Economy
Greek trade deficit rises further in April as exports fall by 20.8 pct
Greece’s trade deficit rose for the third straight month at an accelerating pace of 17.2 percent in April after increasing by 14.7 percent in March, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
Greek primary budget surplus at 707 mln as revenues beat target in May
Greece’s budget execution showed a primary surplus of 707 million euros in the 5-month period from a primary deficit of 970 million in the corresponding period last year, according to the final data released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Tuesday.
Greece edges towards sale of Public Power Corporation spin-off
Greece is a step closer to completing one of the six prior actions for the disbursement of the EU June sub-tranche of 1 billion euros, which relates to the is the legislation for the sale of a 30 percent stake in the Public Power Corporation (PPC) capacity and its client base (small PPC).
Greece sees travel receipts shoot up by 35.8 pct in April
Greece's April travel receipts increased sharply by 35.8 percent to 411 million euros from 303 million last year, according to the Bank of Greece (BoG).
Better contribution collection for Greek pension funds but 5.1-bln shortfall looms
Greek pension funds have lost 32 billion euros since the beginning of the crisis and are facing a funding gap of 5.1 billion euros but the collection of social security contributions is improving, according to new figures.
C/A deficit to April narrows by 34.7 pct boosted by services
Greece's April current account (C/A) deficit slightly rose by 1.3 percent to 1.17 billion from 1.15 billion last year, according to the Bank of Greece (BoG).
Chinese investments in Greece to be boosted by new agreements
Greece is hoping to sign agreements for investments worth 6-7 billion dollars during the three-day visit of the Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, which comes a year after the Greek Premier Antonis Samaras visited China.
Greek industrial turnover drop accelerates in April
The Turnover Index in Industry remained in negative territory for the second straight month falling at an accelerating pace by 9.8 percent in April from -1.2 percent in March, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). The April reading indicates the highest drop since December.
Eurostat 2012 figures raise questions about Greece's tax policy
Greek tax revenue as a percentage of GDP rose to 33.7 percent in 2012 from 32.4 percent in 2011, according to data provided by Eurostat this week. Greek ratios remain well below both the eurozone average (39.5 percent in 2011 and 40.4 percent in 2012) as well as the EU average (38.8 and 39.4 percent respectively).
European Commission paper highlights challenges for Greek exports
The European Commission (EC) published an economic paper titled “The puzzle of the missing Greek exports” showing that Greece’s export performance is dramatically lagging behind, yet its export potential could be enormous.