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ECONOMY
-Greece raised 600 mln euros with a yield of 3.34% in 52-week T-bill auction on Wednesday, according to the Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA).
-Piraeus Bank on Wednesday raised its 2024 profit guidance on the back of higher interest margins. Greece’s third-largest lender by market value sees higher profitability to 1.0 billion euros from 0.9 billion euros and net interest income at 2.0 billion euros from 1.9 billion euros.
-The fourth request for the disbursement to Greece of funds amounting to 1 billion euros from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for grants corresponding to the achievement of 20 milestones and targets, was submitted on Thursday to the European Commission, AMNA reported.
-Last month, the prices of products in supermarkets have for the first time decreased on an annual basis and are reduced by an average of -1.25% compared to May 2023, a survey by the Research Institute of Retail Consumer Goods (IELKA) in large supermarket chains reveals.
-The European Central Bank is expected to approve a request by Greek banks to resume the payment of dividends after 16 years, four bankers told Reuters on Wednesday.
-The unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2024 stood at 12.1% compared to 10.5% in the previous quarter and 11.8% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) announced.
REAL ESTATE
The Tower of Piraeus, an architectural landmark at the starting point of the Athenian Riviera originally built in 1972, was inaugurated on Tuesday. The redeveloped 34,600 sqm, 22-storey building rises 88 meters above the sea. The Tower will host the first “green” retail and f & b concept in Greece and the most luxurious office spaces.
CULTURE
The Unseen Museum is the well-known exhibition project of the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum in Athens that brings to the fore antiquities stored in its vaults away from the visitor’s eyes. The Unseen Museum presents “The last Aphrodites”, a small exhibition set that includes two ivory carvings and two fragments of Coptic textiles from Egypt of late antiquity. All four artefacts illustrate Aphrodites, Nereids or other mythological figures. The “Last Aphrodites” are exhibited in the “Hall of the Altar” (Hall no 34) from Friday 24 May to Monday 19 August 2024.
TOURISM
-The Greek capital Athens has emerged as an ideal destination for those seeking an “extra dose of vitamin D”, offering an average of 262.2 hours of sun per month, according to data from Holidu. The holiday rental portal analyzed European cities with populations exceeding 300,000 inhabitants, considering average sunshine hours from 2009 to 2024.
-Reopening one of Greece’s most iconic attractions the shipwreck on Navagio Beach on Zakynthos is a priority, said Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni during her visit this week to the Ionian island. Navagio beach has been closed off to the public for a third consecutive year.
