SLOVENIA
NLB shareholders to decide on dividend, appointments
Ljubljana, 10 June - The shareholders' meeting of NLB bank on Monday will vote on the proposals to pay out EUR 142.6 million in dividends at EUR 7.13 per share, and to fill vacancies on the supervisory board.
Source: STA
Official says EBRD interested in investing in tourism, finance
Jürgen Rigterink of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has told Delo that Slovenia is one of the most developed countries the bank cooperates with. He noted that the EBRD would like to invest in tourism and the financial industry in Slovenia, as well as in a potential privatisation of Petrol.
Source: STA
EU Commission expects Slovenia to comply with commitments
The EU Commission said it expected Slovenia to comply with its commitments after Prime Minister Marjan Šarec cast doubt on privatisation of Abanka, saying that Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) should "seriously reconsider continuing the sale of Abanka."
Source: STA
Počivalšek discusses cooperation at business forum in Russia
Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek and State Secretary Aleš Cantarutti attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia on Friday. He also met Russian Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov and Alexander N. Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow jumps 260 points, posts best week since November after jobs report spurs rate-cut hopes; European stocks close higher as weak US jobs data points to potential Fed rate cut
Stocks jumped on Friday, building on strong weekly gains, as weak economic data increased the odds of easier monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 263.28 points higher at 25,983.94, led by gains in Microsoft and Apple. The S&P 500 climbed 1% to 2,873.34 as the tech sector outperformed. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.7% to 7,742.10.
The U.S. economy added 75,000 jobs in May, marking the second time in four months that jobs growth totaled less than 100,000. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 180,000 jobs. Wage growth also slowed.
European stocks closed higher Friday as disappointing U.S. nonfarm payroll figures boosted speculation of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally up almost 0.9%, technology stocks leading gains with a near 2% rise as all sectors were in positive territory.
In terms of individual stocks, Danish biotech giant Novozymes plunged nearly 7% after it downgraded its outlook, while shares of Dutch insurer ASR Nederland climbed to the top of the Stoxx 600 with a more than 6% rise.
Source: CNBC
SERBIA
NBS: NBS keeps key policy rate at 3%
The National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Executive Board on Thursday decided to keep the key policy rate at 3 pct. "In making the decision, the Executive Board was guided primarily by the outlook for inflation and its factors in the domestic and international environment. Keeping the key policy rate on hold, the Executive Board stated that inflation has been firmly under control for six years in a row and that it will remain so going forward. Consistent with NBS expectations and announcements, y-o-y inflation continued to move within the target band (3.0±1.5 pct), measuring 3.1 pct in April.
Source: Tanjug
Fabrizi: Serbia has achieved good macroeconomoc results
Over the past year, Serbia has made major progress towards achieving macroeconomic stability and creating conditions for economic growth, but progress in the areas of public procurements, protection of competition and freedom of the media must be accelerated, the head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Sem Fabrizi said Friday. At a presentation of the EU's latest Serbia Progress Report, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, Fabrizi said good macroeconomic indicators, including a decline of public debt, a budget surplus and stable inflation, were creating conditions for a 3-4 pct GDP growth in Serbia in 2019 and the years to come.
Source: Tanjug
NIIS: Antic signs agreement on natural gas power stations
Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining Aleksandar Antic signed with Russia's Gazprom Energoholding on Friday in St Petersburg an agreement on construction of natural gas power stations in Serbia. "We also discussed the petrochemical plant since NIS - and Gazprom Neft - are showing strong interest in the petrochemical plant. We will continue discussions about possibilities of the process being defined through a strategic partnership," Antic told Tanjug at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). For Serbia, it is important to find a partner for the petrochemical plant that will ensure strong investment and make the plant successful and sustainable regardless of potential turbulences resulting from crude oil prices, he said.
Source: Tanjug
