In Brief
Greece referred to court over accounting shortcomings The European Commission has referred Greece to the European Court for not adopting the EU directive on the modernization of accounting systems, therefore depriving certain Greek firms of an up-to-date accounting framework and undermining their ability to be compared with their EU competitors. Brussels has also referred Greece to the court for failure to adopt the directive on the reorganization and closure of credit institutions, which concentrates a company’s bankruptcy process in its home country even if it has expanded into other EU states. Greek soccer to kick off soon in Pame Stoichima bet Gaming group OPAP said yesterday it got government approval to include Greek soccer matches in its flagship betting game «Pame Stoichima.» «(Greek) ministers signed a revision of regulations pertaining to the Pame Stoichima game, which allows the inclusion of Greek professional soccer matches… under certain conditions,» OPAP, Europe’s biggest gaming company, said in a stock market filing. OPAP, about 34 percent state-owned, has exclusive rights to organize sports betting and numerical games in Greece for the next 14 years. (Reuters) Fewer cars sold Car sales recorded an annual 6.9 percent decline in 2005 according to data by the Association of Motor Vehicle Importers – Representatives (SEAA). New cars numbered 269,733 units last year from 289,753 units in 2004. Hyundai led sales with 24,859 cars, only 0.2 percent down from 2004 when it was just behind Toyota. The latter ended 2005 in second place with 21,961 cars sold, followed by Opel with 21,515 sales. Cypriot unemployment Cyprus’s jobless rate averaged 3.7 percent of the economically active population in 2005, up from 3.6 percent in 2004, the statistics department said yesterday. In December alone, unemployment was at 3.9 percent. For the whole year, there was a rise in jobless claims in the construction and retail trade sectors. (Reuters) Tsakos shipping Tsakos Energy Navigation yesterday announced the delivery of the 162,400-deadweight ton 1A Ice-Class double-hull crude oil tanker Archangel from Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. The vessel is the first in a series of eight 1A ice-class vessels the company is building and the sixth ice-class vessel to join TEN’s fleet which consists of 36 vessels of 4 million dwt. Citigroup distinctions Citigroup Private Bank (Greece) earned the top spot in asset management services to clients in Greece with more than $10 million disposable income and more than $30 million in investments, according to Euromoney magazine. The bank also came first in discretion, transaction security and in art and endowment subjects’ services.
