SLOVENIA

Retailer Mercator posts higher H1 revenue, profit up almost 60%

Mercator, Slovenia's leading retailer, saw group sales revenue increase by 0.4% to EUR 1.06 billion. Group net profit rose by 58.4% to EUR 2.4 million, the company said in an earnings release on
Thursday. (STA)

Adria remains grounded, gets a week to present turnaround plan

The future looks bleak for Slovenia's struggling carrier Adria Airways. The company has a week to submit a financial restructuring plan, its operations remain suspended, and its aircraft are being seized by leasing companies rushing to secure their assets. (STA)

FM: To join Schengen, Croatia has to meet legal standards

Commenting on the unofficial media reports about Croatia getting a go-ahead to enter the Schengen area in October, Foreign Minister Miro Cerar said on Wednesday that it was in Slovenia's interest to see its neighbour joining Schengen, but only if Croatia showed respect for all EU democratic and legal standards. (STA)

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Asia stocks gain as Trump talks up China trade deal

Asian stock markets rose on Thursday on optimism over US-China trade talks as President Donald Trump suggested a deal could be close and as details of a call at the centre of an impeachment inquiry eased political fears.
China’s CSI 300 nudged up 0.2 per cent while gains for technology stocks pushed the Hang Seng index up 0.4 per cent in Hong Kong after it hit a three-week low on Wednesday. In Japan, the Topix index was up 0.5 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4 per cent.
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a deal with China “could happen sooner than you think”. The US President’s comments came after he signed a partial trade deal with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. (FT)

Federal Reserve boosts size of short-term funding operations

The markets arm of the Federal Reserve will raise the amount of money it is injecting into the US financial system as it ramps up its week-long effort to shore up short-term funding markets and stave off a potential cash squeeze for banks at the end of the month.
The New York Fed said on Wednesday it would tomorrow double the amount of cash banks could borrow for a two-week period, to $60bn, while the amount it would offer for overnight loans would rise to $100bn from $75bn. The central bank’s efforts to prop up the short-term funding market have been met with strong demand since a dramatic rise last week in the cost of borrowing cash overnight in exchange for US Treasuries, known as a repurchase agreement, or repo. (FT)

US stocksrally as Trump stokes trade hopes

US stocks rallied as Donald Trump stoked optimism over a trade deal with China and released the transcript of a phone conversation at the centre of an impeachment inquiry into the president.
The S&P 500 was up 0.6 per cent Wednesday, led by gains in technology and consumer discretionary shares. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6 per cent.
Stocks steadied after the White House released a transcript of a phone call between the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart. It contained no direct evidence Mr Trump put pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky by threatening to withhold nearly $400m in military aid to the European country, but did reveal Mr Trump asked him to investigate former vicepresident Joe Biden and his son. (FT)

BOJ's Kuroda warns of overseas risks, signals readiness to adjust policy

Japan’s central bank governor signaled on Thursday readiness to ease monetary policy further, vowing to guide policy appropriately “without any preset conditions in mind”.
Speaking before leaders of Japan’s securities industry, Haruhiko Kuroda also warned against heightening risks from the global economy but dropped few clues on exactly what the BOJ’s next move will be when it holds its policy review on Oct. 30-31.
At its latest policy meeting last week, the central bank stood pat but signaled the chance of expanding stimulus as early as its next policy meeting in October by issuing a stronger warning against overseas risks. (Reuters)

Juul boss exits in vaping crisis as Philip Morris, Altria axe merger talks

The chief executive of e-cigarette maker Juul stepped down on Wednesday as merger talks between its biggest investor Altria and Philip Morris collapsed in the face of a regulatory backlash against vaping that could reshape the industry.
Juul Labs, in which tobacco giant Altria Group Inc owns a 35% stake, is facing intense scrutiny in its home market as teen use of e-cigarettes surges. The company, which faces a U.S. ban on some products, said on Wednesday that it would suspend all advertising in the country.
Marlboro makers Philip Morris International Inc and Altria, announcing the end of their $187 billion merger talks, said they would instead focus on the joint launch of tobacco-heating product iQOS in the United States. (Reuters)

SERBIA

OTP completes purchase of Societe Generale's Serbian unit

Hungarian banking group OTP has completed the acquisition of the Serbian unit of French banking group Societe Generale, the local subsidiary of OTP said on Wednesday. Societe Generale Serbia will be operating under the OTP Banka Srbija name, while its full merger with Vojvodjanska Banka, another Serbian unit of OTP, is planned to be completed in 2021, OTP Banka Srbija said in a statement. No financial details on the transaction were disclosed. (SeeNews)

Serbian July average net salary 55,042 dinars, 10.1% up

The average net monthly salary in Serbia was 55,042 dinars in July, rising 11.9 pct in nominal and 10.1 pct in real terms compared to the same month of last year, the national statistical office RZS has announced in a statement. The July average gross salary was 76,056 dinars, rising 11.8 pct in nominal and 10 pct in real terms y-o-y. (Tanjug)

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