Ellinas Finance Public Company Ltd has announced the death of the Company’s founder and chairman, Emilios Ellinas.

According to the company, Emilios Ellinas died on 14 June, at the age of 90, in Nicosia.

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Ellinas has been the Chairman and Managing Director of Ellinas Finance PCL since December 1992.

He graduated from the Pancyprian Gymnasium in 1952.

Ellinas worked at Y. Shukuroglou & Sons as head of the Insurance Department until 1964. On 1 April,1955 he founded Emilios A. Ellinas & Co which was active in the import, sale and distribution of electrical household appliances and other goods (via the Mega Electric/ Scandia brand).

In 1964 he also founded the company Ellinas (Insurance Agencies) Ltd which represented various British insurance companies until 1982.

Ellinas was then appointed General Representative of the Cyprus public company Philiki Insurance Ltd as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Philliki Insurance Ltd.

Ellinas served as a shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of the private companies, The United Five Development Company Ltd and The United Five Construction Company Ltd.

In 1992 he founded Ellinas Finance Public Company Limited of which he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors until his death, having also served as Managing Director from January 2003 to February 2019.

In a significant diplomatic development, the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, has lauded the newly established Strategic Dialogue with the United States. This agreement, forged during the visit of Cyprus’ Foreign Minister, Constantinos Kombos, to Washington, signifies a substantial enhancement of political, economic, and social ties between the two nations.

The Strategic Dialogue aims to fortify cooperation in crucial areas such as energy, technology, and security, presenting Cyprus as a reliable partner in the volatile Middle East. This collaboration is expected to stimulate investment and strengthen trade relations, benefiting the Cypriot economy. Additionally, the agreement marks progress toward including Cyprus in the US Visa Waiver Programme, simplifying travel for Cypriot citizens.

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President Christodoulides emphasized the multifaceted advantages of the agreement, underscoring its role in bolstering Cyprus’ international stature as a stable and cooperative entity. He articulated that this partnership would not only benefit both nations but also contribute to regional stability and peace.

During the announcement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted the robust relationship between the US and Cyprus, citing the maritime corridor for humanitarian aid to Gaza as a testament to their strengthened ties. Blinken expressed confidence in the deepening bilateral relations, underscoring Cyprus’ strategic importance and its role in upholding democratic values and the rule of law.

Foreign Minister Kombos echoed these sentiments, portraying Cyprus as a credible and predictable partner for the US in a complex region. He stressed the importance of structured, intensive dialogue to address shared challenges and enhance cooperation.

The formal signing of a bilateral agreement on travel data use, witnessed by senior officials from both nations, marks a pivotal step toward integrating Cyprus into the US Visa Waiver Programme. This agreement signifies not only a deepening of diplomatic and economic relations but also a shared commitment to security and mutual prosperity.

The Cyprus-US Strategic Dialogue is poised to commence in September, promising a future of closer cooperation and shared strategic interests. This development reflects the growing importance of Cyprus on the global stage and its strategic alignment with US interests in the region.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) has signalled the possibility of two interest rate cuts within this year, with the first potentially occurring as early as September. This comes despite updated economic forecasts that indicate only one cut for the year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the need for a cautious approach, relying on more economic data before making further decisions. Currently, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has kept the benchmark rate steady at 5.25%-5.5%, the highest in over two decades.

Economic Context and Projections

The Fed’s decision to maintain the current rates is driven by ongoing evaluations of inflation trends and economic growth. Although the market anticipates potential cuts, the Fed has not committed to specific dates, preferring a data-driven approach. The possibility of rate reductions reflects an adaptive strategy to support economic stability amid fluctuating economic indicators.

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Market Reactions

Market analysts predict over a 50% chance of a rate cut in September, indicating significant anticipation among investors and financial markets. This cautious optimism is mirrored in the Fed’s statements, suggesting readiness to adjust policies as necessary to foster favorable economic conditions.

Future Outlook

As the year progresses, the Fed will closely monitor economic data, including employment rates, inflation, and GDP growth, to guide its decisions on interest rates. This flexible approach aims to balance economic growth with inflation control, ensuring sustained economic health.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Cyprus, totalling €22 billion, continue to pose a significant challenge to the country’s economic stability, accounting for 73.4% of its GDP as of 2023. The Central Bank of Cyprus reported that the outstanding loan portfolio managed by Credit Acquisition Companies (CACs) and banks stood at €21.8 billion by the end of December 2023. Key figures include €14.2 billion in residential mortgage loans and €4.1 billion in business loans, with consensual debt restructuring efforts amounting to €4.1 billion.

Detailed Figures and Economic Impact

1. Residential Mortgage Loans: €14.2 billion
2. Business Loans: €4.1 billion
3. Debt Restructuring: €4.1 billion
4. Outstanding Loan Portfolio: €21.8 billion

Economic Concerns

The high level of NPLs reflects significant financial strain on both households and businesses, hindering economic growth and stability. Efforts to restructure debt and reduce the NPL burden are ongoing, but the scale of the problem remains substantial.

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Strategic Measures

Authorities and financial institutions are focusing on comprehensive debt restructuring, improved credit practices, and regulatory measures to address the NPL issue. These efforts are crucial for restoring financial health and promoting sustainable economic development in Cyprus.

Constantine (Dinos) P. Iordanou, a prominent Cyprus-US businessman, passed away suddenly on June 16 at the age of 71. Iordanou was a respected figure in both the Cypriot and American business communities. He served as an independent non-executive member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus and chaired its Audit Committee. His illustrious career in the United States included senior positions at major insurance firms such as AIG, Berkshire Hathaway, and Zurich Financial Services. He was the chairman and CEO of Arch Capital Group until his retirement in 2019.

Iordanou’s career was marked by significant achievements and contributions to the insurance and finance industries. At Arch Capital Group, he played a crucial role in the company’s growth and success, establishing it as a leading global insurance and reinsurance provider. His leadership and strategic vision were instrumental in driving innovation and profitability.

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In addition to his corporate roles, Iordanou was actively involved in philanthropic efforts and community development. Recently, he was engaged in the development of a new stadium for APOEL, a prominent football club in Cyprus, reflecting his commitment to supporting local initiatives and sports infrastructure.

Iordanou’s passing is a significant loss to the business world and the communities he served. His legacy is characterized by his dedication, leadership, and the positive impact he had on the organizations and people he worked with. He leaves behind a lasting influence on the insurance industry and a strong example of cross-continental business success.

Cyprus’ total investment on climate change in both EU and public funds as well as private investments are estimated to amount to €3.1 billion by 2030, the Finance Ministry has said.

The European Union has set ambitious goals about the green transition, adopting the Green Deal and aspiring to render the Union as climate-neutral by 2040. In this context, the EU has also adopted the “Fit for 55” package which ups the EU interim target of reducing emissions from 40% to 55% by 2030 compared with 1990.

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Moreover, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis prompted the EU countries to reconsider their strategy on energy security through alternative credible options, which culminated in the programme RepowerEU, which became an integral part of the Recovery and Resilience Fund.

“The Republic of Cyprus has programmed and utilises EU Funds to promote many projects that contribute to the green transition”, the Finance Ministry said in the Strategic Framework on Fiscal Policy, an annual document that precedes the annual state budget.

EU funds earmarked for green transition projects in Cyprus amount to €1.1 billion coming from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Thalia programme on structural funds.

The Finance Ministry estimated that along with the necessary national contribution and the contribution from the private sector as part of the various subsidy schemes, such as the renovation of buildings and electronic vehicle purchases, total investments will amount to €3.1 billion.

The promotion of a large number of investment projects and reforms with a direct contribution in achieving the green transition, remains a key parameter in the utilisation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the Social Cohesion Funds, the Ministry added.

The report also noted that apart from the direct contribution to tackling the impact of climate change and achieving the climate neutrality targets based on the EU Green Deal directives, promoting climate growth is estimated to create new jobs and business opportunities.

Moreover, the Finance Ministry pointed out that Cyprus’ Long-Term Strategy for the economy, also called “Vision 2035” sets a green economy as a basic element for the growth of the Cypriot economy.

The Finance Ministry is considering tapping international capital markets, utilising the positive momentum generated after repetitive upgrades of Cyprus’ sovereign credit rating by international rating agencies.

Cyprus has enjoyed two upgrades by rating agencies Standard and Poor’s and Fitch to “BBB+” with a positive outlook in the last two weeks, while Moody’s has revised Cyprus’ outlook to positive while affirming its Baa2 rating. Since 2023 Cyrpus’ long-term credit rating has been upgraded to invest-grade status by all rating agencies.

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Sources have told CNA that the aim of the market exit is a ten-year bond, noting however that issues like the maturity and final amount to be issued are determined in consultation with the issuance’s advisor (to be assigned by the Public Debt Management Office, PDMO) as well as the prevailing market conditions.

The PDMO said that Cyprus financing needs for 2024 amount to €1.4 billion, of which €1 billion will be secured by an issuance via the European Medium-Term Note programme.

Furthermore, the PDMO said in its annual report for 2023 that the aim for the next years is to issue bonds worth at least between €1 and €1.5 billion EMTN bonds annually, to secure the government’s annual financing needs.

The PDMO aims to smoothen Cyprus’ debt maturity curve, with longer maturity bonds, provided that the market conditions and the high-interest rate environment permit it.

The same source said the momentum for Cyprus, following the recent credit rating upgrades, is favourable.

Positive momentum is also created by the steadily declining trend in the debt-to-GDP ratio which is also favoured by Cyprus’ strong growth rate, which in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to 3.4% year on year, which was the third highest in the EU following Malta and Croatia, while in quarterly terms, Cyprus exhibited the second highest (1.2% seasonally adjusted) growth rate behind Malta.

Topline

Pope Francis is set to attend the G7 summit on Friday and is expected to urge world leaders to adopt AI regulations, a subject the Pope has spoken about several times in the past, including after he was the subject of viral AI-generated images that many believed were real.

Key Facts

• The Vatican announced Pope Francis would attend the Group of 7 conference in Italy on Friday to discuss ethical concerns surrounding artificial intelligence during a session dedicated to AI, becoming the first pope to participate in the summit of leaders.
• The Pope fell victim to AI in the past: AI-generated deepfake images of the Pope in a white puffer jacket and bedazzled crucifix—dubbed the “Balenciaga Pope”—went viral last year and racked up millions of views online, causing some people to believe the pictures were real.
• He spoke about the fake images during a speech in Vatican City in January, warning about the rise of “images that appear perfectly plausible but false (I too have been an object of this).”
• Pope Francis has spoken out about the danger of AI before, and he’s expected to urge world leaders at the G7 conference to work together to create AI regulations.
• During the G7 meetings, Italy is expected to advocate for the development of homegrown AI systems in African countries, further work is expected to be done on the Hiroshima Process—a G7 effort to safeguard the use of generative AI—and leaders from places like the U.S. and the U.K. are expected to promote AI regulations introduced in their countries, according to Politico.
• Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, said in a statement in April the Pope was invited to the G7 conference to help “make a decisive contribution to defining a regulatory, ethical and cultural framework for artificial intelligence.”
• The Vatican also announced Pope Francis will have bilateral conversations with leaders of other countries, including President Joe Biden, President Samoei Ruto of Kenya and India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi.

Key Background

The Pope has been speaking out about the need for artificial intelligence regulation for years. The Vatican has been promoting the “Rome Call for AI Ethics” since 2020, which lays out six principles for AI ethics, which include transparency, inclusion, impartiality, responsibility, reliability and security and privacy. As part of the August 2023 announcement for this year’s World Day of Peace of the Catholic Church—which was held on Jan. 1—-the Pope warned of the dangers of AI, saying it should be used as a “service of humanity.” He called for “an open dialogue on the meaning of these new technologies, endowed with disruptive possibilities and ambivalent effects.” In December 2023, the Pope called for an international treaty to regulate AI as part of his World Day of Peace message. He urged world leaders to “adopt a binding international treaty” to regulate AI development, adding it shouldn’t just focus on preventing harm, but should also encourage “best practices.” The Pope noted that although advancements in technology and science lead to the betterment of humanity,” they can also give humans “unprecedented control over reality.”

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Tangent

Italy—one of the G7 summit’s rotating hosts—became the first country to temporarily ban AI chatbot ChatGPT in March 2023 after Garante, an Italian data protection regulator, claimed the chatbot violated the European Union’s privacy laws. Garante claimed ChatGPT exposed payment information and messages, and allowed children to access inappropriate information. Other countries that have passed or introduced laws regulating AI include Australia, China, the European Union, the U.S., Japan and the U.K.

Original news here.

The most serious obstacle to digital transformation in companies is the mismatch between the skills of employees and the ever-increasing pace of innovation, concludes a global report by SoftwareOne.

Key Facts

• Nearly two-thirds (62%) of survey respondents indicated that they do not have sufficient skills to work with artificial intelligence (AI), while at the same time, 41% of organizations are having difficulty finding qualified employees with AI experience and knowledge.
• The lack of cloud skills has increased the workload of employees (62% of respondents) and has led to significant consequences, including burnout and increased turnover.
• Nearly a quarter of global IT managers (23%) are considering leaving their jobs precisely because of this shortage, while at the same time, for 84% of companies, retaining IT talent is becoming a significant challenge.
• Talent retention problems in companies are further exacerbated by team conflicts. 34% of the respondents point to the lack of skills to work with cloud technologies as a reason for tension between them and the direct manager, and 42% perceive it as a reason for conflicts in the team. One in five (22%) respondents said they did not feel comfortable asking for additional training to improve their skills.

Important Quote

“Rapid advances in AI and generative AI create exciting prospects for companies around the world, but when it comes to teams, organizations are sitting on a ticking time bomb if they don’t upskill and upskill their employees to realize AI’s potential,” says Brian Duffy, CEO of SoftwareOne.

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What To Watch For

The research highlights the importance of prioritizing employees working more closely with advanced technology, which is proving key amid growing skills gaps in cloud and AI. This would significantly transform organizational dynamics, with 97% of companies planning to upskill their employees, the survey found.

“Our research shows that a large number of organizations are planning to enhance the capabilities of their IT teams to accelerate AI and cloud deployments. By putting people at the center and demonstrating the benefits of innovation for their roles in the organization, companies can build a supportive and positive environment that helps retain employees, increases productivity and makes work more meaningful.”

Tangent

The SoftwareOne Cloud Skills Report surveyed 500 senior management respondents in the UK, Benelux, North America and Australia, exploring how the cloud skills shortage is affecting IT teams and what plans are in place to address it in 2024

After Elon Musk won support from Tesla shareholders to pay out a $56 billion compensatory bonus and move the company’s headquarters to Texas, the billionaire announced his next ambitious goal: to turn the $25 trillion electric car company around.

Key Facts

• The entire value of the S&P 500 currently stands at $45.5 trillion, according to FactSet. Tesla’s CEO said his company’s Optimus humanoid robots could eventually make the automaker worth more than half that amount.
• Musk, who characterized himself as a “pathological optimist” at the 2024 annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas, said Tesla was embarking not only on a “new chapter” in its life, but was about to write an entirely “new book”. Optimus seems to be one of the main characters.
• Tesla first revealed its plans to work on humanoid robots in 2021 at an AI Day event, unveiling a dancer in a jumpsuit that looked like a sleek, androgynous robot.
• In January, Tesla showed off Optimus robots folding laundry in a demo video that was immediately criticized by robotics engineers as a hoax. The robots were not autonomous but rather operated with humans at the controls.

What To Watch For

At Thursday’s shareholder event, Musk didn’t reveal exactly what Optimus might do today. He speculated that the robots would one day act like R2-D2 and C-3PO from the Star Wars movie. They could cook or clean for you, work in a factory or even teach your children, Musk suggested.

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As for shareholder value, Musk said Optimus could be the catalyst to lift Tesla’s market capitalization to $25 trillion someday.

Speaking to a crowd of mostly adoring fans in an auditorium at the Gigafactory, Musk promised that Tesla would move to “limited production” of the Optimus in 2025 and test humanoid robots in its factories next year.

The company, he predicts, will have “over 1,000 or several thousand Optimus robots running Tesla” by 2025. All of these are far-fetched even for Musk, who is known for making ambitious promises to investors and customers that don’t come true, from developing software that can turn an existing Tesla into a self-driving, drop-in vehicle, to battery-swapping EV stations.

Big Number

Reaching a market cap of $25 trillion would mean Tesla would be worth about eight times Apple. The iPhone maker is currently the world’s largest company by market capitalization, just ahead of Microsoft. At Thursday’s close, Tesla was valued at about $580 billion, making it the 10th most valuable company in the S&P 500. Musk did not provide a time frame for reaching $25 trillion. He said autonomous vehicles could propel the company to a market capitalization of $5 trillion to $7 trillion.

A Look Into The Future

Tesla shares have fallen 27% this year as the company expects sales to decline, linked in part to an aging lineup of electric vehicles and increased competition in China. The company has also implemented drastic layoffs. Musk encouraged investors to look beyond the current state of the business and more toward the future of autonomous driving, robots and artificial intelligence.

Taking the stage after the shareholder votes were read, Musk said, “I just want to start by saying I love you guys.”

Among his boldest claims on Thursday was Musk’s declaration that Tesla has advanced so far in silicon development that it has surpassed Nvidia when it comes to the interface, or process, that trained machine learning models use to make inferences from new data.

Nvidia shares have jumped nearly ninefold since the end of 2022, driven by demand for its AI chips. The company is now worth about $3.2 trillion.

One concern swirling around Musk is his focus on Tesla given all his other commitments. He owns and operates social media company X, is the CEO of SpaceX and the founder of The Boring Co. and Neuralink. He launched another startup, xAI, in March of last year, and the company recently raised $6 billion in venture funding.

Musk was asked by a shareholder at the meeting how important he personally is to Tesla’s future.

“I’m a useful accelerator of that future,” he said, emphasizing his role in innovation.

He said that when it comes to humanoid robots, other companies, including tech startups, are chasing the market. Competitors include Boston Dynamics, Agility, Neura and Apptronik.

“What really matters is whether we can be much faster than everybody else and have our product ready a few years before theirs and be better,” Musk said.