SLOVENIA
S&P upgrades rating for Slovenia from A+ to AA-
Ljubljana, 17 June - The rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) upgraded on Friday its rating for Slovenia from A+ with a positive outlook to AA- with a stable outlook due to strong economic growth and employment growth, the Finance Ministry said in a press release on Monday.
Source: STA
Final decision on Abanka privatisation deferred to Wednesday
Ljubljana, 17 June - The final decision on the privatisation of Abanka, Slovenia's third largest bank, has been deferred to Wednesday after the supervisory board of Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SSH) decided not to convene Monday as planned. Nevertheless, comments by Prime Minister Šarec suggest the bank will be privatised despite initial apprehension.
Source: STA
Krka dominates stock market
The stock of pharmaceutical company Krka dominated Monday's trading on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, gaining 0.31% to almost EUR 63 and accounting for more than half of the daily turnover, which reached EUR 1.42 million. The SBI TOP index gained 0.18% to close at 873.33 points.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Stocks notch slight gains as tech shares rise, Wall Street awaits Fed meeting; European stocks close marginally higher; Lufthansa falls 12% and drags airlines down
Stocks rose slightly on Monday, led by gains in tech, as investors looked ahead to a crucial Federal Reserve meeting this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.92 points to 26,112.53 while the S&P 500 closed 0.1% higher at 2,889.67. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.6% to 7,845.02 as tech shares gained.
The Fed is scheduled to start a two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. Expectations for any policy changes are low, but investors will look for clues about potential rate cuts in July and later in 2019. Disney shares slipped 0.5% after an analyst at Imperial Capital downgraded the stock to in-line from outperform, citing a “record ” valuation.
uropean stocks closed marginally higher on Monday as investors awaited this week’s crucial U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished just above the flatline at the closing bell, with sectors and major bourses pointing in opposite directions.
Airline stocks plunged after Lufthansa issued a profit warning, causing its shares to fall nearly 12% and dragging Germany’s DAX into the red. Air France KLM and EasyJet both dropped 4%.
Source: CNBC
SERBIA
Standard & Poor’s affirms positive outlook for Serbia
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has affirmed Serbia’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at ‘BB’, with a positive outlook. The positive outlook reflects Serbia’s solid economic expansion outlook, a prudent fiscal stance and the Government’s commitment to implementing the reforms supported by the policy coordination arrangement with the IMF. S&P stresses in particular the improved credibility of the NBS monetary policy and the preserved price and financial stability as the factors that lie at the core of the positive outlook.
Source: NBS
Construction of Kuzmin-Sremska Raca highway to start in early July
The construction of the Kuzmin-Sremska Raca highway will start in early July, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced in Banjaluka. When asked by the press when the construction of the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway would start, she said that Serbia would start working on its section and that preparatory works for the Kuzmin-Sremska Raca section were being carried out. The 17-km Sremska Raca-Kuzmin section on the highway between Belgrade and Sarajevo will be built by the Turkish company Tasyapi. The value of the commercial contract with this company is a total of EUR 250 million, of which EUR 220 million for the construction of the Kuzmin-Sremska Raca section (100 million for the new bridge on the Sava and 120 million for the highway section) and EUR 5 million for the project-technical documentation for the project.
Source: Ekapija
Germany top foreign market for Serbian construction firms
The total value of the works Serbian contractors performed abroad in 2018 amounted to 17.5 bln dinars, with construction works on buildings accounting for 8.6 bln, the Serbian national statistical office RZS said in a statement. "The largest construction activity, observed by countries, was noted in Germany - 18.5 pct of the total value of works performed - then in the Russian Federation - 16.6 pct - Montenegro - 13.9 pct - and Peru - 10.7 pct. Construction materials and equipment from the Republic of Serbia were most incorporated in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Source: Tanjug
