ΑΤΗΕΧ Slips, NBG In the Spotlight

Athens Stocks extend their losses on Wednesday with developments regarding NBG’s share capital increase being in the spotlight. National’s move “is a very positive development” said Takis Zamanis, chief trader at Athens-based Beta Securities.

National Bank Of Greece Plans Share Capital Increase (upd)

Greece΄s largest lender will also proceed to a public offering of a minority stake in the share capital of its Turkish subsidiary, Finansbank. What analysts say.

Sovereign Jitters ‘Hit’ Banks

Sovereign debt jitters return, tumbling the markets and pushing the banks towards share capital increases.

AUSTERITY

Stiglitz: Europe Made Wrong Bet With Austerity

Europe made a “wrong bet” by opting for austerity after the global recession and this has resulted in slower economic growth for the region and the U.S., Joseph Stiglitz said according to Bloomberg.

EUROPEAN UMION

EU Finance Ministers Back Budget Scrutiny

The ΄European Semester΄ will allow the economic and budgetary policies of the member states to be monitored in parallel during a six-month period every year, starting in 2011, so as to detect any inconsistencies and emerging imbalances.

Eurostat Says Still Unaware Of How Greeks Masked Debt

Agency΄s chief says country hasn’t disclosed the full details of the secret financial transactions it used to mask its debt.

Greek Economy Contrcts 3,7% In Q2

GDP shrank 1,8% on the quarter.

Report By Bank Advisors Due In September

Regarding strategic options in the banking system.

Deutsche Telecom Interested In Increasing Its Stake In OTE

Greek state is not interested in selling as the current price of the company’s share is very low.

Slovak Minister Says Greek Bailout "Euphemism" For Aid To Banks

Aid is saving the profits of Europe΄s largest commercial banks, Foreign Minister said.

Greek August CPI Up 5.5% On the Year

On a monthly basis, it dropped 0.7%.

Greek Household, Business Deposits Drop In July

To EUR212.2 billion, down from EUR216.5 in June.

Deutsche Bank: Remains Neutral On Greek Banks

“We expect H2 to be very decisive with respect to asset quality trends,” it said.

OPAP Eyes Online, Video Lotteries Tenders

Greece last month launched a public consultation to change the current legal framework.

MARKETS

Citi: Avoid South Europe

Citi says its country allocation model (CAM) buys Austria, Finland, Netherlands & Sweden and sells Greece, Portugal, Belgium & Ireland. It also stresses that Greece has been the worst performing country YTD by a wide margin.

COMPANIES

Former Lehman CEO Faults US Regulators For Bankruptcy

Fuld faulted U.S. regulators for refusing to grant Lehman the same expanded access to its Primary Dealer Credit Facility, a move the Fed made on the same Sunday that officials told Lehman it must file for bankruptcy.

ENERGY