Unemployment in Bulgaria in November decreased to 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent in October, according to seasonally adjusted Eurostat data published today, BTA reported. Thus, our country is in third place in terms of the lowest level of the indicator. The lowest unemployment rate is in Malta - 3.1 percent, and in the Czech Republic and Poland - 3.2 percent each. According to Eurostat, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area in November 2025 was 6.3 percent, down from 6.4 percent in October 2025 and up from 6.2 percent in November 2024. In the European Union, unemployment was 6.0 percent in November, unchanged from the previous month, but above the level of 5.8 percent in November 2024. Eurostat estimates that in November 2025 there were 13.225 million unemployed in the EU, of which 10.937 million in the euro area. Compared to October 2025, the number of unemployed decreased by 97 thousand in the EU and by 71 thousand in the euro area. However, on an annual basis, unemployment increased by 416 thousand in the EU and by 253 thousand in the euro area. In November 2025, 2.923 million young people under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU, of which 2.318 million in the euro area. The youth unemployment rate was 15.1 percent in the EU compared to 15.2 percent in October and 14.6 percent in the euro area compared to 14.8 percent a month earlier. Compared to October 2025, youth unemployment decreased by 44 thousand people in the EU and by 42 thousand people in the euro area. However, on an annual basis, it increased by 24 thousand people in the EU and by 11 thousand people in the euro area. Bulgaria also reported an improvement in youth unemployment - from 13.2 percent in October to 12.6 percent in November. Unemployment according to Eurostat and the Employment Agency (EA) data is measured using different methodologies, with Eurostat using standardized surveys certified by the International Labour Association (LFS - Labor Force Survey), including job seekers, while EA counts the registered unemployed, which leads to significant differences, with Eurostat traditionally calculating a lower share of unemployed in Bulgaria, as it also includes people who are actively looking for work but are not registered with the labor office.

Swiss energy and commodity trader Mercuria has signed an agreement with Bulgarian Geotechmin to purchase the entire amount of copper concentrate from the Elatsite mine in 2026. The mine is operated by Elatsite Med, part of Geotechmin. Until now, the concentrate was processed at the Aurubis plant near Pirdop and Zlatitsa. In 2026, Elatsite is expected to produce 195,000 tons of copper concentrate, which, according to the company's report, contains 22% copper. Together with the Assarel - Medet mine near Panagyurishte, these are the largest copper producers in the country. Copper-gold concentrates are also produced by DPM Chelopech. All three companies have so far sold their concentrate to Aurubis, with which the metallurgical plant, part of the German Aurubis group, covered about 30% of its needs. The remaining 70% are imported through the port of Burgas. As part of the deal, Mercuria and Geotechmin have also signed a financial agreement for an advance payment of $250 million. The aim is to support Geotechmin's long-term growth plans. In March last year, the Elatsite Med concession was extended by 10 years until 2041. Although there is still time until the current contract expires in 2031, this will allow the company to prepare its future expansion. Some time ago, they indicated that they had proven additional reserves, the development of which will cost 1.2 billion leva. The main part of the funds will be invested in the construction of facilities and the purchase of equipment at the beginning. Elatsite Med is part of the Geotechmin construction and mining group, owned by Tsolo Vutov. The mine is located near Etropole, and the enrichment plant is located on the other side of the Balkan, in the village of Mirkovo, and the two are connected by a tunnel. For 2024, "Elatsite Med" reported a 7% increase in revenue to 738.2 million leva (377.4 million euros). Mercuria is one of the leading independent energy and commodity groups, operating in the oil, gas, energy and metals markets. According to data from its website, it has over 1,100 employees in 50 countries and $174 billion in revenue for 2022.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition is conducting on-site inspections at the offices of companies investigating a cartel in public procurement for the supply of food to hospitals. The CPC has found that there is a lot of data that gives grounds to initiate these proceedings - the so-called concerted practices - this means tender manipulations, preliminary allocation of the market, preliminary negotiation of the price, and then preliminary determination of the winning participant. The proceedings were initiated after a signal from the MP Vasil Pandov was received by the antimonopoly body on October 2, 2025. The signal expresses suspicions of manipulation of procedures for public procurement for food for medical institutions by the companies "Master-Pick" EAD, "Balkan Meal" EOOD and "Party Food" AD. All orders for the supply of hospital food, carried out for the territory of the city of Sofia for the period 2022-2025, in which the companies participate as competitors, have been examined. After the completion of the procedural actions on the file, the CPC will rule within the framework of its statutory competence.

The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) has issued construction permits for a new 36 km of the Hemus highway - a subsection of the so-called section 4 between the Pleven substation and road III-301 and section 5 from the Letnitsa substation to road III-303. Currently, the Hemus highway should officially be built by the state-owned company Avtomagistrali under two in-house contracts between it and the Road Infrastructure Agency (API), which were signed at the end of 2018 and at the end of 2019. In practice, however, it is a public secret that large private construction companies are building the highway. This is happening in violation of the law, because the in-house hypothesis of the Public Procurement Act does not allow the use of subcontractors and under it, municipal or state companies that receive orders without competition must perform them only with their own capacity. For the fourth section, a contract with "Avtomagistrali" is held by "Avtomagistrali Hemus", which has changed its name twice and is now called "Slavlen". In the past, the company had indirect ties with "GP Group". Currently, its official owner is Dimitrina Grozdanova. The second construction permit from December 23 is for the entire section 5, which includes 23 km from the end of the "Letnitsa" road junction (intersection with road III-301) to road III-303, or from km 166 to km 189 from "Hemus". The estimated completion date for the same is the end of 2028. For this section, "Avtomagistrali" has a contract with "Vodno stroitelnosti Blagoevgrad" with a new name "Eterna Construction". Its owner is Viktor Velev, who is also the manager of "Groma Hold" (which was previously known as "Agromah"). The name of "Vodno stroitelnosti Blagoevgrad" came up in the revelations of the Anti-Corruption Fund for the investigation of prosecutor Ivaylo Zanev for a scheme to embezzle 55 million leva from state funds for "Hemus", but he was removed from the case. According to data from the Court of Auditors as of 2021, "Avtomagistrali" has contracts for these two sections with "Slavlen", "Inzhstroyengineering", AB, "Patengineeringstroy T", "PST Group", "Parsek Group", "Novako stroy", "Infra expert", "Kopex and co", "Patengineering". For the sixth section - which is between road III-303 to Veliko Tarnovo, the expropriations have already been completed, and a project is yet to be approved. Only after that can construction begin. The estimated completion date is early 2029. After Veliko Tarnovo, there are still 89 km of unbuilt highway, but they are at an earlier stage - design, environmental procedures, property expropriations. Despite this, over 478 million leva were paid under the contract for this route several years ago.

Bulgaria has taken a strategic step forward in the modernization of its energy sector with the official commissioning of one of the largest stand-alone battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Eastern Europe. The new installation is located in the Maritsa East 3 TPP complex, using the existing power infrastructure in the Stara Zagora region. With a capacity of 202 MW and a capacity of 500 MWh, the ContourGlobal Maritsa BESS project ranks among the largest and most technologically advanced battery facilities in Bulgaria and the region. The system is already actively participating in the national electricity market, including the Day-Ahead and Intraday markets, directly contributing to the balancing, flexibility and security of the Bulgarian electricity system. In the past year alone, with the implementation of battery technologies, we have reached a storage capacity comparable to that of the Chaira CHPP – nearly 5,000 MWh. The capacity is expected to increase to at least 15,000 MWh by the middle of this year. The ContourGlobal Maritsa BESS project is funded under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). The energy storage system is located on an area of ​​25,000 sq. m and is equipped with state-of-the-art technological solutions, including 110 battery platforms and 28 combined energy conversion systems and transformers, ensuring efficient integration into the electricity grid.

In 2025, the AES Galabovo thermal power plant produced its largest amount of electricity in the last three years. During this period, the two units of the most modern coal-fired power plant in Bulgaria provided 2.618 million MWh, which is equivalent to 7% of the country's total consumption. The Sveti Nikola wind farm near Kavarna supplied 284,369 MWh of clean energy. However, this spring, the long-term power purchase agreement for its coal-fired power plant from NEK expires. The plans are to transform the capacity and replace the currently used lignite coal with SRF fuel, produced from non-recyclable "end-of-life" waste, including non-recyclable paper and plastic. This would significantly reduce the plant's carbon emissions and operating costs, making its prices more competitive on the free electricity market. It is also planned to build an energy storage system using molten salt.

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) has issued the first license in Bulgaria under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) to Alaric Securities Ltd. Alaric Securities Ltd. is an established Bulgarian investment intermediary licensed by the FSC and provides investment services in accordance with European legislation, combining international experience and high technological standards. Currently, over 50 Bulgarian companies have expressed interest and intention to apply for a license. Entry in the register under § 5, para. 3 of the Crypto-Assets Markets Act does not constitute a license under MiCA, but only entitles to temporary continuation of activity within the framework of the transitional regime. After its expiration, only persons licensed by the FSC will be able to provide crypto-asset services.

At its meeting on 8.1.2026, the FSC decided: 1. Approves Tsvetelina Dimitrova as a person who can independently conclude transactions on behalf of the management company "Karol Capital Management" EAD. 2. Issues a permit to the management company "Invest Fund Management" AD for organizing and managing a national open-ended mutual fund "Invest Focus". Enters "Invest Focus" as a national open-ended mutual fund in the register of national investment funds. 3. Deregisters a bond issue issued by "TBI Bank" EAD, Sofia, from the register of public companies and other issuers of securities. The issue is in the amount of EUR 20,000,000, distributed in 200, interest-bearing, registered, dematerialized, non-convertible, senior, non-preferred, unsecured, freely transferable bonds, structured to meet the requirements for instruments of eligible liabilities within the meaning of Chapter XIII, Section II of the Law on the Recovery and Restructuring of Credit Institutions and Investment Intermediaries, with a nominal and issue value of EUR 100,000 each, with ISIN code BG2100021240. 4. Deregisters a bond issue issued by Web Finance Holding AD, Sofia, and the company as an issuer, from the register of public companies and other issuers of securities. The issue is in the amount of EUR 10,000,000, distributed in 10,000 dematerialized, registered, interest-bearing, unsecured, convertible, freely transferable bonds, with a nominal value of EUR 1,000 each, with ISIN code BG2100023121.

Payhawk, a Bulgarian startup that helps companies manage their expenses, is in early talks to raise new funding that could double its valuation to about $2 billion, Bloomberg reported. The company is in talks to raise more than $100 million, with the talks still in the early stages and funding and valuation numbers subject to change. The Bulgarian company, founded in 2018, is one of a number of startups that have emerged over the past decade to help companies manage employee travel and card expenses, cash and vendor payments, and invoices in a more automated and streamlined way. Several European unicorns have emerged in the space, such as Pleo and Spendesk. Payhawk’s reported annual recurring revenue – a narrower measure of the annual value of active subscriptions or contracts – is €39.5 million for 2024. Payhawk lists clients including Dutch e-scooter startup Dott and British restaurant chain Gaucho. Earlier investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners and Greenoaks Capital.

Lavena AD – Shumen will submit a “buy” offer for its own 5,000 shares on January 8 at a price of EUR 1.02 per share. The procedure will be carried out through the licensed investment intermediary for submitting the order to the Bulgarian Stock Exchange for the purchase of BenchMark Finance AD ​​shares. The decision was made by the general meeting of Lavena shareholders on June 10 last year and after a meeting of the company’s board of directors on January 7. The maximum number of shares that it will collect is up to 10 percent of the total number of voting securities issued by the company, but not more than 3 percent for each calendar year included in the buyback period. The minimum price will be BGN 1.80, and the maximum – BGN 2.80. The procedure will be carried out within 5 years from the date of adoption of a decision by the general meeting. The board of directors will be able to determine all other parameters of the buyback. A total of BGN 1,521,116.96 of Lavena's net profit for 2023 was paid as a dividend to shareholders in a gross amount of BGN 0.03 per share.

The US trade deficit narrowed by a whopping 39% in October 2025 to just $29.4 billion from $48.1 billion in September (revised from a deficit of $52.8 billion), reaching its lowest level since June 2009, while expectations were for a much larger deficit of $58.1 billion. This is according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the US Department of Commerce. Imports in October shrank by 3.2% to a 21-month low of $331.4 billion, mainly as a result of a large decline in pharmaceuticals and, to a lesser extent, in non-monetary gold and transportation. On the other hand, imports of computer accessories, telecommunications equipment and computers increased. U.S. imports of goods fell $12.1 billion to $255 billion, while imports of services rose $1.1 billion to $76.3 billion. At the same time, U.S. exports rose 2.6 percent to a record $302 billion, led by a sharp increase in non-monetary gold and other precious metals, while exports of pharmaceuticals and government goods and services declined. Exports of goods rose $7.1 billion to $195.9 billion, while exports of services increased $700 million to $106.1 billion. The largest U.S. trade deficits in October were with Mexico ($17.9 billion), Taiwan ($15.7 billion), Vietnam ($15 billion), and China ($13.7 billion). The U.S. trade deficit with the EU narrowed sharply in October to $6.3 billion.

Demand for US technology, cheap manufacturing costs and a shift away from China are among the factors that have helped Southeast Asia to rebound after Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to a Financial Times analysis of trade data. The US Census Bureau reported a 25% increase in Southeast Asian exports to the US from July to September compared with the same period in 2024. The US president’s trade war has failed to stem the foreign investment that continues to underpin manufacturing in the region. The surge in foreign investment is likely driven by global efforts to diversify supply chains. The US president’s initial “reciprocal” tariffs were as high as 49% and targeted Southeast Asian manufacturing. They were later reduced to around 20% after deals with Washington. According to Mats Persson, head of macro and geostrategy at consultancy EY, initial concerns about reciprocal tariffs have faded in the face of the price advantage of producing goods in Asia. So the 20% tariff was not enough to shift production. Even after the tariffs, that price advantage is "between 20% and over 100%" compared to producing goods in the US or Europe, added Persson, a former adviser to the British Treasury. Companies that introduced the "China plus one" strategy during Donald Trump's first term felt some relief. They used Southeast Asian economies as an alternative export base in order to limit the effect of high tariffs imposed on Chinese exports. These diversification patterns persist to this day, Persson points out. US Census Bureau data shows that while Chinese exports to the US market shrank by about 40% in the third quarter of 2025 year-on-year, overall exports from Asia to the US have remained relatively stable. In Cambodia, a leading producer of footwear and clothing, trade with the US has continued to grow despite a 49% tariff imposed in April. Following negotiations with the White House, the tariff was reduced to 19%. Cambodian knitwear exports to the US increased by a quarter between the third quarter of 2024 and 2025, according to Trade Data Monitor. Ken Lu, secretary-general of the Cambodian Textile, Garment, Footwear and Travel Goods Association, told the FT that the industry was initially worried about the tariffs, but when it became clear that competitors in Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia were also facing similar tariffs, the concern dissipated. New investment from foreign companies continues to flow into Cambodia, with a large portion (about 90%) in the apparel, footwear and travel goods sectors, with investments coming from companies based in mainland China. According to an analysis by consultancy Capital Economics, the size of China’s trade diversion is growing, reaching a record high of $23.7 billion in September, despite a reciprocal tariff of 37%. Indirect exports from China to the US are of a similar scale to direct trade between the two economies. The largest increase in trade diversion is observed in Cambodia, with the value of China’s indirect exports to the US in September increasing by about 73% compared to the previous year, Capital Economics added. Trade diverted via Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand is also increasing significantly. According to official data, Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States reached a record $121.6 billion in the first 11 months of 2025. Thailand's imports of raw materials and goods from China also grew by 34% in October, while exports to the United States increased by 33%. Southeast Asian countries face a new threat: the Trump administration’s promise of a 40% tariff on all “overloaded” goods to tackle diversion, analysts warn. It remains unclear, however, exactly how the US would define these goods. Southeast Asian countries rely heavily on Chinese raw materials and intermediate goods. This is a problem for the US, however, as the Trump administration has indicated in talks with countries in the region that it may not tolerate high Chinese content in final products being imported. Another major factor in the region’s resilience is the tech boom in the US. The administration is exempting a large portion of technology exports such as chips, chip-making equipment, computers and smartphones from tariffs. “Electronics exports are now growing at about 40% annually — faster than at the peak of the pandemic — when lockdowns led consumers to flock to electronics made in Asia,” Capital Economics wrote in a recent note to clients. It predicts robust demand will continue through 2026. Tom Miller, an analyst at consultancy Gavekal, said after a recent visit to Vietnam, the region’s largest exporter, that while foreign investors are confident the region will weather the trade war, its economy will remain vulnerable to the Trump administration’s decisions. “It’s still relatively early days,” Miller added in a note to clients in December. However, he believes that if the US takes aggressive action to cut Chinese investment from global supply chains, Vietnam will be the hardest hit because of its high integration into the Chinese value chain.