IN BRIEF
Market checks to prevent unjustified price increases in euros The Development Ministry will issue blacklists of firms taking advantage of the changeover to the euro in order to raise prices, the general secretary for trade, Christos Theodorou, said yesterday. He made the announcement after a meeting on the issue chaired by Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos. Theodorou said ministry teams yesterday began extensive surprise checks in the market, comparing prices with those of last September in order to ascertain any unjustified increases. He said the ministry would install euro information points in street markets in about 10 days’ time. Tsochadzopoulos will meet retailers’ representatives on Thursday for a reconfirmation of memorandums for keeping prices stable during the changeover. Manufacturing orders post decline in November The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which measures the level of new orders from manufacturers, fell from 50.5 in October to 49.2 in November. As 50 indicates no change, the fall amounts to an absolute decline. Nevertheless, export orders continued to rise in November, although at the slowest pace in two years. The decline was reflected in production, which firms reduced in order to restrict stock. This in turn brought about a slight fall in employment in manufacturing. Greece’s PMI is compiled by Britain’s NTC Research in collaboration with the Greek Procurements Institute. Environmental award. The environmental program «The Forest Concerns Me» from Panafon-Vodafone and WWF Hellas has won this year’s «Excellence for the Environment» distinction, one of the Excellence for Social Contribution awards from the Association of Advertised Firms of Greece. The award was presented yesterday by Environment and Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou to the company’s managing director, Giorgos Koronias. The program, launched last year, includes activities for forest fire prevention and restoration, environmental training for schoolchildren and citizen awareness. Petropoulos-Bombardier deal. The Petropoulos importing and industrial firm, which distributes Zodiac, Bombard and Avon boats, and Johnson and Evinrude outboard motors in Greece, has signed a deal to represent all the recreational products of Canada’s Bombardier firm. These include Sea-Doo personal water craft and all-terrain vehicles. Petropoulos, a Thessaloniki-based listed firm, also imports a wide range of heavy-duty vehicles, engines and industrial machinery. Baking deal. Chipita International snack manufacturers have initialed an agreement to transfer their bread-making facility and their Mister Bread label to Katselis Bakeries. The final contract is projected for signature in January. «We no longer consider the activity necessary for our portfolio,» Chipita officials said. The listed company projects a 30-percent growth in consolidated pretax profits, and turnover from last year’s figures of 4.76 and 50.1 billion drachmas, respectively.
