SLOVENIA
Parliamentary committee okays bill facilitating NLB privatization
Ljubljana, 18 July - The Joint Committee, a temporary parliamentary working body, backed on Wednesday a bill that shields NLB bank from claims in Croatia and thereby facilitates the privatisation of the country's largest bank. The National Assembly is expected to pass the bill on Thursday.
Source: STA
Turnover from the sale of goods in 2017 the highest after 2008
In 2017, enterprises in Slovenia sold on the domestic market about EUR 26.7 billion of goods, which is 10.8% more than in 2016. This is the highest value of turnover from the sale of goods in recent years, but it was still lower than in 2008, when it amounted to EUR 28.3 billion.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Stocks rise as Morgan Stanley and CSX surge on earnings; European stocks close higher as well
Stocks rose on Wednesday as Wall Street cheered strong quarterly results from Morgan Stanley and CSX. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.40 points to close at 25,199.29, with UnitedHealth and American Express outperforming. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent to 2,815.62 as financials rose 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed marginally lower at 7,854.44.
Morgan Stanley shares rose 1.8 percent after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the previous quarter, boosted by strong trading and investment banking revenue. Bank of America, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Chase all closed higher as well.
CSX also posted stronger-than-forecast profits and sales, sending its shares higher by 7.1 percent. Its gains propelled the industrials sector to a 1.1 percent rise and sent the Dow Transports up by 2.3 percent. United Continental also surged 8.8 percent on stronger-than-expected earnings.
European shares closed higher Wednesday, with investors maintaining their focus on corporate earnings. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally 0.54 higher with almost every sector in positive territory. Technology led the gains, up by 2.53 percent, on earnings. Ericsson rose 8.52 percent after reporting second-quarter results at the higher-end of its guidance.
On Wednesday, investors monitored Brussels and Alphabet shares. U.S. tech giant Google was hit with its biggest ever antitrust fine — a $5 billion levy — after the EU ruled that its Android mobile operating system had abused the mobile software's dominance in the industry. Google said it would appeal the decision. Alphabet's stock slipped slightly following the EU announcement.
Biopharmaceutical firm Swedish Orphan Biovitrum topped the European benchmark, up 13.89 percent after reporting a quarterly increase in earnings before interest, tax and amortization of 94 percent. Tele2 B was among the best performing stocks, up by 13.43 percent, on earnings. It reported results above forecasts and raised its guidance for 2018.
Source: CNBC
SERBIA
Tender for RTB Bor opens
The Ministry of Economy has opened a public invitation for a strategic investor for RTB Bor, which envisages a mandatory monetary capital increase in the amount of USD 350 million. As said in the public invitation, eligible companies include local or foreign companies which have exploited or produced copper and other noble metals continuously in the past 10 years. The company must have operating revenues larger than USD 500 million, and the bid submission deadline is the noon of August 20. Potential investors must also provide a banking guarantee in the amount of USD 1 million.
Source: Ekapija
NBS: Profit of banks in Serbia amounts to RSD 68.7 billion at end-2017
The total EBITDA of all 29 banks in Serbia amounted to RSD 68.7 billion at the end of 2017, which is 47.39 billion more than at the end of the previous year, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced on July 17. The NBS report says that 22 banks realized a profit, whereas seven incurred losses. As the NBS estimates, the rising profits of commercial banks in Serbia are mostly down to the reduction of losses arising from bad loans (by RSD 33 billion), as well as the consolidation of the banking sector, that is, mergers and acquisitions of banks due to changes of ownership structures (RSD 12.5 billion of contribution to the net result).
Source: Ekapija
First half of 2018 sees 45,000 electronic building permits issued
A total of 200,100 building permits have been issued through the Central Register of Unified Procedures for the Issuing of Building Permits (CEOP) in two and a half years, and the total number of sent electronic requests has increased by 10.27%. These are the latest data published on the website of the Business Registers Agency. As said, around 45,000 permits were issued in the first half of the current year, which is 13.2% more than in the same period last year.
Source: Ekapija
