THE HELLENIC Statistical Authority releases data showing that Greece’s economy had contracted by 6.6 per cent in the in the last quarter of 2010 compared to 5.7 per cent in the previous quarter. It attributes the drop in “the significant reduction” in consumer spending.
THE EUROPEAN Commission formally asks Greece to change tax legislation that discriminates against funds held abroad by Greek residents.
GREECE SAYS it will waive airport fees for nine months as part of a series of moves aimed at rekindling tourism. All airports, except Athens, will not charge landing, take-off, and stopover fees from April through the end of the year, according to a report in Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATES in the last quarter of 2010 rise to 14.2 per cent, up roughly four per cent from the previous quarter, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority. It also says some 100,000 people joined the ranks of the jobless in the fourth quarter of 2010.
BOUNCED CHECKS total 193 million euros in January 2011, according to media reports. Data from the state credit reporting agency Teiresias sets the checks total value at 172.3 million euros, pushing private debt in 2010 over the two-billion-euro mark.