SLOVENIA
Innovation will spearhead Novartis's growth, Lek CEO says
Innovation is the main engine of Novartis's growth and Slovenia will continue to play a crucial role in innovative technologies, chairman of Novartis-owned pharma company Lek, Zvone Bogdanovski, told the STA in an interview. He highlighted Lek's centre for the production of active substances for innovative medicines in Mengeš.
Source: STA
Job market flat in December
The Slovenian job market remained flat in December with the number of persons in employment dropping by 0.1% to 887,170 in what is an expected seasonal decline. Year-on-year, the number of jobs swelled by 3.6%, show Statistics Office data released on Monday.
Source: STA
Laško spa resort reports higher 2018 revenue and profit
Thermana Laško, the company operating the spa resort in Laško in east central Slovenia, saw its revenue rise by 6% to EUR 22.6m last year, while profit increased by 42% to EUR 1.7m.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Seven Labour MPs Quit Party in Split with Corbyn: Brexit Update
A group of Labour politicians have quit the party in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s position on Brexit as well as alleged antisemitism and bullying within the U.K.’s official opposition. It comes as Theresa May starts a diplomatic drive try to save her divorce agreement with the European Union.
Source: Bloomberg
Stocks Mixed as Trade Hopes Lift Asia – US exchanges closed for President's Day (Washington's Birthday)
Stocks in Europe and U.S. futures drifted after a rally in Asia boosted shares to their highest level since October on optimism over China’s economy and trade talks. Commodities from oil to copper climbed. The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as gains by telecommunications companies offset declines in carmakers, after President Donald Trump received a report that may be a preliminary step to raising tariffs on auto imports. U.S. equity-index futures drifted following a positive session in Asia, where China’s credit growth helped ease worries of a slowdown in the biggest regional economy and optimism for a trade detente with the U.S. boosted risk appetite ahead of talks in Washington this week. The dollar steadied after two days of losses.
Source: Bloomberg
SERBIA
Additional slump at Belgrade Airport drove BELEX15 down 1.78% w/w; Jedinstvo started desulphation works at TENT A
BELEX15 was down 1.78% w/w, mainly due to additional 10% drop at Belgrade Airport (AERO), while broad BELEXline lost 0.39%. Galenika Fitofarmacija (FITO) was the most traded name with RSD 25.1m in volume, while its stock price added light 0.74% w/w. The company is expected to report FY 2018 numbers in early March at the latest, while numbers should not differ significantly versus 2017 level. Jedinstvo Sevojno (JESV) was not among more traded names, but it reported desulphation project at TPP TENT A, has just been launched. The company is about to execute EUR 95M worth jobs over the next 3 years, which means that its sales may jump already in 2019 (up to 30% y/y), in case annual deployment remains stable as before. From the macro side, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) forecasts Serbia's GDP growth to be 3.5% this year and accelerate to around 4.0%.
Source: ILIRIKA
