The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.

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This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Paul Mendelsohn,"Nobody knows what is going to happen",,[ 1186 ]

Indexes down 3 percent after steeper fall

Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK

Thu May 6, 2010 3:53pm EDT

A trader walks on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New
York May 6, 2010. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks plunged suddenly but briefly by more than 9 percent on Thursday afternoon before pulling back to a near 3 percent drop, as investor worries mounted that Greece's debt problems could spread.

The Dow and Nasdaq indexes at one point sank heavily after 2 p.m., while the S&P 500 and Dow briefly fell into negative territory for the year.

Trading was volatile, though the New York Stock Exchange said there were no system errors during the brief but heavy sell-off.

Investors were disappointed the European Central Bank failed to take fresh measures to help stem Greece's debt crisis.

The ECB did not discuss the outright purchase of European sovereign debt, as some had hoped for, but gave verbal support instead to Greece's savings plan. The ECB left interest rates at a record low.

Germany's Bundestag lower house of parliament is due to start debating a draft law on the German contribution to an aid package for Greece at 0700 GMT on Friday.

"Nobody knows what is going to happen overnight, and so people were running for cover in here and it just got a little ahead of itself," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 355.20 points, or 3.27 percent, at 10,512.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 38.87 points, or 3.33 percent, at 1,127.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 80.93 points, or 3.37 percent, at 2,321.36.

Volume reached the highest levels since May 2009 during the sell-off.

The CBOE volatility index rocketed up more than 60 percent at 39.94, its highest level since April 2009.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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