Daily news - 21.10.2019
Published: 21. 10. 2019

SLOVENIA

Central bank governor says Slovenia in good economic condition

Washington, 20 October - Central bank Governor Boštjan Vasle and Finance Ministry State Secretary Metod Dragonja attended this week's autumn meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington where they said that Slovenia's economic condition was currently good despite risks to the global economy. (STA)

Views on budget divided on Finance Committee but no amendments adopted

The parliamentary Finance Committee discussed on Friday as the final among the committees the budget documents for 2020 and 2021. While views were divided along the coalition-opposition divide, no amendments were adopted. The National Assembly is expected to vote on the budget documents in November. (STA)

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Dow drops more than 250 points to end the week as Boeing and J&J plunge; European stocks close lower ahead of crucial weekend Brexit showdown

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply on Friday, weighed down by steep losses in Boeing and Johnson & Johnson. The broader market was also pressured by a decline in Netflix shares that led other Big Tech stocks lower.
The 30-stock index ended the day down 255.68 points, or 0.95% to close at 26,770.20. Boeing dropped 6.8% — its biggest one-day drop since February 2016 — on news that company instant messages suggest the aerospace giant misled regulators over the safety systems of the 737 Max. Johnson & Johnson slid 6.2% after the company recalled some baby powder upon finding traces of asbestos.
Meanwhile, S&P 500 pulled back 0.4% to end the day at 2,986.20 while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.8% to 8,089.54.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended provisionally lower by 1.15%, with autos trading down 1.45 % on the back of a profit warning from Renault, while basic resources added 0.33%.
Earnings season remained in focus, with French automaker Renault on Thursday cutting its 2019 revenue outlook and profit forecasts citing slowdowns in Turkey and Argentina. Renault shares plunged 11.68% Friday to drag the rest of the European automotive sector into the red.
Source: CNBC

SERBIA

NIIS: TE-TO Pancevo to start working at the end of 2020

Construction of Thermo Power Plant Pancevo, develops according to the plan, representatives of Gazprom energoholding (NIS daughter unit) told to local press. The plant will use natural gas as a main energy fuel, while around 71% of EUR 180m worth investment is completed, the same source says. The facility should be operational at the end of 2020. The company is in search for new locations, where new plant should be built, Gazprom energoholding Serbia, CEO said in a statement.
Source: Tanjug, Ilirika

Construction is the driving force of economic growth in Serbia

Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said at a joint press conference that the International Monetary Fund was satisfied with the progress of reforms and results achieved in Serbia and confirmed the projected economic growth of 3.5% for this year. The construction industry will further boost GDP growth, which is also indicated by data on construction permits issued and data on contract work, based on which the sector is expected to grow by more than 20% in the last two quarters, said Sinisa Mali.
Source: SeeNews

NBS: Serbia’s Bank Governor to N1: No risk of over-borrowing

Jorgovanka Tabakovic, Serbia’s National Bank (NBS) Governor, told N1 on Friday that higher wages and pensions in 2020 should accelerate the economic growth through higher demand. Speaking to N1 at the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Washington, she said that Serbia did not have access to cheap money in the last period, but that the country managed to repay some two billion Dollars old debts in 2018. Reacting to one of the IMF warnings tha low-interest rates could make countries to borrow more, Tabakovic said there was no such risk for Serbia since it had a sustainable GDP growth. She added that NBS said that Serbia’s future growth which IMF confirmed to be 3.5 percent this and four percent next year was based on the domestic demand and direct foreign investments.
Source: N1 

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