In Brief
Greek joblessness falls to record low in August Greece’s unemployment dropped to 7.6 percent in August, its lowest monthly rate since comparable records began in 2004. A total of 372,090 people were registered as not having a job in the month, compared with 425,265, or 8.6 percent, in August 2006, the national statistics agency said in statement today, without giving details. The jobless rate isn’t adjusted for seasonal factors. Greece’s longest period of economic growth since the 1960s has created 630,000 jobs in the past decade, reducing unemployment by more than 4 percentage points, the National Bank said in an October 25 report. Still, Greece had the second-highest rate of joblessness last year among the 13 nations sharing the euro, according to figures by the European Central Bank, as rigid labor laws, including high severance pay, discourage employers from taking on a greater number of workers. (Bloomberg) OTE may list its real estate assets BARCELONA (Reuters) -OTE telecoms said late on Wednesday it was considering listing its real estate businesses on the Athens Exchange to crystallize the value of the assets for shareholders. OTE’s Chief Operating Officer Iordanis Aivazis told the Morgan Stanley investor conference here that the company wanted to avoid selling its real estate, which has a book value of around -500 million. «We are considering creating real estate investment companies and having those companies listed on the Athens bourse,» he said. «That way, we will crystallize the value…» Mytilineos profit jumps Metals and engineering group Mytilineos said nine-month net profits jumped 87 percent, boosted by capital gains from energy assets contributed by a joint venture. The group, which includes subsidiaries Metka and Aluminium of Greece, yesterday posted net profits of -193 million, up from -103 million the same period last year. Capital gains of -110 million were booked from the contribution of energy assets to Endesa Europe, a joint venture deal with Spanish power company Endesa. (Reuters) Wind Hellas posts loss Wireless company Wind Hellas, acquired by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris this year, posted a third-quarter loss on higher financial expenses. The operator had a net loss of -23.7 million, compared with profits of -14.8 million a year earlier, according to a statement posted on the company’s website yesterday. Sales rose 8.1 percent to -321.6 million, helped by the addition of 60,241 new customers in the quarter for a total of 4.4 million. (Bloomberg)
