Financial news

Bulgaria’s state budget accumulated BGN 874 M deficit in Q1 2014. According to estimates, this is about one half of the calculated deficit of BGN 1.5 B for the entire year. It is by BGN 76 M more than in Q1 of 2013 and, according to the Finance Ministry, was due to increased expenses for pensions and European programs. At the same time, the fiscal reserve as of end of Q1 2014, has reached BGN 5.9 B. For comparison, in the same period of 2013, it was BGN 4.2 B.

In February 2014, a monthly decrease of 22.2% is recorded for the production of solid fuels, the latest data on production and deliveries of energy products showed. Unleaded motor gasoline production dropped by 12.4% to 120 thousand tonnes, transport diesel – by 7.5% to 123 thousand tonnes, natural gas – by 18.2% to 18 million standard cubic meters, electricity – by 9.2% to 4260 Gwh. No change is reported for the production of liquefied petroleum gases. In February 2014 compared to February 2013 an increase is reported for the production of solid fuels – by 13.0%, electricity – by 10.5%. A decrease is reported for the production of unleaded motor gasoline – by 9.8%, transport diesel – by 21.2%, natural gas - by 18.2%. No change is reported for the production of liquefied petroleum gases. In February 2014 compared to January 2014 an increase is reported for the deliveries of unleaded motor gasoline – by 10.3% to 32 thousand tonnes, transport diesel - by 30.6% to 141 thousand tones. In February 2014 compared to February 2013 an increase is reported for the deliveries of solid fuels – by 16.9%, transport diesel – by 54.9%, electricity – by 3.4%. A decrease is reported for the deliveries of liquefied petroleum gases – by 21.4%, unleaded motor gasoline – by 20.0%, natural gas – by 9.0%.

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

Companies

Bulgarian lawmakers established an ad-hoc committee in charge of ascertaining all the facts and circumstances related to the activities of the firms granted licences by the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) for power distribution and supply, related to the activities of the companies granted concession for extraction of subsurface resources, which caused losses to Bulgarian citizens and Bulgaria, as well as ascertaining these firms and companies’ improper contacts with state officials and individuals connected with political parties, Focus News Agency reported. Some 116 MPs backed the initiative, while about 70 MPs voted against it. The committee will be comprised of 12 MPs as there will be 3 MPs with each parliamentary group and will work in the course of 3 months.

Bulgaria’s method for fighting disloyal commercial practices of commercial chains poses risks to the Bulgarian market. This is the conclusion of a report of the World Bank commissioned by the Bulgarian government. The report analyses the amendments to the Protection of Competition Act. According to experts, the introduction of the term “considerable market force” will “probably lead to uncertainty on the market.”

After two stores in Sofia, Plovdiv will soon have its Decathlon. The French chain for sporting goods purchased through Sportis IMMO Ltd., with which it operates in Bulgaria, land plot with an area of 14,042 square meters in the second largest city in the country. Seller is FairPlay Properties REIT as the value of the transaction is BGN 4.037 million without VAT. The property was acquired by the investment fund for BGN 7.531 million and the sale will result in the loss from revaluation of assets amounting to BGN 3.494 million. FairPlay Properties REIT is listed on the Stock Exchange on February 17, 2006. The main shareholder in the company is FairPlay International JSC with 56.5% share in the capital, the other shareholders are institutional investors, 10 pension, 18 mutual funds, an investment company and over 430 individuals and legal entities. At the end of December 2013 the investment portfolio of FairPlay Properties REIT includes 10 projects in different market segments. Their total floor area is 369 thousand square meters, while the company's investments at year-end amounted to BGN 202 million.

Tabak market, famous with its sites named Lafka, has a new owner. This is what Bulgartaback holding announces in its report. The company under sale has a new majority owner, which is the holding’s subsidiary- Blagoevgrad BT. The date of the transfer is 27th March, as the deal is concluded for 100% of the company’s shares. At the end of 2013 the cigarette holding made a decision to part with Tabak market if any favourable conditions for this occur. The deal has not yet been handed for inspection in the Commission for Protection of Competition. Thus one of the options is the scheme with the sale of the very holding to be repeated. In the first quarter of the year there are changes in the very company in question. In such cases the authority says that there was no need to examine the deal because the end buyer is a natural person who declares that he/she has no other business. In the end of January thee members of Board of directors: Ventsislav Cholakov, Angel Dimitrov and Yavor Draganov have been released. All of them take part in Bulgartaback management’s too. The new members are Wolfgang Rekendorfer, Bogdan Drenski and Viktor Nalbantov.

Bulgarian state-owned arms trader Kintex reported an annual increase of 238% in its net profit to BGN 2.0 million in the first quarter of 2014, a quarterly report indicated. Kintex’s total revenues jumped over 224% to BGN 19.2 million in the period January-March, according to the report posted on the website of the Bulgarian finance ministry. Exports amounted to BGN 13.2 million in the first quarter of the year. Kintex exported its products to India, Egypt, Thailand, Algeria, Bangladesh, etc. Kintex has a capital of BGN 2,018,631. Earlier this year, the Bulgarian economy ministry said Kintex's exports are expected to double in 2014. Kintex was founded in 1966 and in 1992 became a joint stock company fully owned by the state. It is licensed to engage in the import, export and re-export of goods and equipment for the armed and police forces.

Europe

Britain's Barclays reined in its ambitions to be a Wall Street powerhouse and signaled a return to its retail roots with a plan to hive off much of its investment bank and ax one in four jobs at the division. Chief Executive Antony Jenkins, in his second strategic review in as many years, will cut 19,000 jobs in the next three years, 7,000 of them at the investment bank, and park 400 billion pounds of assets in a new "bad bank". A slide in trading revenue due to investor uncertainty and tough post-crisis regulation combined with a string of senior staff departures and a row with shareholders over bonuses have forced Jenkins to take a knife to the investment bank, built up under predecessor Bob Diamond and once the firm's profit engine. Jenkins said the recent halt in the trading boom was not just a cyclical ebb but was partly permanent, as regulators have tightened the screws on large banks in the past 12 months, making some trading activities too costly to pursue.

America

President Barack Obama has notified Congress of his plan to drop Russia from the US Generalized system of Preferences (GSP) trade benefits program, the White House said. The program allows duty-free imports for certain goods. Obama sent the notification to Congress on Wednesday. The White House stated that Russia is “sufficiently advanced economically” and no longer needs special treatment. “Russia's actions regarding Ukraine, while not directly related to the President's decision regarding Russia's eligibility for GSP benefits, make it particularly appropriate to take this step now,” Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. The move means that Russian goods will be subject to import customs duties in the US. The US GSP is a program which is targeted at promoting economic growth in the developing world “by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 5,000 products when imported from one of 123 designated beneficiary countries and territories,” according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

Asia

China Guangfa Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co Ltd said they had banned their customers from using bank accounts for trading bitcoins, the latest blow to the virtual currency trading business in China. The announcements, posted on the banks' websites on Wednesday, said institutional and retail customers will not be allowed to use their accounts to purchase or sell bitcoins as well as other virtual currencies. If such practices were detected, the accounts would be suspended or closed down. This comes after bank accounts of China's two largest bitcoin exchanges at certain domestic banks were shut down in mid-April. Du Jun, co-founder and vice president at one of China's leading digital currency exchanges Huobi.com, said the move dealt a severe blow to the industry. "We online exchanges as well as the entire industry are facing a serious challenge. Without an incoming cash flow, it's hard to operate an exchange," he told Reuters.

Summer St. Nicholas’ Day

The official celebration of the Summer St. Nicholas’ day started yet in 11th century AD and is related to the carrying of the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonder Worker from the Balkans to Bari, Italy in 1087. On May 9, 1087 they were safely landed in Bari. Moving the relics was forced by the Ottoman invasion in the Balkan Peninsula. According to people’s believes today women should not embroider because they would make holes in the eyes of the Saint and would catch an eye disease. The day commemorates St. Nicholas the Summer one, who should provide rain and fruitful year. A male animal is slaughtered as offering to protect the crop from hailstorms.

On that day:  Europe Day