

The rise in U.S. retail sales in September followed solid sales in August and pointed to resilient U.S. domestic demand despite worries about a global economic slowdown.

Japanese mobile operator Softbank’s $20 billion purchase of U.S. third-largest wireless company Sprint Nextel, the largest foreign acquisition ever by a Japanese firm, has also encouraged dollar buying or at least discouraged yen buying.

But the yen could be resilient due to worries over global growth as it tends to rise at times of economic stress due to Japan’s net creditor status. Concern over the U.S. fiscal cliff is increasingly in focus as the U.S. Presidential election is just three weeks away.

The euro rose 0.4 percent to 102.25 yen but was still in limbo against the dollar due to uncertainty over Spain.

The single currency traded at $1.2962.

Traders say the euro, which has fluctuated around $1.28-1.30 in the past few weeks after hitting a four-month high of $1.31729 last month, may not trade out of this range until they get a clearer picture on Spain.

While expectations that Madrid will eventually seek a rescue package have discouraged speculators from betting against the euro aggressively, hopes that it will do so at a European Union summit later this week have dimmed.

Euro zone officials said Spain could ask for financial aid from next month. The request would probably be dealt with alongside a revised loan program for Greece and a bailout for Cyprus in one big package. As for Greece, traders were equally clueless on where the austerity discussions between the country and its international lenders are going.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Monday that Greece will conclude the talks to continue receiving the bailout funds it needs but officials said the talks would most likely not be finished by Thursday’s EU summit.

Euro zone officials are also considering new ways to reduce Greece’s huge debts because delays to reforms by Athens and continued recession have put the target of a debt to GDP ratio of 120 percent by 2020 out of reach.

The Australian dollar rose 0.1 percent to $1.0266, but still remained below last week’s high of $1.0294, showing muted response to the minutes from the Australian central bank’s last policy meeting.

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.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

MARKETS | 25

Romney, The Closet Keynesian terity is entirely self-imposed. Meanwhile the US has made little effort to cut the budgets, yet reduced its deficit ratios by more.

Which brings us to the presidential debate. Mitt Romney won the debate largely by denying that his plan for a 20% tax cut would increase the US budget deficit. Pressed to explain where the money for his tax cut would come from, Romney spoke of eliminating “deductions and exemptions [so] we keep taking in the same money when you also account for growth.” But in interviews since the debate, Romney has promised not to touch any of the loopholes big enough to compensate for a 20% reduction in tax rates—mortgage interest, charitable contributions and healthcare (something Biden challenged Ryan on in today’s debate between the vice-presidential candidates). That has led most analysts to conclude either that Romney is not serious about cutting taxes or (more probably) that he is not serious about fiscal arithmetic and will allow deficits to explode. There is, however, a third possibility. Perhaps large tax cuts would boost the US economy so strongly that the lost revenues would quickly be restored through rapid income growth? In the Denver debate, Romney focused on this growth theme: “The revenue I get is by more people working, getting higher pay, paying more taxes. That’s how we get growth and how we balance the budget.”

Many Democrats instinctively reject the possibility of self-financing tax cuts, accusing Romney of “magical thinking” and likening his approach to Reagan’s trickle-down economics. But let us not forget that Reaganomics proved remarkably successful, generating average growth of 4.7% annually for six years. And neither should Democrats forget that self-financing fiscal stimulus, whether through tax cuts or public spending, is the essence of Keynesian economics.

Was Reaganomics successful because of Keynesian demand

Marcuard’s Market update by GaveKal Research John Maynard Keynes said back in 1936 that “practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” Keynes himself is now a seemingly defunct economist, but his influence connects two very important events: the sudden reversal of fortunes in the US election following Mitt Romney’s superlative performance in a debate against Obama, and the powerful critique of overzealous fiscal austerity produced by the IMF. What connects these two events is an economic question that almost nobody dares to raise publicly, but that now seems destined to dominate the US election and that hung over the IMF annual meeting in Tokyo last week: Do deficits really matter? Or, to restate the issue more precisely: Are efforts to cut budget deficits counterproductive in conditions of zero interest rates when fiscal austerity suppresses economic growth?

This conclusion is strongly suggested by the IMF’s “World Economic Outlook” produced for the annual meeting. The WEO presented six detailed case studies, starting with Britain from 1918 to 1939, of economies that tried to reduce large public debt burdens with various policy mixes in the past 80 years. It concluded that two conditions were essential for success: very low interest rates and adequate rates of economic growth. If fiscal austerity produces high unemployment and economic stagnation, it is doomed to failure, causing the government’s debt burden to go up instead of down.

After examining this historical evidence, the IMF report hinted strongly that at least two major economies were now caught in selfdefeating debt spirals: Spain, where the debt trap is created by political pressures from the euro zone, and Britain, where the futile aus-

Battle Of The Robots growing consumer markets. Here is a market that vendors would love to barrage with imports—simply because it is quite a headache to manufacture in the country. Infrastructure should be better, productivity is wanting, the red tape can be maddening, and wages have grown at a blistering pace in recent years. Yet manufacturers who want a piece of this market are increasingly realizing they have to set up shop locally, due to Brazil’s direct and indirect protectionism. For example, Brazil recently raised taxes by 30% for all imported autos (and even those assembled domestically if less than 65% of the production is localized). Any autos manufacturer who wants a piece of the growing pie will have to overcome Brazil’s high and rising labor costs and poor productivity and establish local production (the list includes Chinese brands Anhui Jianghuai and Chery, who are building facilities in Brazil). The incentives to incorporate robotics to get around the constraints are very high (not just for manufacturers but for policymakers trying to fight inflation).

Of course, a large developing country with a massive low-cost labor force still has its advantages. Robots will not eliminate the need for labor in the foreseeable future. Even in the most automated industry, automotives, the number of workers required outnumbers robots 6 to 1. Robot technology remains a ways from completely substituting human dexterity and nimbleness. What a robot does do better is register complex instructions and regurgitate them innumerous times with the flexibility to take in frequent changes with some simple coding and minimal downtime. So robots can help adjustments in assembly lines to go smoother. In other words, rather than training a bunch of individuals, a reprogrammed robot can guide workers with lasers. Anyone who can follow a laser light, pick up the part and put it into another laserlit part can do the job like a pro. This is why we expect robot use to continue to rise in the emerging market—along with competitiveness of those who use them.

Marcuard’s Market update by GaveKal Research Automation, once seen as a thief of manufacturing jobs, is now viewed as its savior. The idea is that as labor and other costs rise in countries like China, many industries will not move on to the next low-cost production center as in the past, but instead return more to countries like the US—with robotics facilitating such reshoring trends. Yet interestingly, some of the fastest-growing markets for robotics are found in emerging countries, including China. Call it the Battle of the Robots.

Many are cynical that developing countries can stem the trend of reshoring by turning to robots. But manufacturing sectors in countries like China are investing in automation not just in the dim hope that demanding workers can be replaced by non-complaining robots; they need robots to compete. For many jobs, human hands just do not cut it these days. Automation is increasingly crucial for meticulous intelligent manufacturing. Take for instance the new iPhone. Proud owners of the iPhone 5 have been raving about the beauty and feel of the new gadget. This is because each phone has a glass inlay that was scrupulously selected by a robot from a pool of 725 unique candidates to match the aluminum housing as perfectly as possible. This requirement of “a level of precision you’d expect to find in a finely crafted watch” gave its assembler, Foxconn, a problem only more automation could solve. China Labor Watch’s coverage of its most recent factory riot sums it up: with such strict quality demands, employees just cannot not turn out iPhones that meet these standards. Despite Foxconn’s rise to become one of the largest electronics contract manufacturers in the world with the help of its army of a million plus cheap laborers, it will inevitably have to employ more machines.

Now let’s move to a market like Brazil, one of the world’s fastest-

The Financial Markets Interest Rates Base Rates

LIBOR rates

CCY USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0-0,25% 0.50% 0.75% 0-0,1% 0-0,25%

Swap Rates

CCY/Period

1mth

2mth

3mth

6mth

1yr

USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0.21 0.50 0.06 0.14 0.01

0.27 0.52 0.10 0.15 0.02

0.33 0.54 0.14 0.19 0.04

0.59 0.75 0.31 0.31 0.15

0.93 1.14 0.59 0.52 0.34

CCY/Period

2yr

3yr

4yr

5yr

7yr

10yr

USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0.36 0.67 0.48 0.22 0.04

0.45 0.73 0.59 0.22 0.05

0.60 0.83 0.75 0.24 0.11

0.78 0.97 0.94 0.28 0.22

1.22 1.33 1.33 0.43 0.50

1.73 1.86 1.76 0.74 0.86

Exchange Rates Major Cross Rates CCY1\CCY2 USD EUR GBP CHF JPY

Opening Rates

1 USD 1 EUR 1 GBP 1 CHF 1.3007 0.7688

100 JPY

1.6093

1.0764

1.2687

1.2373

0.8276

0.9754

0.6689

0.7884

0.6214

0.8082

0.9290

1.2084

1.4950

78.82

102.52

126.85

1.1786 84.84

18.09

25.09

02.10

09.10

16.10

CCY

Today

USD GBP JPY CHF

1.3065

1.2901

1.2863

1.2946

1.2926

0.8041

0.7951

0.7967

0.8070

0.8044

102.62

100.24

100.34

101.38

101.85

1.2094

1.2051

1.2049

1.2087

1.2042

GBP EUR JPY CHF

1.6093 1.3007 78.82 0.9290

Last Week %Change 1.6023 1.2936 78.30 0.9362

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.

WORLD CURRENCIES PER US DOLLAR CURRENCY

CODE

RATE

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

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

8520 1.6093 1.5032 19.1403 5.7342 12.0275 1.3007 1.653 213.91 0.53445 2.6542 0.33 12.1375 5.6832 3.1419 3.5171 30.9288 6.6352 0.929 8.1412

AUD CAD HKD INR JPY KRW NZD SGD

1.0267 0.9825 7.7506 52.94 78.82 1107.03 1.2278 1.2221

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

0.3746 6.0991 12117.90 3.8131 0.7075 0.2805 1502.50 0.3850 3.6400 3.7498 8.7562 3.6728

AZN KZT TRY

0.7839 150.65 1.8095

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

Weekly movement of USD

CCY\Date

stimulus or conservative supply-side economics? Nobody can say for certain, and most likely there were benefits from both incentive and demand effects. But either way, Reagan was hailed as a national saviour. Romney would be equally lauded if his tax cuts delivered strong economic growth, regardless of whether budget deficits initially expand, as they certainly did under Reagan.

This statement may sound like “deficit denial” – and in a sense it is – but the IMF has now produced persuasive evidence to back it up. Its study of fiscal changes in 28 countries since the Lehman crisis shows fiscal policy working in much the way that Keynes predicted, but with two to three times more impact on GDP than previously supposed. The very high fiscal multipliers identified by the IMF suggest that big tax cuts could indeed be largely self-financing, as Romney hopes.

That fiscal policy is now much more powerful than in the past is hardly surprising. The world is again stuck in a liquidity trap, in which monetary policy is ineffective, much as it was in the 1930s, when Keynes developed his ideas on fiscal stimulus. How ironic that it now takes a conservative such as Romney to stop panicking about deficits and propose a full-scale Keynesian policy for growth.

-0.44 -0.55 +0.66 -0.77

Azerbaijanian Manat Kazakhstan Tenge Turkish Lira Note:

* USD per National Currency

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

26 | WORLD MARKETS

Softbank to buy 70% of Sprint for $20 bln Japanese mobile operator Softbank Corp said it will buy about 70% of Sprint Nextel Corp, the third-largest U.S. carrier, for $20.1 bln - the most a Japanese firm has spent on an overseas acquisition.

The deal, announced by Softbank’s billionaire founder and chief Masayoshi Son and Sprint CEO Dan Hesse at a packed news conference in Tokyo, gives Softbank an entry into a U.S. market that still shows growth, while Japan’s market is stagnating. It also gives Sprint the firepower to buy peers and build out its 4G network to compete better in a market dominated by AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Analysts have long said the U.S. telecoms industry needs consolidation, but few looked to Japan as a catalyst. Some investors worry Softbank is biting off more than it can chew.

But the 55-year-old Son, a rare risk-taker in Japan’s often cautious business circles, is betting U.S. growth can offer relief from cut-throat competition in Japan’s saturated mobile market. Combined, Softbank and Sprint will have 96 mln users. “It could be safe if you do nothing, and our challenge in the U.S. is not going to be easy at all. We must enter a new market, one with a different culture, and we must start again from zero after all we have built,” he told the news conference.

“But not taking this challenge will be a bigger risk.”

FIRE-POWER

Hesse, who will stay on as Sprint CEO, said the Softbank investment would give Sprint opportunities it hadn’t had since he joined the firm in late-2007, and enable the U.S. firm to play a bigger role in future market consolidation.

Softbank shares tumbled more than 8% earlier on Monday, closing down 5.3% at their lowest finish in 5 months. The stock

has lost more than a fifth of its value - or $8.7 billion - since news first broke late last week of the firm’s interest in Sprint.

On Monday, Moody’s said it was reviewing Softbank’s ratings for a possible downgrade, but some analysts said Son’s gamble might pay off in the end.

“It’s the same (market) reaction as when Softbank said it was going to buy Vodafone a few years ago. Everyone came out and said it was far too expensive,” Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment and research at SMBC Friend Securities, said ahead of the announcement. Softbank bought Vodafone’s Japan unit for $15.5 bln in 2006.

“Son made a company worth 3 trln yen, and now it will be worth 6 trln yen. That’s quite impressive, and I think investors will realise he’s making the right decision down the road,” said Nakanishi. Sprint, which has lost money in all of the last 19 quarters, has net debt of about $15 bln, while Softbank has net debt of about $10 bln. Brokers have warned that the deal could leave Softbank with “unacceptably high” gearing, a ratio of its debt to shareholder capital. Standard & Poor’s has warned the deal “may undermine Softbank’s financial risk profile” and would pressure its free operating cash flow for the next few years.

CLEARWIRE

Sprint, which is going through a $7 bln upgrade of one of its networks, while closing its Nextel iDen network, could use some of the proceeds to buy the part of Clearwire Corp it doesn’t already own. Clearwire has high-speed infrastructure that is attractive to mobile carriers struggling with the increase in data due to the rising numbers of smartphone users. Shares in Clearwire, 48%-owned by Sprint, soared on Friday.

Softbank said, however, that the deal did not require Sprint

to take any action involving Clearwire.

An alliance with Sprint could also give Softbank leverage when dealing with Apple Inc, helping bolster its domestic position against KDDI Corp, which also offers the iPhone in Japan, and market leader NTT Docomo, which is yet to offer the Apple smartphone.

With Sprint in hand, Softbank may also look to acquire smaller U.S. carrier MetroPCS Communications. Sprint has had a long interest in MetroPCS, which earlier this month agreed to merge with T-Mobile USA, part of Deutsche Telekom AG. The Sprint deal takes outbound deals by Japanese firms to a record $75 bln this year, Thomson Reuters data shows, underscoring a strong appetite for overseas assets seemingly unaffected by signs of slowing global growth.

Rangers plans stock market return Glasgow soccer club Rangers launched a campaign on Thursday to raise 20 mln pounds through a London stock listing, aiming to help the former champions to rebuild from the bottom tier of Scottish soccer.

Rangers, Scottish champions a record 54 times, said that it would raise new funds through a placing with institutional investors and a limited public offering on the junior AIM stock market before the end of 2012.

The club had been listed on the PLUS Stock Exchange before it collapsed under the weight of debt earlier this year.

Charles Green, who led a consortium that rescued the club in June, said that the new listing would give fans a chance to invest while the club was still relatively cheap.

Rangers, which remains one of the best supported clubs in

Britain, is aiming to return to the Scottish Premier League in the next three years through successive promotions.

The club said that the new funds will be used for strengthening the squad, restoring stadium facilities and working capital.

However, listed soccer clubs have proved a poor investment and few of the major clubs are now on the stock market.

The exception is Manchester United, which was valued at $2.3 bln when it listed in New York in August. However, its shares have dwindled since and were trading at $12.81 on Thursday.

INVESTORS ONSIDE?

Justin Urquhart Stewart, of Seven Investment Management, said that Rangers fans should be wary.

“Investment is not about emotion. Fans should only invest in things where they think there is a sound return, not the emotional love of their club,” he said. “They should buy the scarf, drink the beer, but don’t buy the shares.”

Chief Executive Green admitted that there are no institutional investors on side yet, but that he has several lined up.

Fans, meanwhile, seem to be behind the plan, despite many of them losing their investment in the old club only a few months ago.

“I think the fans will accept this, and that can only be a good thing. Whether they will reach to 20 mln (pounds) or not I don’t know, but the potential is there,” John Macmillan, General Secretary of the Rangers Supporters Association, told Reuters.

Rangers began the season as overwhelming favourites to win promotion but have struggled for consistency away from home, slipping to third in the table.

Companies looking to IPO in Europe Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica hopes to raise around 1.52 bln euros through the listing of its O2-branded Germany subsidiary as part of a cash-raising plan to slash its massive debt pile. The following are some of the largest IPOs underway or expected in the coming months in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Borregaard (Oct 18, Oslo, $350 mln) Norwegian conglomerate Orkla is floating its specialist chemicals arm and is offering the shares at 20 to 25 crowns per share. It has received orders for all of the shares on offer.

EFG Financial (Oct 19, Zurich, $84 mln) Swiss bank EFG International plans to sell at least 20% of its investment arm EFG Financial Products and has set a price range of 40 to 50 Swiss francs per share.

BACIT (Oct 22, London, $400 mln) The Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust (BACIT), which plans to invest 1% of its funds per year in cancer research projects, expects to list its shares at about 99 pence each.

02 Germany (Oct 30, Frankfurt, $2 bln) Spain’s Telefonica plans to list as much as 23.17% of its German unit as part of its plans to raise cash and trim its large debt pile. It is offering the shares at between 5.25 euros and

6.50 euros each.

ZE PAK (Nov 30, Warsaw, $270 mln) The Polish government plans to sell its 50% stake in the power firm as part of its privatisation programme, and is valuing the company at the lower end of brokers’ estimates.

MegaFon (Nov, London, $2 bln) Russia’s second-largest mobile phone operator plans to list around 15% of its shares in London, which will raise funds to repay debt, and also see Nordic telecoms group TeliaSonera reduce its stake.

PointPark Properties (Nov, London, $400 mln) The warehouse owner and developer plans to list its shares to help fund the purchase of a property portfolio and reduce debt.

Moleskine (Nov, Milan, $TBA) The Italian notebook maker has filed listing documents with the Italian regulator and could float by early November.

PHN (Nov, Warsaw, $TBA) Poland’s state-owned real estate group has revived its plans to list later this year, the chief executive said.

COMPLETED

MD Medical Group (Oct 12, London, $311 mln)

The Russian firm raised $150 mln to fund the expansion of its hospital network, pricing its offering of global depositary receipts in the lower half of its original guidance range. The sale also included some existing shares sold by MD Medical Holding.

Direct Line (Oct 11, London $1.3 bln) Royal Bank of Scotland sold 30% of its insurance arm, pricing the offering near the middle of its original range and has seen its shares trade up since.

Talanx (Oct 2, Frankfurt, $600 mln) Germany’s third biggest insurer priced its offering at the lower end of its range and has seen its stock trade higher since debuting. The sale, which was announced, then cancelled, only to be revived again within days, was smaller than originally planned.

CANCELLED

Promsvyazbank (Oct, Moscow/London, $500 mln) One of Russia’s largest non-state lenders postponed its plans to list a 20% stake due to weak investor demand.

KSPG (H2, Frankfurt, $TBA) German defence group Rheinmetall cancelled plans to list its automobile parts division because of political and market uncertainty in the euro zone.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

WORLD MARKETS | 27

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

28 | WORLD MARKETS

Burberry smells a chance in fragrance business l

Move could inspire Gucci, Prada ANALYSIS

Burberry hopes it can gain better control over its brand and eventually a bigger slice of profits by running its own perfume business, a big gamble that could change the structure of the luxury goods industry if others follow suit.

Like most luxury firms, the British brand licenses its perfume business, in this case to Interparfums, which also sells scents for an array of other names, from shoemaker Jimmy Choo to penmaker Montblanc.

Burberry announced that it was taking the business in house, becoming the first big luxury brand in at least a decade to do so. Many analysts reckon it will be a difficult task.

“Fashion and beauty are different industries,” says Thomas Chauvet, luxury analyst at Citi, who sees the move as potentially costly and a management distraction at a time when the luxury industry is entering a potential global slowdown.

Burberry said it saw big potential in the perfume and cosmetics sector, and was inspired by market leaders Dior and Chanel, long among the few to run their own perfume businesses.

If it succeeds, it could be copied by rivals such as Prada , whose scents are made by Spain’s Puig, and Gucci, whose fragrances come from Procter & Gamble.

“Burberry’s move will be closely watched,” said Fflur Roberts, global head of luxury goods at Euromonitor. “Rivals might do the same if they have the capability to do it.”

That could potentially change the structure of the industry, reducing the influence of specialist fragrance companies like Interparfums, Coty and L’Oreal, which pay royalties to brands while logging the sales of branded scents on their own books.

Firms will be eager to see if Burberry can handle the business itself. There are already signs that it may have underestimated the challenge: it has extended its contract with Interparfums to March 31 from its initial end date of December 31.

The 156-year-old British company, known for raincoats lined with a distinctive camel, red and black check pattern, said on Thursday it would give more financial details on the impact of the perfume move when it publishes interim results on November 7. It issued an unrelated profit warning last month.

Citi estimates the perfumes move could dilute earnings by about 3-5% in 2013 and 2014, but says that if Burberry is able to achieve best-in-class operating margins of 20% in fragrances then it would largely offset the start-up costs.

LEVERAGE CONTROL Burberry thinks it can beat Interparfums and speed up growth of a perfume business that currently generates about 210 mln euros a year in sales for Interparfums, an amount equivalent to about 9% of Burberry’s revenues.

It could also expand beyond perfumes into cosmetics, an area in which it has only a small presence but says it has big ambitions. The overall global fragrance and cosmetics industry is huge - $95 bln in sales in 2012, set to reach $106 bln in 2016, according to Euromonitor.

Control over its perfumes can also be leveraged to help the brand sell other products. In ads for its Body perfume during its biggest-ever fragrance launch last year, for example, Burberry dressed model Rosie Huntington-Whitely in a trenchcoat.

Burberry is following an industry-wide trend of buying back licenses to gain more control over brands. Last year it completed the purchase of its menswear licence and took steps to reduce the number of licence agreements it has in Japan.

Dior bought back many of its licences in the 1990s, including its perfume business, acquired in the late 1990s thanks to Bernard Arnault when he started building up LVMH, now the world’s No.1 luxury group.

But fashion brands have generally been reluctant to buy back licences for products like perfumes, cosmetics or eyewear, which require specialised expertise and distribution networks.

“One key to success in luxury is control of your image,” says Christian Blanckaert, professor of luxury management at Paris ESCP business school. “This is why many brands, such as Yves Saint Laurent, have bought back their licences to reposition themselves at the high end of the luxury spectrum.”

Yves Saint Laurent used to have more than 160 licences around the world and spent much the past decade buying them back. Now it has two: one with Safilo for eyewear, and another with L’Oreal for perfumes and cosmetics.

Even now, it has no plans to go into the perfume business.

Parent firm PPR said it was happy with with L’Oreal.

“We are not planning any licence buyback because we do

not have the expertise they (L’Oreal) have,” Jean-Francois Palus, PPR managing director told Reuters this month. “We do not have the distribution network they have nor the infrastructure in terms of research and development.”

Buying back a licence can sometimes go wrong, even in the same industry. Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana bought back the licence for their D&G clothing line from Italy’s Ittierre but had to shut it down a few years later in 2011, lacking the scale and manufacturing base to keep profit margins healthy.

NOT FROM SCRATCH

Burberry already does the marketing and design for its fragrances and cosmetics, and says it will not be turning itself into a full-blown perfume company overnight.

Finance Director Stacey Cartwright said it was not going to create a laboratory and would rely in part on Interparfums’ current suppliers for logistics, production and distribution.

But Burberry will still have to create a new division, hiring scientists, artistic directors and lawyers to deal with red tape which has increased in the perfume industry.

In practice, it is likely that Burberry will operate like Salvatore Ferragamo, which manages its perfume business directly but outsources many operations to Milan-based manufacturer ICR Industrie Cosmetiche Riunite.

As California gas prices soar, political heat rises l

Governor Brown orders early switch to “winter-blend” fuel, as supply problems ease and prices seen falling in coming days

California Governor Jerry Brown has ordered pollution regulators to let service stations stock winter-grade gasoline early after an abrupt price spike last week sent some pump prices past $5 a gallon and left residents fuming.

Wholesale markets indicated that prices would likely ease in the coming days, but the political fallout may be just beginning.

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein wrote a second letter asking for federal regulators to investigate possible price manipulation in the California gasoline market.

A series of refinery mishaps have constrained gasoline supply in California, which is largely cut off from U.S. national pipeline and refinery networks and thus more subject to supply and price disruptions.

Reuters reported that a “short squeeze” in trading markets may have also played a role in an unprecedented wholesale price increase of almost $1 a gallon last week for California-grade gasoline.

Brown’s order will allow retailers to begin selling winterblend gasoline, which is more plentiful and easier to make but emits more polluting vapors, ahead of the traditional October 31 transition date. “Allowing refiners to make an early transition to winter-blend gasoline could quickly increase fuel supply and provide a much needed safety valve with negligible air quality impacts,” Brown said in a letter to the California Air Resources Board, which regulates the types of gasoline sold in California.

The Air Resources Board issued regulations late on Sunday allowing the immediate manufacture, importation, and sale of winter-blend gasoline.

SUPPLY BOOST COMING

Feinstein, in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), called for the agency to implement broad monitoring of oil-trading markets and investigate possible “collusion.”

“Publicly available data appears to confirm that market fundamentals are not to blame for rising gas prices in California,” she wrote, citing state data that showed gasoline production last week was almost as high as a year ago and that gasoline and blending components were equal to this time last year.

The California senator cited Reuters’ Friday report on the “short squeeze,” in which traders said refiner Tesoro Corp had to scramble to buy fuel from other companies to meet commitments. While traders told Reuters that no single party appeared to be withholding supply intentionally and that there was no suggestion anyone conspired to drive up prices, Feinstein wrote: “An FTC investigation is likely the only way to determine whether this reported squeeze took place.”

California traditionally has some of the highest gasoline prices in the United States, but the gap has widened dramatically over the past week. Average retail prices hit a peak of $4.655 a gallon on Sunday, compared with a national average of $3.814 a gallon. The supply constraints have been largely attributed to problems at several of the state’s biggest refineries.

An August 6 fire shut down the key crude refining unit of Chevron’s 245,000 barrel-per-day plant in Richmond, California.

On October 1, prices rose on news of a power failure at Exxon Mobil Corp’s 149,500-bpd Los Angeles-area refinery in Torrance, California, though the company said operations were restored within a week.

Analysts said the decision to move up the state’s transition to winter gasoline would give a significant boost to the fuel pool.

“Gasoline supply will go up 10% with the change to winterblend gasoline,” said David Hackett, president of energy consultancy Stillwater Associates. “That’s like adding another Exxon Torrance. But Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, which operates the largest pipeline network on the West Coast, has set a new start date this week for when it will accept winter-blend gasoline for shipment.

Reduced gasoline availability forced some retailers to turn off their pumps. Costco initially shut 14 of 40 filling stations in the Los Angeles area, although the firm’s website said all California stations were now open.

Southern California has borne the brunt of the supply disruptions and has seen the highest prices in the sate.

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

GREECE |29

Coca-Cola HBC’s rating unchanged following Swiss move l World’s No. 2 drinks bottler to seek main London listing Moody’s announced that Coca-Cola HBC’s Baa1 rating remains unchanged following the voluntary share exchange offer announced last week, with a negative outlook.

Greece’s biggest company is leaving the country, as its move to Switzerland and a London listing for its shares dealt a blow to the crippled Greek economy.

The immediate material impact on Greece is limited - its Greek plants stay open and CCH said the small portion of its activity that the world’s second-ranked Coke bottler has in Greece will be unaffected.

CCH said in a bourse filing in Athens that shareholders, most of whom are abroad, will exchange their stock for shares in Coca Cola HBC AG, based in Switzerland and effectively shorn of the Greek tag “Hellenic”.

That stock will be primarily quoted on London’s LSE. The firm, in which The Coca-Cola Co of the U.S. has a 23%

stake, bottles Coke and other produce in 28 countries from Russia to Nigeria. About 95% of its shareholders and business activity are outside Greece.

Analyst Manos Hatzidakis of Beta Securities in Athens said that the move made sense for the firm, which follows Greek dairy group FAGE this month in seeking a low-tax, lowvolatility haven for its corporate base - in FAGE’s case Luxembourg.

For brokers on the stock exchange, losing a stock that made up 8% of daily turnover this year will be unwelcome especially since total volumes are down by half since last year.

For the Greek treasury, the loss of tax revenue is unclear.

Though CCH officials did not detail tax savings from moving the registered office to Switzerland, it has complained of high - and increasingly unpredictable - taxation in crisis-hit Athens.

Foreign investors have been steadily reducing their investment in the Athens Stock Exchange since the country was engulfed by the sovereign debt crisis in 2009.

CCH has become the country’s biggest firm by market value with a capitalisation of around 6 bln euros, representing about a fifth of the Athens bourse’s total.

The company, which last year made a net profit of 330 mln euros on sales of 6.85 bln, has complained of taxes imposed under Greek government austerity measures. A U.S. filing shows it paid about 20 mln euros in both 2009 and 2010 for one-off “social responsibility” levies in Greece.

The Greek parent company reported 32 mln euros in Greek taxes in 2010 and none last year. New withholding tax on dividends in Greece might have affected CCH in future.

CCH said it would delist from the ASE and then seek to reenter that bourse with a secondary listing.

Dufry in duty-free deal with Folli Swiss retailer Dufry is to buy the Hellenic Duty Free Shops operations of Greek rival Folli Follie, a rare vote of confidence in an economy deserted by other foreign companies concerned over its future in the euro.

The 200.5 mln-euro deal is a bet on tourists continuing to flock to Greece, despite a deep economic recession and social unrest.

“Greece is expected to remain an attractive tourist destination, irrespective of the current situation of the economy,” said Dufry Chief Executive Julian Diaz.

The Switzerland-based global travel retailer is buying a 51% stake in Folli’s duty-free operations, which include a network of more than 100 shops at 46 locations across the country. Dufry has the option to buy the remaining stake in four years’ time.

The deal bucks a trend of some foreign companies pulling their operations from Greece.

Struggling to cope with falling demand, Carrefour, Europe’s biggest retailer, announced its exit from Greece in June. French lender Credit Agricole has sold its struggling Greek unit and

Societe Generale is poised to do the same.

Diaz said more than 80% of the sales of Folli’s duty-free operations were generated with international customers, making it “de facto an international business located in Greece.”

Greece’s tourism industry accounts for around one in five jobs in the country. Its revenues are expected to decline 5% this year, with more than 16 mln tourists visiting the country’s sundrenched islands and ancient monuments, slightly below a record 16.5 mln last year.

Folli, one of Greece’s most successful companies, sells jewellery and other accessories at about 800 stores in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Its operating profit reached 84 mln euros last year, on sales of 290 mln.

The company took over formerly state-owned Hellenic Duty Free Shops in 2010. Chinese private conglomerate Fosun owns 13.4% of Folli. “Given the current economic uncertainties, the total consideration for the 51% of HDFS looks fair,” said analyst Dimitris Birbos at the Investment Bank of Greece, a Laiki Bank Group subsidiary.

“The cash inflow will help reduce its leverage significantly as well as to finance its investment plans in international markets.

However, HDFS is the group’s cash cow, which means that the cash flow generation after the sale will depend on the performance of its luxury and domestic retail/wholesale units going forward. We maintain our positive stance on the stock,” Birbos noted, with a recommendation for “accumulate”. The stock was trading at 9.94 euros for a market cap of 665 mln euros.

Softening stance on Greece, Merkel rules out default Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out letting Greece default on its debt, in the latest sign Berlin is softening its stance towards Athens ahead of an eagerly awaited report on its reform progress from the “troika” of international lenders.

The German leader signalled that she would be taking a more conciliatory approach towards Greece by visiting the country last week for the first time since the euro zone crisis erupted three years ago.

And over the weekend, comments by several conservative allies of the chancellor provided further evidence that the government has embarked on a delicate policy pirouette.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, one of Greece’s harshest critics, told a meeting of business leaders in Singapore on Sunday that the country would not go bankrupt - an acknowledgement that Athens will get the 31.5 bln euro aid tranche it needs next month to avert a default.

Merkel told a news conference on Monday that she was in total agreement with Schaeuble, and explicitly ruled out any steps - including a Greek insolvency or euro zone exit - that might unleash “uncontrollable developments” in the single currency bloc.

The change in tone, which helped push down Greek bond yields to their lowest levels in over a year, reflects a reassessment by Merkel of the costs and benefits of her tough public stance towards the euro zone’s most vulnerable member.

The hard line served two main purposes: it ensured that reform pressure on Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras remained high, and it convinced sceptical conservative allies of Merkel in parliament to support her.

She now looks set to grant Samaras the two extra years he is seeking to hit deficit reduction targets. This will be a tough sell at home, but it is seen as workable as long as Merkel can avoid going to parliament to seek approval for additional loans.

BUNDLING AID AN “ILLUSION”

Ideas under consideration range from front-loading the loans in the second bailout, to using left-over EU budget funds to plug a Greek hole that could total as much as 30 bln euros.

Governments and the ECB have ruled out accepting losses on their existing loans to Greece - a solution favoured by the IMF to fill the Greek gap.

Merkel also seems to have cooled on the idea, floated by some German officials, of bundling aid for Greece, Spain and Cyprus together in one final package towards the end of this

year. “It’s an illusion to think we can align these three countries in one package,” a second senior German official said. “Things just don’t work that way in Europe.”

Working in Merkel’s favour is the support of the main opposition party, the Social Democrats (SPD), for a softer stance on Greece.

Her SPD challenger in the 2013 election, Peer Steinbrueck, has come out in favour of giving Greece more time to make savings, reducing the domestic risks for Merkel of that course.

Samaras confident Athens will secure aid tranche Greece will conclude austerity talks with its lenders to continue receiving the bailout funds it needs, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Monday, but officials said the talks would most likely not be finished by Thursday’s EU summit.

“Greece will soon get the next tranche. Its economy needs liquidity like a desert needs rain,” Samaras told a conference in Athens.

But Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters negotiators would most likely miss a target to complete the talks by Thursday.

“We won’t have a deal on all issues by the summit. There are too many issues pending,” an official told reporters after late-night talks between Stournaras and Greece’s lenders.

“We are working very hard to fill in the gaps aiming to get the tranche by mid November,” he said.

Athens has not received any bailout money since the end of June, with the EU and the IMF withholding about 36 bln euros of funds until Greece keeps its pledge to push through almost 12 bln euros of new spending cuts for 2013 and 2014.

Greek ministers and officials from the EU, IMF and ECB have, over the past days, been trying to hammer out differences over spending cuts and a list of 89 reforms that Athens needs to adopt before aid disbursements can resume.

The cuts and the reforms are required under the terms of a 130-bln-euro bailout Athens agreed in March with the “troika” of its international lenders.

Greece will successfully conclude the talks because its economy cannot recover without the funds, Samaras said.

Talks with the troika, however, are moving slower than expected.

October 17 - 23, 2012

FinancialMirror.com

30 | CSE PRICES CSE CODE OASIS Index performance CSE General Index FTSE/CySE 20 FTSE/XA & XAK Banking MAIN MARKET MAIN MARKET INDEX BANK OF CYPRUS CYPRUS POPULAR BANK HELLENIC BANK LOGICOM A. TSOKKOS HOTELS LOUIS LTD ORPHANIDES SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO PARALLEL MARKET PARALLEL MARKET INDEX WOOLWORTH (CYPRUS) PROP VASSILIKO CEMENT A&P (ANDREOU&PARASKEV.) ERMES DEPARTMENT STORES LAIKI CAPITAL PUBLIC CO K. ATHIENITIS CONTR. - DEV. G.A.P VASSILOPOULOS MITSIDES PHIL. ANDREOU LORDOS HOTELS HOLDINGS LIBERTY LIFE INSURANCE LORDOS UNITED PLASTIC SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO ALTERNATIVE MARKET ALTERNATIVE INDEX A. PANAYIDES CONTRACTING ALKIS HADJ. (FROU-FROU) A.L. PROCHOICE FIN. SERV. AMATHUS PUBLIC LTD ASTARTI DEVELOPMENT ATLANTIC INSURANCE BLUE ISLAND FISH FARMING CCC TOURIST ENT. CHARILAOS APOSTOLIDES CHRIS JOANNOU LTD CLARIDGE INVESTMENTS CLR INVESTMENT FUND CONSTANTINOU BROS. CPI ENTER. DEVELOPMENT C.T.O. PUBLIC CO CYPRINT LTD. CYPRUS CEMENT CYPRUS FOREST IND. CYPRUS TRADING CORP. CYVENTURE CAPITAL DIMCO PLC DISPLAY ART LTD ELLINAS FINANCE ELMA HOLDINGS EUROPROFIT CAPITAL EXELIXIS INVESTMENT FILOKTIMATIKI K & G COMPLEX KARAOLIS GROUP KARKOTIS MANUFACTURING KEO LTD KOSMOS INSURANCE KRONOS PRESS DIST. JUPITER PORTFOLIO INV. L.P. TRANSBETON LEPTOS CALYPSO HOTELS MALLOUPAS & PAPACOSTAS MINERVA INSURANCE MODESTOU SOUND & VISION O.C. OPTIONS CHOICE PANDORA INVESTMENTS PIPIS FARM PETROLINA HOLDINGS PIERIDES HOLDINGS PRIMETEL PLC PROODOS AGROS RENOS HADJIOANNOU FARMS ROYAL HIGHGATE LTD SALAMIS TOURS SFS GROUP PUBLIC CO. STADEMOS HOTELS TOP KINISIS TRAVEL TOXOTIS INVESTMENTS UNIFAST FIN. & INV. VISION INTL PEOPLE GROUP SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO

ΟΑΣΗΣ

Kωδ.

Number

Nominal

Market

Shares ('000) Aριθµός µετοχών

Value euro Aξία EUR

Cap. ('000) Kεφαλ.

EUR

Book Value Price to Per Share euro Λογιστική αξία

Profit/(Loss)

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

2010 BOCY CPB HB LOG TSH LUI ORF

ΤΡΚΥ ΛΑΙΚ ΕΛΗΤ ΛΟΤΖ ΤΣΟΚ ΛΟΥΗ ΟΡΦΑ

1 795 141 3 411 086 595 436 74 080 246 214 460 547 80 966

1.00 0.10 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.35

482 893 136 443 114 324 20 594 16 496 9 211 5 425 785 386

1.25 0.00035 0.78 0.76 0.52 0.24 1.68 0.75

0.22 114.29 0.25 0.36 0.13 0.08 0.04 16.48

FWW VCW APE ERME LI ACD GAP MIT PHIL LHH LIB LPL

ΓΟΥΛ ΤΣΙΒ ΑΝΠΑ ΕΡΜΕ ΛΕΠΕ ΑΘΗΕ ΒΑΣΙ ΜΙΤΣ ΦΙΛΑ ΛΟΞΕ ΛΙΠΕ ΛΟΡ∆

114 252 71 936 182 725 175 000 282 213 13 416 38 750 8 200 45 000 35 000 122 804 48 006

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

114 320 28 774 30 150 21 175 13 264 12 745 5 076 4 428 4 275 3 710 2 579 2 400 242 897

1.76 3.07 0.28 0.45 0.26 4.69 0.30 3.16 0.09 1.91 0.05 0.53 1.38

0.13 0.13 0.59 0.27 0.18 0.20 0.43 0.17 1.06 0.06 0.45 0.10 0.31

APC FBI PROP ANC AST ATL BLUE CCCT CHAP CJ CLA CLL CBH CPIH CTO CYP CCC CFI CTC EXE DES DISP ELF ELMA ERP EXIN PES KG KARA KARK KEO COS KRO ARI TRB LCH MPT MINE MSV OPT PND PIPF PHL PGE PTL AGRO FRH ROY SAL SFS SHL TOP COV UFI VIP

ΑΠΑΝ ΦΡΟΥ ΠΡΟΠ ΑΜΑΘ ΑΣΤΑ ΑΤΑΣ ΜΠΛΕ ΣΙΤΟ ΧΑΡΙ ΙΟΑΝ ΚΛΑΡ ΣΛΕΠ ΚΩΝΣ ΚΕΑΕ ΣΤΟ ΣΑΙΠ ΚΕΤΣ ∆ΒΚ∆ ΣΤΣ∆ ΒΕΝΤ ΝΤΙΜ ΝΤΙΑ ΕΛΛΗ ΕΛΕΠ ΓΙΟΥ ΕΞΕΠ ΦΙΛΟ ΚΚΟΜ

36 572 98 861 158 660 110 358 99 925 39 109 15 438 141 692 50 000 10 070 108 163 288 141 1 950 24 379 208 700 5 140 137 611 3 059 92 079 14 973 80 999 13 506 16 000 348 333 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 46 355 424 435 9 660 87 500 22 100 382 440 3 590 297 915 33 000 36 529 66 520 32 500 12 212 20 700 9 788 75 000

0.35 0.26 0.09 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.08 0.35 0.17 0.87 0.43 0.43 1.73 0.85 0.43 0.09 0.35 0.62 0.09 0.09 0.29 0.87 0.17 0.34 0.35 0.43 0.31 0.43 0.20 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.14 0.17 0.17 0.35 0.35 0.34 0.17 1.73 0.03 0.17 0.43 1.00 0.69 0.34 0.03 0.05 $ 0.10

5 852 17 795 1 587 8 829 4 996 26 203 3 396 5 668 3 000 201 5 408 2 881 137 7 314 6 261 1 388 23 394 3 793 29 465 2 096 7 290 810 6 080 6 967 627 4 760 1 922 11 000 447 956 11 462 1 799 12 036 4 996 1 971 6 101 8 210 784 149 464 29 710 773 61 250 1 768 22 946 5 421 2 979 1 650 2 557 4 656 7 475 3 175 414 196 75 000 468 464

0.88 0.49 0.02 0.49 0.02 0.73 0.80 0.49 0.12 0.42 0.39 0.07 -3.03 0.65 0.09 0.27 2.20 6.13 1.84 0.47 0.28 0.29 0.67 0.04 0.20 0.32 2.55 0.97 -0.05 0.09 3.55 0.41 0.68 0.36 0.41 0.80 0.64 0.10 0.02 0.004 0.20 0.18 1.31 0.40 0.01 3.35 0.04 0.12 0.48 1.59 2.36 0.41 0.04 0.11 0.20 0.67

0.18 0.36 0.56 0.16 2.27 0.91 0.28 0.08 0.50 0.05 0.13 0.14 -0.02 0.46 0.33 1.00 0.08 0.20 0.17 0.30 0.32 0.20 0.56 0.52 0.10 0.43 0.16 0.11 -0.43 1.28 0.10 0.25 0.87 0.22 0.56 0.08 0.30 0.10 0.43 2.50 0.35 0.44 0.53 0.20 4.88 0.45 0.25 0.42 0.15 0.04 0.10 0.64 0.50 0.18 5.08 0.56

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

2010 8 848 1 310 4 108 6 309 -47 25 987 -1 903 2 574 -1 453 456 -8 419 71 37 841

2010

ΚΑΡΚ ΚΕΟ ΚΟΣΑ ΚΡΟΝ ΤΖΕΠ ΤΡΑΝ ΛΕΠΤ ΜΑΠΑ ΜΙΝΕ ΜΟ∆Ε ΟΚΑΣ ΠΑΝ∆ ΠΙΠΗ ΛΙΝΑ ΠΙΕΡ ΠΤΕΛ ΑΓΡΟ ΡΕΝΟ ΡΟΧΑ ΣΑΛΑ ΕΣΕΦ ΣΤΑ∆ ΤΟΚΙ ΤΟΕΠ ΦΑΣΤ ΒΙΖΝ

1 767 4 363 -5 724 -1 339 -11 422 4 108 257 -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 -980 1 048 614 -1 668 -844 -738 -3 358 -760 969 -2 094 -501 -3 469 -1 746 -4 952 -594 -9 573 -9 238 313 8 617 11 -5 231 362 14 344 131 -9 983 1 165 -181 -25 -43 -330 -61 148

6M 2011 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2011

6M 2012 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2012

6M '11 161 000 -202 400 -36 618 2 904 -4 278 -28 751 1 062 -107 081

6M '12 -214 000 -1 308 800 14 898 2 697 -5 955 -26 641 -5 040 -1 542 841

6M '11 3 010 1 038 448

6M '12 1 535 1 906 386

-27 2 069 -1 021 258 -727 -414 -398 -383 3 853

-2 638 3 665 -570 -919 -448 -691 -1 747 -981 -502

6M '11 840 1 121 -332 -2 979 -5 391 2 240 417 -3 664 -493 -189 -2 493 -2 739 -522 -6 805 -234 -3 125 -463 1 448 1 239 940 -210 215 -2 944 -111 -161 1 028 3 742 -940 -89 -6 279 323 276 -1 396 -173 -4 233 36 -761 -191 -419 -8 696 -426 4 281 -631 -2 464 -191 -347 234 1 094 -3 875 -787 -151 -16 -22 2 280 -35 584

6M '12 111 887 -325 -3 979 -16 719 1 457 455 -2 768 -1 487 -184 -3 871 -2 043 -665 -6 -186 -282 -2 970 -1 653 -1 778 43 597 -208 -684 -3 487 -75 -1 223 -210 -1 012 -1 393 -160 -2 674 -233 -1 095 -840 -196 -4 478 -964 -302 -140 6 -8 419 -311 2 536 -171 -2 165 -396 -372 -1 427 -1 506 -4 416 -1 074 -132 -133 -13 1 661 -71 072

Profit/(Loss)

2011 EUR ('000) Κέρδη µετά φορολ.

P/E ratio 2011

Earnings Per

Dividend Per

Dividend Yield

Share 2011 Cents

%

Results

Share 2011 Cents

2011 -1 371 000 -3 650 380 -100 658 3 585 -6 894 -82 674 -8 648 -5 216 669

n/a n/a n/a 5.74 n/a n/a n/a 0.15

2011 6 674 -1 174 4 122 245 -1 734 2 133 -1 600 -947 -1 333 759 -2 667 -1 302 3 176

2011 373 2 334 -2 594 -2 121 -6 400 2 306 570 -3 519 -7 900 -375 -3 942 -7 654 -4 006 -65 -3 921 -513 -4 630 -4 127 5 693 1 104 1 604 -526 -257 -212 -15 562 1 608 5 130 -2 198 -110 -3 948 -804 100 -1 392 -438 -6 299 1 345 -3 185 -281 -2 192 -16 880 -1 314 10 753 -868 -6 352 73 151 546 964 -19 100 1 577 -689 11 -37 2 753 -95 416

4.04 n/a 7.31 86.43 n/a 5.98 n/a n/a n/a 4.89 n/a n/a 9.42

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

84.53 34.56 116.68

119.64 46.39 258.27

295.94 104.60 196.84

-59.57 -55.65 31.21

377.70 0.755 0.390 0.356 0.340 0.080 0.037 0.120

75.13 0.160 0.030 0.165 0.240 0.046 0.020 0.060

110.00 0.269 0.040 0.192 0.278 0.067 0.020 0.067

286.83 0.61 0.30 0.36 0.27 0.05 0.04 0.12

-61.65 -55.90 -86.53 -46.81 3.35 31.37 -45.95 -44.63

Cents -76.37 -107.02 -16.90 4.84 -2.80 -17.95 -10.68

Cents

%

2.50

8.99

Cents 5.84 -1.63 2.26 0.14 -0.61 15.90 -4.13 -11.55 -2.96 2.17 -2.17 -2.71

Cents 5.80

% 24.58

704.24 0.340 0.570 0.200 0.167 0.070 1.100 0.180 0.650 0.099 0.120 0.047 0.070

573.37 0.230 0.350 0.150 0.120 0.047 0.280 0.130 0.540 0.090 0.080 0.020 0.050

581.67 0.236 0.400 0.165 0.121 0.047 0.950 0.131 0.540 0.095 0.106 0.021 0.050

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

-11.41 -26.02 15.94 -7.82 -27.54 -25.40 -5.00 -27.22 -14.29 -3.06 27.71 -55.32 -16.67

Cents 1.02 2.36 -1.63 -1.92 -6.40 5.90 3.69 -2.48 -15.80 -3.72 -3.64 -2.66 -205.44 -0.27 -1.88 -9.98 -3.36 -134.91 6.18 7.37 1.98 -3.89 -1.61 -0.68 -45.77 33.47 5.13 -9.84 -1.38 -12.74 -4.47 0.49 -2.23 -5.11 -6.19 3.11 -4.06 -1.89 -4.73 -3.98 -13.60 12.29 -3.93 -1.66 2.03 0.05 1.65 2.64 -28.71 4.85 -5.64 0.05 -0.38 3.67

Cents

%

740.44

653.85

0.91

5.06

7.00 1.20

10.45 5.45

1.90

2.71

2.00

8.70

657.71 0.16 0.18 0.01 0.08 0.05 0.67 0.22 0.04 0.06 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.07 0.30 0.03 0.27 0.17 1.24 0.32 0.14 0.09 0.06 0.38 0.02 0.02 0.14 0.40 0.11 0.02 0.12 0.37 0.10 0.59 0.08 0.23 0.06 0.19 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.07 0.08 0.70 0.08 0.06 1.51 0.01 0.05 0.07 0.07 0.23 0.26 0.02 0.02 1.00

738.87 0.17 0.16 0.02 0.10 0.05 0.83 0.21 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 0.03 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 0.01 0.11 0.08 0.52 0.06 0.06 1.62 0.01 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.23 0.26 0.02 0.02 1.00

-10.98 -5.88 12.50 -50.00 -20.00 0.00 -19.28 4.76 -42.86 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -22.22 -3.23 -40.00 -15.63 -5.56 -61.25 0.00 -17.65 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -33.33 -6.67 -16.67 -8.33 -33.33 -14.29 -47.14 11.11 -9.23 -11.11 0.00 -25.00 0.00 -75.00 0.00 0.00 -36.36 0.00 34.62 33.33 0.00 -6.79 0.00 -37.50 -22.22 -30.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

CSE PRICES | 31 CSE CODE OASIS

ΟΑΣΗΣ

Kωδ.

APPROVED INVESTMENTS / EΠEN∆YTIKOI OPΓAN. INVESTMENT INDEX ACT ΑΚΕΠ ACTIBOND GROWTH FUND 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 HCM ΧΑΕΠ HARVEST CAPITAL INTERFUND INVESTMENTS INF ΙΝΕΠ ISCHIS INVESTMENT ISXI ΙΣΕΠ REGALLIA HOLD. & INV. REG ΡΕΕΠ TRIENA INV. INCOME TINC ΤΕΕΠ TRIENA INV. CAPITAL TCAP ΤΚΕΠ TINT Τ∆ΕΠ TRIENA INTERNATIONAL UNIGROWTH INVESTMENTS UNI ΓΙΕΠ SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO SHIPPING COMPANIES SECTOR SPECIAL CATEGORY / AIANTAS INVESTMENTS AD SHOPPING GALLERIES A. ZORBAS & SONS CEILFLOOR CYPRUS AIRWAYS D.H. CYPROTELS D&M TELEMARKETING DOME INVESTMENTS EFREMICO HOLDINGS EMPIRE CAPITAL INV. FIRSTDELOS GROUP KANIKA HOTELS KARYES INVESTMENTS KNOSSOS INV. K. KYTHREOTIS HOLDINGS LASER INVESTMENT GROUP LIBRA GROUP NEMESIS CONSTRUCTIONS OCEAN TANKERS ROLANDOS ENTERPRISES SAFS HOLDINGS SEA STAR CAPITAL STARIO INVESTMENTS SUPHIRE HOLDINGS USB BANK SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO

Number

Nominal

Market

Book Value

Shares ('000) Aριθµός µετοχών

Value euro Aξία EUR

Cap. ('000) Kεφαλ.

EUR

Per Share euro Λογιστική αξία

Price to

Profit/(Loss)

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

NAV

Disc/Prem

0.0379 0.2771 0.0100 0.2665 0.7501 0.0174 0.0667 0.1633 0.0682 0.0308 1.0430 2.1427 0.6125 0.2300

-36.68 -58.50 100.00 -59.47 -64.54 -82.76 33.43 -70.61 -34.02 -35.06 -23.30 -6.66 -15.10 8.70

2010 58 430 56 147 49 385 44 494 200 000 282 483 14 000 56 545 11 000 20 247 2 729 2 729 1 364 13 468

0.17 0.27 0.10 0.30 0.87 0.02 0.17 0.51 0.51 0.09 0.85 0.85 0.85 0.17

1 402 6 457 988 4 805 53 200 847 1 246 2 714 495 405 2 183 5 458 709 3 367 84 277

-760 -3 213 -2 533 -10 875 -15 581 -5 227 -6 -12 850 -112 -195 389 -446 -7 -127 -51 543

6M 2011 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2011

6M 2012 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2012

6M '11 -59 -1 207 -284 -3 086 -826 -2 488 -12 -3 619 -72 -75

6M '12 -43 -316 -705 -2 885 2 100 -1 489 -12 -873 -136 -82

-43 -11 771

-241 -4 682

6M '11

6M '12

28

-464

ΑΙΕΠ ΑΘΩΣ ΖΟΡΠ ΣΙΦΛ ΚΑΕΡ ∆ΡΟΥ ΤΕΛΕ ΝΤΟ∆ ΕΦΡΕ ΕΜ ΑΒΑΚ ΚΑΝΙ ΚΑΕΠ ΚΝΕΠ ΚΥΘΡ ΛΕΕΠ ΛΙΠΡ ΝΕΜΕ ΤΑΝΚ ΡΟΛΑ ΣΑΦΣ ΣΕΑΣ ΣΤΕΠ ΣΑΠΦ ΤΡΑΓ

81 202 128 936 15 296 5 055 391 155 157 138 7 700 25 000 11 385 47 853 72 562 60 250 2 000 21 827 42 450 61 739 189 377 67 770 296 665 54 166 70 220 629 785 38 581 124 009 60 674

0.21 0.17 0.34 0.03 0.086 0.17 0.12 0.43 0.43 0.87 0.34 0.35 0.43 0.17 0.17 0.06 0.01 0.17 $0.20 0.17 0.17 0.04 0.17 0.09 0.57

MARKET TOTAL / OΛIKO AΓOPAΣ

812 12 894 11 472 202 7 823 1 571 385 16 250 228 39 239 9 433 7 833 440 218 5 519 9 261 1 894 17 620 2 967 4 875 702 6 298 386 1 240 32 157 191 718

0.1763 0.06 2.40 -1.21 -0.12 -0.20 -0.05 1.30 0.086 0.05 0.29 0.67 0.2208 0.11 0.45 0.06 -0.38 0.50 -0.27 0.28 0.000 -0.06 0.05 -0.12 0.43

-94.33 1.67 0.31 -0.03 -0.16 -0.05 -1.09 0.50 0.23 16.40 0.44 0.19 1.00 0.09 0.29 2.65 -0.03 0.52 -0.04 0.33 33.33 -0.16 -0.08 1.23

1 772 743

-214 -3 960 1 846 -1 353 232 -31 800 -335 -1 938 221 -504 -2 203 -703 -180 774 999 -2 378 -7 100 5 981 -50 257 93 -173 -50 598 -1 062 -764 -6 534 -151 910 154 191

2011 EUR ('000) Κέρδη µετά φορολ.

P/E ratio 2011

Dividend Per

Dividend Yield

Share

Share 2011 Cents

%

Cents

%

11.00

13.75

Results Cents

2011 -737 -4 301 -1 465 -10 771 -14 687 -6 357 -255 -9 493 -165 -150 331 -136 -36 -303 -48 525

Earnings Per

Cents -1.26 -7.66 -2.97 -24.21 -7.34 -2.25 -1.82 -16.79 -1.50 -0.74 12.13 -4.98 -2.64 -2.25

2012 High Low EUR EUR Aνώτατο Kατώτατο

619.02

441.63

Last Close EUR Kλείσιµο

Price 31/12/2011 EUR Tιµή 31/12/2011

31/12/2011 Ποσ. Μετ.

31/12/2011

572.11 0.024 0.115 0.020 0.108 0.266 0.003 0.089 0.048 0.045 0.020 0.800 2.000 0.520 0.250

454.51 0.02 0.09 0.03 0.14 0.19 0.01 0.10 0.10 0.04 0.02 0.80 2.00 0.60 0.25

25.87 20.00 27.78 -33.33 -22.86 40.00 -70.00 -11.00 -52.00 12.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 -13.33 0.00

0.01 0.10 0.75 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.65 0.02 0.82 0.13 0.13 0.22 0.01 0.13 0.15 0.01 0.26 0.01 0.09 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.53

0.01 0.11 0.65 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.05 0.65 0.02 0.62 0.16 0.11 0.27 0.01 0.13 0.14 0.01 0.21 0.02 0.10 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.60

-9.09 15.74 -66.67 32.26 -18.75 18.18 23.81 0.00 -

% Change

since

0.00

2011

2010 AIAS AD ZRP CFL CAIR DHH TLM DOME EFR EMP ACS KAN KAR KNO KYTH LAS LHG NEM OCT ROL SAFS SEAS STAR SUP USB

Profit/(Loss)

641

-132

-70 -29 288 -4 033 -79 -449

-106 -32 125 -4 345 -132 -588

-977 -75

-1 226 -57

369

-919

-2 708 1 121

-2 452 888

64

-111

-12 257

-12 535

-137 -3 801 -51 651

-322 616 -54 010

-27 -12 265 989 -1 856 -23 885 -9 100 -245 -701 35 -551 -2 754 -77 -180 87 612 -2 656 -11 700 2 076 -32 272 -328 -320 -16 501 -1 737 -60 -6 248 -119 664

-202 234

-1 673 107

-5 477 098

11.60

n/a

-0.03 -9.51 6.47 -36.72 -6.11 -5.79 -3.18 -2.80 0.31 -1.15 -3.80 -0.13 -9.00 0.40 1.44 -4.30 -6.18 3.06 -10.88 -0.61 -0.46 -2.62 -4.50 -0.05 -10.30

1.12

4.00

0.80

0.46

0.06

0.03

0.14

0.10

1.72

15.38

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. ECHMI S.A. INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS EPILEKTOS ENERGY S.A. KERVERUS IT (CYPRUS) LTD C.O. CYPRUS OPPORTUNITY ENERGY BROZOS IVY PUBLIC INTERLIFE GENERAL INSURANCE SA TOTAL

CSE Code EXTE/EXTE ΚΩΑΜ/CBAM ΛΙΜΝΗ/LIMNI PHONE/PHONE ΙΤΤΛ/ITTL INLE ΟΡΚΑ/ORCA ΠΚΣΓ/PCSW ΓΚ/WG EXMI/ΕΗΜΙ ΕΠΙΕΝ/EPIEN ΚΕΡΒ/KERV ΓΚΑΖ/GAS ΜΠΡΟ/BRO ΙΝΛΙ/INLI

No. of Shares (000) 1 690 1 950 300 000 1 575 100 000 8 057 1 200 35 052 3 400 321 10 906 1 810 8 390 6 500 18 568

Market Cap EUR (000) 11 830 36 855 300 000 5 513 75 000 21 834 14 280 42 062 3 400 1 611 43 624 2 552 14 683 10 010 76 129 647 553

Latest price EUR 7.00 18.90 1.00 3.50 0.75 2.71 11.90 1.20 1.00 5.02 4.00 1.41 1.75 1.54 4.10

Nominal Value EUR 0.30 0.01 0.10 0.30 0.50 1.00 0.01 0.25 0.10 1.00 0.32 1.00 0.01 0.20 0.59

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 10/04/12 28/06/12 29/06/12 17/07/12 11/09/12 17/10/12

WARRANTS ALKIS HADJ. FROU-FROU (WAR. 2015) AMATHUS NAVIGATION (WAR.07-2013) TOTAL EMERGING MARKET (N.E.A.) GreenTea SA

Ignores weighted number of shares in circulation Forecasted profits are liable to change without notice and responsibility

No. of warrants (000)

Mkt Cap (00)

Exercise Period

24831 17606

25 176 224

20-30 Jun 2001-2015 1-15 May & 1-15 Nov 07-13

CSE Code No. of Bonds

Exercise Price euro cents 173 20c or EUR 35c

Expiry Date

Latest Close

30-06-2005 15-11-2013

0.001 0.010

GRTEA

1 040

Market Cap EUR 104 000 000

Latest price EUR 100 000

Listing Date 8 Nov 2011

Latest NAV N/A

Kappasquare Ltd Nugreat Ltd Zetadynamic Ltd

KPSQ NGRT ZETA

17 000 23 000 9 000

1 700 000 2 300 000 900 000

100 100 100

30 Mar 2012 30 Mar 2012 30 Mar 2012

N/A N/A N/A

Akcern Ltd

AKCN

2 001

200 100

100

9 May 2012

N/A

FinancialMirror.com

October 17 - 23, 2012

32 | BACK PAGE

Investors turn wary as earnings picture dims WALL ST WEEKAHEAD Earnings season is heating up, but investors’ feet are getting cold.

Central bank-fueled gains took markets within reach of five-year highs in September, but now U.S. stock market participants are shifting their focus back to corporate outlooks, and the picture is not pretty.

Early earnings reports have underlined those concerns, which may be exacerbated when dozens of major companies - including Dow components General Electric, Microsoft Corp and IBM Corp - report this week.

“Caution is definitely the operative word as Europe and China look to continue dragging on earnings,” said Michael Loewengart, director of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial in New York. “The overall tone is so pessimistic that we may see some upside surprises, but we could still suffer considerable losses if the news is bad.”

Profits of S&P 500 companies are seen dropping 3% this quarter from a year ago, the first decline in three years, hurt

by China’s slowing growth and Europe’s debt crisis, which recently prompted the International Monetary Fund to cut its 2012 economic growth outlook.

Financial stocks will be especially in focus, with Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley all set to report.

Results on Friday from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co generated some caution about the group despite both reporting stronger-than-expected profits. Wells Fargo posted disappointing revenue and a bigger drop in net interest margin than had been anticipated.

Wells Fargo shares slumped 2.6% to $34.25 while

Trading could be especially volatile in the Nasdaq, with a number of tech titans on tap, including Microsoft, Google Inc, IBM and Intel Corp, which

JPMorgan lost 1.1% to $41.62 despite bullish commentary about the housing market.

“We need to see big banks doing well, and JPMorgan or Wells didn’t give us the boost we were hoping for,” said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. “Citigroup is the one we’re looking for. If profits come in worse than expected there, that would make me more bearish about the economy in general.”

recently cut its outlook.

“Tech results can be a good proxy for business spending, which will give us a sense of how companies are viewing the future,” said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.

Carey, who helps oversee about $200 bln in assets, said outlooks were still too optimistic, “so I’ve pulled in my horns a bit, and have become more defensive.”

FEWER COMPANIES BEAT THE STREET

BLUE CHIPS, GREECE AND DATA

With only 6% of S&P 500 companies having reported, 59% of companies have topped profit expectations - less than the average beat rate of 67% for the past four quarters, according to Thomson Reuters data. Half of companies have beaten on revenue, while a quarter missed profit forecasts.

“We need to see the beat rate pick up well into the 60s if we want the market to have any support,” Kaufman said.

The S&P 500 fell 2.2% last week, its biggest drop since June, on caution about the season after a number of bellwethers cautioned on their outlooks, including Chevron Corp and Alcoa Inc. Profits are being dragged down by material and energy stocks. Material sector earnings are seen dropping 24%, and energy sector results are expected to slide 19%. In contrast, aggregate profit growth for financials is seen up 1.6%.

McDonald’s Corp, UnitedHealth Group and Johnson & Johnson are also scheduled to report earnings, along with General Electric, which E-Trade’s Loewengart said would be particularly watched, given the company’s diversified operations.

Trading will also be influenced by the news flow in Europe, where a summit of European Union leaders will take place.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a deal on austerity measures for Greece could be reached in time for the meeting.

In the realm of U.S. economic data, investors will look ahead to reads on retail sales, the Consumer Price Index and existing home sales. September retail sales are seen rising 0.8%, while the overall CPI for September is expected to gain 0.5%, and September existing home sales are forecast to fall 2%, according to economists polled by Reuters.

INVESTMENT FOCUS

Headlong dash for ‘junk’ raises alarm In the seemingly obsessive search for the next bubble in global markets - an understandable if hyper-sensitised reaction to missing the last one - speculative credit remains a prime suspect.

It’s been boom time again this year for what used to be known as “junk bonds”, but which now go by the more polite moniker of high-yield, speculative-grade debt - much of which is corporate borrowing.

According to Lipper estimates, high-yield bond funds of all hues have seen inflows of some $45 bln in the year to September, higher than any nine-month period since 2005 even if still shy of 2010’s full-year inflows of $70 bln. Some $33 bln of that was into U.S. junk bonds alone.

New bond sales are booming and U.S. issuance last month alone at a record of $34 bln, taking advantage of the demand and falling borrowing costs. Yields on catch-all U.S. junk indices hit a record low of 6.15% in September - almost half where they were at the end of last year or a quarter at the peak of the 2008 credit shock.

And trend is global, in European high-yields as well in emerging market corporate bonds. New funds targeting debt issued by emerging companies have helped push outstanding issuance past $1 trln, up 10-fold since 2000 and now rivalling the U.S. market, and new bond sales at a record $227 bln for the first nine months of 2012.

So is this dash for yield well considered against all the inherent default risks attached to any speculative-grade issue and at a time of a slowing world economy?

Despite virtually all yields looking “high” in an official zero interest rate world, are high-risk corporate bonds a sure bet at a time when many people are bracing for another 5-10 year funk in global economic activity?

Diane Vazza, head of Standard & Poor’s Global Fixed Income Research, has her doubts about the U.S. market at least.

“Far from being the result of increased creditworthiness by corporate borrowers, this falloff in yield is more a result of investors’ search for return among available investment avenues,” she said in a report this week. “This hunt for yield is also happening in Europe.”

Vazza said investors need to very careful with the wide range of risks in this territory. While default rates for firms rated BB, just below investment grade, remain historically low, default rates in lower credits are rising and the trailing 12-month default rate for ‘CCC/C’ category has risen through 2012 to as high as 27.2% in August.

By MIKE DOLAN and SUJATA RAO

“At this point in the high-yield credit cycle investing in the broad market for the lowest-rated debt has become a very risky strategy,” she said.

WHY THE DASH FOR ‘JUNK’?

Global investors are hunkering down for several more years of slow, sub-par world growth but they also are being herded out of traditional safe-havens of cash and “risk-free” western government debt by deteriorating sovereign credit ratings and central bank money-printing that has deliberately engineered negative real and even nominal yields.

And even though extraordinary central bank action may well mitigate the risks of sudden shocks and other tail risks, the stilllousy growth prognosis is keeping many wary of equity and commodities, at least beyond blue-chips with hefty dividends.

And for all the weariness of debt, defaults and credit indigestion of the past five years - one of the consensus trades has been to switch sovereign risk for corporate risk, with junk and emerging credits joining the party too as the volumes of investment chasing the sector spills over.

The juicy yields in a low interest rate world, perceived better balance sheets that hobbled governments, historically low default rates in some areas, and international contracts in world currencies are all cited as a draw in uncertain times.

The avoidance of highly uncertain sovereign bond markets, especially in Europe, has been the tipping point for many funds who even now would still prefer a high-grade Spanish corporate bond than debt issued by the government because of uncertainty over the euro crisis and demands by to avoid euro sovereigns.

But as the corporate sector leverages up worldwide - in part because direct bank financing has become more difficult — there are considerable risks attached.

For some, the market’s time in the sun could well continue for a bit longer and into early next year. But the sheer scale of new issuance in the expanding high-yield universe is cause real worries about refinancing further out.

David Spegel, ING’s head of emerging market debt research at ING in New York, is fretting about so-called rollover risks into 2014 in particular.

A swathe of credit rating downgrades for European companies this year means many fund managers who bought highgrade assets, have now found themselves holding sub-investment grade paper.

Spegel calculates in a note this week that $47 bln of “junk” rated European paper will find itself up for refinancing in the first half of next year, more than double the levels that were rolled over in the first half of 2012.

And it gets worse, as S&P’s Spanish sovereign downgrade this week to just one notch above junk highlighted. The big fear is that if Spain and Italy tumble into the junk-rated category their corporate sector may well follow suit.

ING estimates over $100 bln in Spanish and Italian BBB rated corporate bonds are due next year. If these slip into speculative grade, it would triple the amount of high-yield paper that needs refinancing in the first six months of 2013.

The picture is slightly less dire in the United States next year but it worsens in 2014, when high-yield debt redemptions total $121 bln, or a 60% jump from 2012 levels.

“Should risk-appetite sour, refunding may prove problematic for many global speculative grade corporates, in which case we could look forward to significantly higher global default rates as soon as 2014,” Spegel told clients.