SLOVENIA

Govt to increase defence spending to 1% of GDP this year

The government adopted at Thursday's correspondence session a decision raising defence spending in 2018 to one percent of Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP), tasking the Ministry of Finance to execute the decision by 29 September.

Source: STA

 

LJSE seeks listings by small, medium-sized companies

The Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) has joined forces with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to attract more companies to the capital market through a support programme for SMEs. According to EBRD regional director Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, the idea is for companies to raise funds on the stock market.

Source: STA

 

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Stocks rise to end the first half on a high note; European stocks finish on a high after EU migration deal; oil prices climb

Stocks rose on Friday, the last trading day of the first half of the year, but still posted weekly losses as the underlying market sentiment was soured by anxiety over global trade frictions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55.36 points to 24,271.41, with Nike outperforming. The S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent and closed at 2,718.37 as energy jumped 0.7 percent. The Nasdaq composite also advanced 0.1 percent to 7,510.30.

Nike shares jumped more than 11 percent and reached an all-time high after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

European equities closed higher on average Friday after EU leaders hashed out a deal on migration, although underlying market sentiment was soured somewhat by ongoing anxiety over ongoing global trade frictions. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session up 0.81 percent provisionally, supported by strong trade seen in markets overseas. On the week however, the STOXX 600 dropped 1.32 percent.

Looking at individual stocks, Spain's Caixabank closed up over 3 percent after the lender announced it had agreed to sell 80 percent of its real estate assets to private equity fund Lone Star. The news comes as Spain's banks continue to look to offload impaired real-estate and mortgages after the global financial crisis burst the country's real estate bubble in 2008.

Sticking with the top performers, Osram was Europe's biggest gainer, closing up almost 6.5 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch doubled its rating on the stock, raising it to "buy" from "underperform". This despite other brokers slashed their rating or target price on the lighting firm.

Source: CNBC

 

SERBIA

NBS: Economic and foreign trade for May (5 months 2018)

According to the data of the Serbian Statistical Office, industrial production grew by 0.5% y-o-y in May, led by the 1.6% rise in manufacturing. In the period January–May, the y-o-y increase in industrial production amounted to 4.1%. The rise in manufacturing came at 3.4%, while the electricity, gas and steam supply sector grew by 9.1%. Retail trade turnover grew by 3.5% y-o-y in real terms in May. In the period January–May retail trade turnover grew by 3.7% y-o-y in real terms as a result of an increase in the turnover of food and non-food products, and of motor fuels. The period January–May recorded y-o-y growth in exports of goods by 7.1%, primarily as a result of an increase in manufacturing exports by 10.5%, recorded in 22 out of 23 areas. Y-o-y increase in commodity imports in the same period stood at 11.1%, driven primarily by higher import procurements of capital and intermediate goods.

Source: NBS

 

Serbia has 28,000 active construction sites

There are currently more than 28,000 construction sites in Serbia, and the number of building permits issued increased by 14.4% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic said in her conversation with Azza El-Abd, the Mission Director for Serbia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Source: Ekapija

 

NBS: Mid-term inflation expected at 2.8-3.0%

According to the latest NBS inflation survey, mid-term inflation is expected in a range of 2.8-3.0%, while short term inflation is seen at 2.5-2.7% level. This is all in line with targeted level. Participants for this survey were from corporate and financial sector.

Source: NBS, Ilirika

 

Hisense is expected to keep investing in Gorenje

Chinese company Hisense has just become a new owner of Gorenje, while workers in Serbian parts of the company believe that nothing will be changed for them. In addition, representatives from Valjevo factory of cooling devices believe that new investments will arrive at third facilities, while brand name will remain unchanged.

Source: Ekapija, Ilirika

 

 

 

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