The two wounds of the government, the “income earners” of the Parliament, the deals of Skylakakis, the “itch” at the ASE, the “silent” traders and the LSEG for Metlen – Economic Postman –

Wound 1st

They are looking to the government for ways to manage the “damage” that the issue of taxation of freelancers has done.

It is an issue that has caused significant wear and tear on the government. Especially to Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

Fair… but damaging

And to explain how they perceive it in the government.

They do not consider that the issue of presumptions was not fair.

On the contrary. But the way it is applied has done damage.

Wound 2nd

The second wound that the government is trying to close is the housing crisis. After several months of “observation”, the staff of Maximus has understood that this is a major issue, which can lead to unpredictable situations.

As a person who has become a recipient of the concerns commented to me, the issue may cause a multiple burden even than food inflation.

The solutions are quite difficult

The point is that the government has no plan. Nor, of course, relief solutions.

Because it has to do with real estate supply. And there is no way to increase the supply.

Because a large part of the issuance of new building permits has been blocked by the municipal authorities in the Council of State.

And without building… things are dark…

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Income earners…

The column read the background of all 4 SYRIZA presidential candidates.

Obviously we were also impressed by the level of Stefanos Kasselakis’ annual income.

I was also impressed by Apostolos Gletsos’s very low, below assumed income, as I find that he has an uninterrupted presence in all forms of acting. So income.

But the big impression was made by the huge real estate of Nikolas Faradouris and Sokratis Famelos.

Of course, it was not at the level of Dimitris Papadimoulis, but one can safely say that they are well on their way to achieving it… the level and dream of every Greek to be an income earner.

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The Kikilia case

However, the history of politics has taught us that the majority of politicians invest in real estate.

This is not reprehensible. All the same… it is up to everyone’s discretion how to allocate the money they acquire.

Which he acquires in a completely legal way, that is.

As well as Minister Vassilis Kikilias, as everything shows the acquisition of the property in the Palace, looks legitimate.

I’m not an expert, of course, but I appreciate that the authorities have, as always, done their job correctly.

Credit from the market…

In fact, I learn that market professionals were surprised at the price he managed to achieve.

In one of the most expensive areas of the country, he managed to get around 10,000 euros per square meter.

In other words, they gave credit to the Minister’s negotiating skills. Obviously, the cash he had also played a role.

The message…

Of course, the message to the rest of the world was not the best, in the midst of a housing crisis.

So he was unjustly displeased, as I learn, with the revelations.

Because it is not only the transaction, but Mr. Minister should understand that when you are in public life and serve in the government, your assets are under the microscope.

If he wants to keep them to himself, he knows what choice he must make…

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Credit to another minister as well

Of course, in all this property tunneling, another government minister seems to be pulling a lot of snakes out of holes.

And I’m talking about the Minister of Energy, Thodoros Skylakakis, who was now considered one of the people who brings results in difficult times.

In principle, he managed to resurrect a project that the Commission had written off. I mean the electrical interconnection with Cyprus.

However we do it, he managed to get a difficult deal, especially with the Cypriots.

The next target

Now I learn that he has turned to another project. The interconnection of Egypt, with Crete and mainland Greece.

Essentially the project will bring abundant energy from the wind farms that have been developed in the deserts of Egypt. The so-called work (GREGY).

On this front he will have a meeting with Dr. Mahmoud Esmat, Egypt’s energy minister, next Sunday in Cairo.

There they will also discuss the cost-benefit study prepared by Elica Mediterranean Electrical Interconnection of the Kopelouzo Group.

New clouds…

Mr. Skylakakis must succeed on this front as well, because I don’t see many solutions on the table for the government.

And I mean energy costs.

Because I am very afraid that the government will soon be faced with a very serious problem.

And this has to do with the increased cost of energy in recent months, especially for businesses.

And that goes all the way through the prices.

Especially when over 100,000 bills have not been paid.

Put the fez into the equation too

In the equation above, add the half billion of overdue debts to the IRS that was added in June.

Compared to last year, in the first half of the year, debts increased by 18.5%.

These are the “soft” data that will probably give the government a lot of headaches in the coming months.

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A month of “itching” at the ASE (yet)

The placement of the national team passed, the mini-rebalancing took place, due to the new weightings, and the market does not show much interest in leaving the eight-month “itch” behind.

Those 50 units (1,400-1,450) have really haunted the domestics and patience is wearing thin. Especially as they see foreigners “flowing” as well.

What else do they want?

But as a market veteran explains to me, we will hardly see strong movement in the market in October. Unless a catalyst comes along that will change the balance.

Again difficult. Because everything “regional” is frozen for the foreign managers. American election mercy, of course.

They will not let their market deal with peanuts, he told me characteristically.

Those can wait. And to “bite” in peace without chasing honors and causing “fuss”.

After all, the battle for the White House has not yet been decided.

The deck is being shuffled at the AX

Until then…the deck will be shuffled. According to the common saying, they will proceed “surgically” in their placements.

And as I learn the “big houses” abroad have already started to restructure their portfolio.

At the center of course are the heavy papers of Athens Avenue, which have opened their pace despite the negative international situation.

The feeling among analysts is that other placements in dynamic and outgoing companies will follow, without always ruling out the possibility of a surprise.

The possible upgrade of the AX, after the verdict of FTSE Russell, as they observe, will pave the way for the arrival of much larger range funds, which currently do not have Greek shares on their radar.

There is a but…

But to play Devil’s advocate a bit… there is a ‘but’ to the FTSE Russell celebrations. Something that the market also showed yesterday.

That the weight of the house in the investment decisions of the large and long only funds is relatively small.

The one they are looking at is MSCI. In other words, it is estimated that 2 out of 3 funds take into account only Morgan Stanley’s indices.

And MSCI does not have us on its “card” for upgrading. At least in the near future.

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LSEG for Metlen

And since I am referring to international capital market indices and international stock markets, let me tell you that the platform of LSEG, the London Stock Exchange group, is praising Metlen for issuing the green bond.

In a note he publishes, he mentions how the Greek Metlen Energy & Metals, despite being one rung from the investment grade, managed to issue a new bond of 740 million euros with a five-year duration.

LSEG’s platform highlights how the company is heading for the LSE and the FTSE 100 and mentions how it had bids of €2.4bn and while the rate when the book opened was 4.5% it closed at 4%.

The Mytilene strategy

I must tell you that after the high performance, as noted by LSEG, Metlen’s move, the strategy of the staff of the president and CEO Evangelos Mytilinaios is now clear.

In view of LSE and FTSE100 the company is constantly under the microscope of the biggest global banks and financial institutions, so all the movements of Metlen are not comparable to the rest of the FTSE100 companies, but better…

This explains the prepayment of a bond a month and a half early, which is highly unusual when current interest rates are higher than that of the repaid bond…