The 30s (in the weather and the polls), K.M.’s investment meetings, the high-profile guest from the Emirates, and the BOAK contract signings

– Hello, blessed caller period and bask the interruption to those of you who are successful the mediate of a agelong play — it looks similar determination are rather a fewer of you. Besides, the weather’s improving a batch starting tomorrow, and adjacent week we’re heading for due summertime heat. I notation it due to the fact that my root astatine M.M. jokingly said yesterday: “Let the somesthesia deed the 30s, truthful we tin deed the 30s successful the polls too.”

Before I get into existent affairs, fto maine marque a speedy — and timely — remark triggered by the convulsive incidents astatine the Law School, wherever immoderate thugs attacked professors and students successful a lecture hall. I heard Chrysochoidis connected TV yesterday accidental that since 2021 there’s been a instrumentality requiring assemblage administrations to power who comes successful and retired of campuses, but it’s conscionable not being enforced. So present I ask, earnestly — who enforces the laws (or doesn’t)? The government, or… my uncle? So basically, what we’ve got is that nary 1 is truly pushing rectors to bash their jobs (most of them, anyway), and the authorities inactive doesn’t look funny successful putting an extremity to this outrageous, globally unheard-of concern that I’m struggling to find happening anyplace else!

K.M – Investors

– So, moving connected to different existent matters, yesterday was rather a productive time for M.M. since K.M. went successful the greeting to conscionable with the heads of CVC astatine a league held successful Athens. This large American money utilized to clasp its yearly gathering successful a antithetic state each year, but past twelvemonth they went nuts implicit Athens and the Four Seasons successful Vouliagmeni — truthful they came backmost again this year. Now, I don’t cognize precisely what was discussed with Mitsotakis, but CVC does person concern interests successful Greece and continues to beryllium precise bullish connected investing here.

Livanios – Papastergiou

– Yesterday, determination was a gathering astatine M.M. up of the announcement of the citizen-led valuation of nationalist services, which kicks disconnected adjacent week. Present astatine the gathering were Theodoros Livanios and Dimitris Papastergiou, the 2 ministers liable for unveiling the valuation level adjacent Tuesday. There’s a accidental Kyriakos Mitsotakis volition be the property lawsuit himself, arsenic helium wanted a method briefing connected the system’s readiness. The authorities sees this valuation arsenic a large “poll” connected however citizens presumption nationalist services — and intelligibly arsenic a “magnifying glass” connected the problems.

Meetings betwixt the Sultan and Government/Business Figures

– Today, K.M. volition proceed his meetings with large overseas concern players arsenic he’s scheduled to conscionable astatine M.M. with Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology — and arsenic you know, the Emirates person large-scale investments successful Greece (TERNA Energy, HHG). Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar, CEO of ADNOC Group, and Executive Chairman of XRG — and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the UAE — is expected to conscionable not lone the Prime Minister but besides Deputy PM Kostis Hatzidakis.

Two months ago, K. Mitsotakis visited Abu Dhabi arsenic portion of efforts to deepen the strategical bilateral ties established successful 2020, which were followed successful 2022 by the Strategic Investment Cooperation Agreement betwixt the Hellenic Development Bank of Investments and ADQ, the UAE’s sovereign fund.

Later today, Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber volition sojourn the HQ of TERNA Energy, which is present portion of the Masdar Group, accompanied by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of the UAE vigor giant. Masdar, which finalized its €3.2 cardinal acquisition of 100% of TERNA Energy conscionable weeks agone — 1 of the largest renewables deals successful Europe — plans to physique a monolithic 10 GW portfolio crossed Greece and overseas by 2030. The Arab institution volition supply backing and planetary expertise to boost TERNA Energy’s maturation and assistance it conscionable the people of 6 GW of installed renewable capableness by 2029.

Also connected the docket are one-on-one meetings astatine a cardinal Athens edifice with respective ministers and Greek entrepreneurs.

Presentation connected Juvenile Violence

– Next Monday morning, the postponed presumption of the National Strategy for the prevention of unit and juvenile delinquency volition instrumentality spot astatine M.M. The program has been enactment unneurotic by Skertsos’ squad on with a squad of experts led by Professor Vasso Artinopoulou. Right aft the presentation, a property league volition beryllium held astatine the General Secretariat of Information by the applicable ministers to contiguous the caller policies and measures of the nationalist strategy, with a skyline extending to 2030.

Kostis Staying Put

– Elections whitethorn inactive beryllium a ways off, but the originative scenarios person already started flying — astir constituencies and such. Some accidental that Kostis Hatzidakis won’t tally successful the Northern Sector of Athens B and volition alternatively spell connected the ND’s nationalist enactment list. However, I spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister himself, who flat-out denies this and confirms he’s staying successful the North, wherever helium was (by far) the apical vote-getter successful some 2023 and 2019.

Leventopaido Aristo, measurement wrong the store and unopen it down

– On April 29, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission announced the imposition of fines connected 4 companies for violating paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 9 of determination 1/506/8.4.2009 of the Commission, owed to the precocious submission of their outer auditors’ reports connected the adequacy and effectiveness of procedures to forestall wealth laundering. In plain Greek: the companies were fined for missing deadlines and compliance steps to forestall wealth laundering.

One of them — which got the largest good — was “OPENFUND AEDAKES.” The typical of OPENFUND is Aristidis (Aristos) Doxiadis, a societal idiosyncratic and economist, Vice President of the National Council for Research and Innovation, and for precisely 32 hours, Deputy Minister of Innovation. For a Harvard postgraduate — whose motto, by the way, is the Latin connection for “truth” — Aristo Doxiadis hasn’t been doing truthful blistery lately. First, helium forgot immoderate debts to the state, and present he’s missed the anti-money-laundering deadlines too.

Executive Moves

– Nikolas Valantasis has joined the concern banking part of Euroxx. The marketplace knows him from his past relation arsenic Deputy CEO of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, but earlier the HFSF, Valantasis had a 20-year vocation some successful Greece and overseas with Mckinsey, Citigroup, Eurobank, and Barclays.

BOAK Contract Signings

– Next week — barring immoderate surprises — the contracts for the Northern Road Axis of Crete (BOAK) task are expected to beryllium signed, specifically for the Chania–Heraklion section. The fund is €2 billion, and with the different 2 sections included, the full fund reaches €4.5 billion. It’s a construction-concession task with analyzable requirements, arsenic operation and cognition volition hap simultaneously. Generally, the astir absorbing concern developments volition statesman erstwhile the declaration is signed.

Qualco Knocks connected the Stock Exchange Door

– The accrued marketplace volatility didn’t faze Orestis Tsakalotos, and Qualco is preparing to participate the Athens Stock Exchange successful the archetypal fractional of May. The company, which provides tech solutions for the recognition sector, has a 25-year past and a beingness successful 30 countries crossed Europe and the Middle East. Through its nationalist offering for the main marketplace listing, it aims to rise up to €70 million, mostly to money acquisitions.

The Stock Market Climbs the Wall of Worry

– After the three-day sell-off triggered by Trump’s tariffs successful aboriginal April, it was hard to ideate that the period would extremity with a affirmative result for the Athens Stock Exchange. The General Index deed its lowest constituent (1,455 points) connected April 7, falling astatine slightest 200 points from the March adjacent (1,685 points). However, the comeback came soon after, with immoderate ups and downs, but besides respective regular “leaps” that brought the General Index backmost to the 1,700-point range. This marked the sixth consecutive period of growth, a streak not seen since the profitable seven-month play betwixt January and July of 2019. If the marketplace moves contrary to the celebrated banal marketplace saying “sell successful May and spell away” and particularly against the worsened macroeconomic information from the U.S. economy, the aforementioned rally mightiness beryllium leveled out. In ample part, the people of the Athens Stock Exchange volition beryllium determined by overseas trends, though May has definite milestones of Greek interest, specified arsenic slope results, which – according to marketplace accusation and estimates – volition amusement stability, arsenic the simplification successful euro involvement rates was accompanied by an summation successful lending – chiefly to businesses but besides individuals. We besides person the Fitch standing connected the 16th of the period and the Scope standing connected May 30. Nevertheless, astir analysts judge that the 1,750-point people is hard to surpass unless determination are important economical and concern events. This is wherefore the past fewer sessions person been characterized by caution and rushed moves. Yesterday, lone the banal exchanges of London and New York were unfastened owed to May Day, with comparatively debased trading volumes.

Which Stocks Played Defense

– Despite the aftershocks from the contraction of the U.S. GDP, immoderate “heavy hitters” played defense, staying connected an upward trajectory and adjacent mounting caller records. First and foremost, Coca-Cola HBC closed supra €45 for the archetypal clip ever, propelled by the beardown Q1 results. The emergence for OPAP and OTE was “quiet,” but capable to propulsion them to 16-year and 3-year highs, respectively. Sarantis deed a 7-year record, trading contiguous without the close to the €0.299 dividend per share. Meanwhile, buyers continued to spot bets connected the stocks of the 2 larboard authorities. Piraeus Port is precise adjacent to breaking the €40 mark, portion Thessaloniki Port finished Wednesday’s league astatine its highest constituent successful 17 years.

The First by Spyros Theodoropoulos

– The president of SEV, Spyros Theodoropoulos, is reintroducing the instauration of regular property conferences to “communicate” the views of employers representing a superior of €416 cardinal and declaring taxable profits of €14 billion. Next Wednesday, SEV volition clasp its archetypal property league astatine its office connected Xenofontos Street. Already, the inaugural of SEV’s President to unite and activate entrepreneurs successful the broader “defense” assemblage led to the archetypal productive gathering with the Prime Minister and authorities officials.

Tête-à-Tête Between Theodorikakos and Supermarket Owners

– The two-month hold of the authorities with the headdress connected nett margins, which the authorities decided connected Wednesday, shows its willingness to extremity this measure. Minister Theodorikakos promised the Prime Minister a new, much modern model for terms power (a measure is being prepared) and stricter enforcement of anti-profiteering fines. Before making this decision, the Minister of Development met with representatives of the Food Industry, and today, Friday, helium volition conscionable with supermarket owners. The headdress is coming to an end. But not today. From summer…

The Headaches of the German Debt Agency

– The German nationalist indebtedness does not transcend 63% of GDP, but the caller ambitious defence programme of the Merz authorities volition necessitate accrued borrowing. The German Debt Agency (Deutsche Finanzagentur DFA) plans to contented 50-year bonds for the archetypal time, and has already announced the issuance of 30-year bonds worthy €26 cardinal for 2025, on with different 20-year and 10-year Bunds. Recently, the authorities of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) boldly issued a further 100-year enslaved to screen its needs, and the markets responded with an involvement complaint beneath 2%. The treatment astir a 50-year Bund (government bond) – pursuing successful the footsteps of France – has already raised yields connected euro swaps. The quality betwixt the 50-year and 30-year German SWAP has risen sharply to a caller multi-year high.

The Discussion connected Elon Musk’s Departure from TESLA

– Everything started from a study by the Wall Street Journal, which stated that “tensions had increased” astatine Tesla erstwhile the committee started looking for a successor to Elon Musk. Tesla officially and categorically denied the rumors astir Musk stepping down arsenic CEO. The company’s chairperson, Robyn Denholm, stated that determination had been nary interaction with headhunters for a replacement, contempt rumors that the committee had considered this anticipation owed to concerns astir the clip Musk is dedicating to his governmental duties. Since mid-December 2024, the banal terms has fallen by astir -48% from the historical precocious of $488.54, and truthful acold successful 2025, it has recorded a diminution of astir -40%. Today, astatine $283, Tesla is worthy astir $908 billion, having quintupled its marketplace worth successful the past 5 years. Musk denies that helium volition resign from the ambitious DOGE plan, portion immoderate analysts judge a “graceful exit” to the chairmanship of the Board of Directors could beryllium a possibility.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Promises to Facebook Shareholders

– Microsoft and Meta Platforms announced large results for Q1 2025, but times connected Wall Street person changed. Analysts nary longer absorption connected the past but chiefly connected the future, peculiarly superior expenditures related to artificial quality projects. Microsoft reported superior expenditures of $16.7 cardinal successful Q1. Meta, Mark Zuckerberg’s company, stated it would put betwixt $64 and $72 cardinal successful capex annually. Interestingly, CEO Mark Zuckerberg began his presumption to analysts with a committedness of aboriginal returns connected each this superior concern successful 5 cardinal areas: “Improved advertising, much charismatic experiences, concern messaging, caller Meta AI devices, and much Artificial Intelligence. These are semipermanent investments to make top-tier AI models and infrastructures. Even with our important investments, we don’t request to win successful each these areas to person a bully instrumentality connected concern (ROI).” “The gait of advancement crossed the manufacture and the opportunities up of america are overwhelming.”

A Crazy Year for the World’s Largest Stock Exchange

– When markets don’t cognize wherever they’re heading, erstwhile information changes time by day, indexes adjacent astatine the astir “solid” banal exchanges emergence and autumn similar a trampoline. In ¼ of this year’s banal speech sessions, the S&P 500 successful New York has experienced an intra-session alteration of much than +/- 2%. This improvement has occurred astatine slightest erstwhile a week truthful far. According to Bloomberg, April appears to beryllium the 3rd astir volatile period connected record, pursuing October 2008 and March 2020 successful the U.S. banal market. In this backdrop of changeless volatility, golden appears arsenic a harmless harbor. That’s wherefore it continues to marque history. Gold prices person outperformed the S&P 500 by 32.6 percent points since the opening of the year. This is the largest deviation since 1975, adjacent greater than during the pandemic situation successful 2020. Gold prices person risen by +26.5%, portion the S&P 500 scale has fallen by -6.1% truthful acold this year. Since the lows of October 2022, golden prices person returned +102%, astir treble the summation of +54% from the S&P 500.