Financial news

The turnover in Bulgaria's "Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles" dropped by 0,6% in November 2010, compared to the previous month, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted data. The data by NSI has showed that working day adjusted turnover in retail dropped by 5,2%, compared to the same month in 2009. However, the turnover in retail sale of computers and telecommunications equipment in specialized stores increased by 0,6%, the retail sale of automotive fuel and medical, orthopaedic goods and cosmetics increased by 0,2% and 0,1%, respectively. In all other activities, decrease of turnovers were increased and they varied from 0,2% in retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco to 2,6% in retail sale of textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods. The turnover in November 2010 increased by 0,4 only in retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco, compared to the same month in 2009.

Bulgaria's construction sector registered a 2,6% growth in November 2010, compared to the same month in 2009, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted data from NSI. The monthly working day adjusted data for November 2010 showed an increase of 0,8% of the construction production, year-on-year. The growth of building construction production was 1,1%, while the growth of civil/engineering construction is 2%, according to the seasonally adjusted data. On an annual basis, the increase of the construction production in November 2010 was defined mostly by the positive growth of the civil/engineering construction, which is 13,2%, on monthly working day adjusted data. On the other side, the building construction registered a 8,9% decrease in November 2010, compared to 2009.

	Mineral Fuels, Tailoring Products, Canning, Perfumery and Cosmetics, Furniture, Meat Products, Wine, Wood-processing Industry

Companies

Czech state-run company CEZ has registered a new subsidiary, dubbed CEZ Bulgarian Investments, which will be engaged in purchasing power from renewable sources, the company said in a statement. The unit has been added to the Dutch commercial register and is fully-owned by the Czech company. The new business has an authorised share capital of EUR 30,000 and comes to respond to the growing interest in renewable energy sources in the country, the company added without providing further information on the matter. The subsidiary will most likely take part in the development of its own green power capacities in Bulgaria.

Two of the leading Bulgarian dailies Trud and 24 Chasa will have new editors-in-chief to be selected by open competition, the President of the Editorial Board of the Vestnikarska Grupa Bulgaria (Bulgaria Newspaper Group), Lyubomir Pavlov, informs. The current editors-in-chief of the weeklies 168 Chasa, and Sedmichen Trud, Nikolay Penchev and Zoya Deyanova remain temporarily at their positions. Venelina Gocheva, until now the Editor-in-Chief of 24 Chasa, and Tosho Toshev of Trud were recently selected as Deputy Presidents of the group's Editorial Board. They designated as their temporary replacements, until the competition is held, Borislav Zyumbulev and Nikola Kitsevski, respectively.

US pizza delivery corporation Domino's Pizza plans to have three restaurants in Bulgaria at the end of 2011, Nikola Nikolov and Lazgin Majid, the firm's representatives for the local market, said. The company's flagship Bulgarian restaurant, located in Sofia's Krasno Selo neighbourhood, opened doors last week. This year we plan to open two more units, with one of them already undergoing repair works. It is located at the entrance of the Yuzhen Park neighbourhood, Nikolov said. Domino's Pizza also intends to open outlets in other major cities in the country, Nikolov and Majid added. The chain's first restaurant in the country was expected to spring up in October 2010, but its opening was postponed due to problems with the equipment deliveries. 

A central logistics centre for North Bulgaria is being built by CBA Asset Management AD near the town Debelets (Veliko Tarnovo). The logistics centre will cover 11 dca of own plot and will have 5,900 sq m of warehouse space and 1,000 sq m of office space. The investment amounts to BGN 9 mln, specified Dian Petkov, Director of Integral Bulgaria Ltd., the company that will manage the logistics centre. The modern warehouses will have 18 ramps, two of these for chilled and frozen goods. The freezer space will be 700 sq m. The logistics centre will be commissioned in April 2011. It will be equipped with an integrated IT network between suppliers, warehouses and stores.

Vienna Insurance Group plans to acquire the Bulgarian units of its Amsterdam-based subsidiary TBIH Financial Services Group, the Bulgarian antitrust regulator said. Vienna Insurance Group has notified Bulgaria's Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) of its plans to acquire 100% of TBI Invest and TBI Asset Management from its fully owned subsidiary TBIH Financial Services Group, the commission said in a statement. Vienna Insurance Group raised its stake in TBIH to 100% from 60% last year. In 2009 the Austrian group took over the stakes held by TBIH in insurance companies in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Macedonia.

Varna-based company Interservice Uzunovi embarks on a mission to build a 5-MW solar park near the Ravna gora village due to become fully operations in six months from now. The project investment totals EUR 12 million, but despite the fact that manager Krasimir Uzunov is a close friend of Levon Hampartzoumian, UniCredit Bulbank turned down his loan application and part of the money for the solar park will come from MKB Unionbank.

PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF THE EU SINGLE MARKET ACT. DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS AND COMMENTS – 28 FEBRUARY 2011

Europe

Internet telephone service Skype said it acquired mobile video company Qik for an undisclosed amount. Qik's service -- available on more than 200 mobile phones, including Android and Apple's iPhone -- lets users capture and share video across smartphones and the Internet, Skype said in a news release. Skype, partly owned by Web retailer eBay Inc, is expecting to raise up to $1 billion in an initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in November. Skype said the transaction to buy Redwood City, California-based Qik, with 60 employees, should be completed this month.

America

US unemployment fell sharply to 9.4 percent in December, its lowest level since May 2009, the Labor Department said. The economy created 103,000 jobs, much less than expected, but the unemployment rate blew expectations out of the water, easing from 9.8 percent. Employment rose in the leisure, hospitality and health care sectors but "changed little in other major industries," the department reported. Many fewer jobs were created than the 150,000 expected by economists, reiterating the recent trend of steady but unspectacular job growth. Since December 2009, payrolls have grown by 1.1 million, an average of 94,000 each month. Despite predictions of a bump in retail hiring to coincide with the Christmas sales, the retail trade added just 12,000 jobs.

Asia

Europe and the euro will remain among the most important areas of investment for China’s world-record $2.65 trillion of foreign-exchange reserves. “The euro and the European financial markets are an important part of the global financial system and were, are and will be one of the most important investment areas for China’s foreign-exchange reserves,” Deputy Governor Yi Gang said in a statement on the central bank’s website. China’s statements of support have included Vice Premier Li Keqiang this week expressing confidence in Spain’s financial markets and pledging more purchases of that nation’s debt. In backing European economies, China may help to prop up demand in the region that is its biggest market for exports and also the value of its euro-denominated assets.

The iron church St. Stephan

The iron church St. Stephan in Istanbul was erected on the shore of the Golden Horn. It was built in 1898 on the site of the burnt old wooden church. It was named after the Bulgarian Knyaz Stephan Bogoridi, who had given the place for its construction. As the terrain was unstable, the structure of the church was made of sectional iron plates. The iron elements are with total weight of 500 tones and were delivered by ship from Vienna. The construction of the church cost Bulgaria 1 million francs. It is a three-shipped, cross-shaped basilica with beautiful ornaments. The belfry of St. Stephan Church is 40 meters high and its bells were made in Russia. Two of them are still operating. In the yard of the church, called the Bulgarian Jerusalem, the bodies of Ilarion Makariopolski, Paisii Plovdivski and Exarch Joseph (famous Bulgarian clerics) were buried there. The church St. Stephan is the only Orthodox iron church in the world. Recently, it was placed first among the ten most beautiful churches in Turkey.

On that day:  Orlova Chuka cave