Financial news

The number of newly-completed residential buildings in Bulgaria fell 20.9% on the year to 497 in the second quarter of 2015, preliminary data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI) indicated on Friday. The new residential buildings contained 1,970 housing units, a 35.5% decrease from the same quarter last year, NSI said in a statement. The highest number of newly-completed residential buildings was registered in the Varna district at 79 (392 units), followed by Plovdiv with 73 (166 unist) and Burgas with 60 (573 units).

The average gross monthly wage in Bulgaria increased by 2.3% on a quarterly basis to BGN 879 in the three months through June, data of the National Statistics Institute (NSI) indicated on Friday. Year-on-year, the average gross monthly salary rose by 7.6% in the second quarter of 2015. The business sectors with the highest wages in the second quarter were information and communications with BGN1,974, financial and insurance services with BGN 1,645, and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply with BGN 1,604. The highest average monthly salaries of BGN 1974 get employed in the sector "Production and distribution of information and creative products; telecommunications. BGN 1645 is the size of monthly payment of those dealing with financial and insurance activities, while BGN 1604 is the salary of people engaged in the production and distribution of electricity, heat and gaseous fuels. The lowest monthly salary is reported for employees in hotel and restaurant keeping- BGN 568.

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

Concessions

Revenues from long-term concessions of 58 Black Sea beaches are assessed to BGN 11, 4 million in 2014. Of them, BGN17 115 comes from penalties for late payment, while BGN 32 355 from imposed sanctions for breaches of other contractual obligations. At the end of February this year the Regional Ministry has brought claims for damages to the concessionaires for nearly BGN 1.4 million.

Companies

Greece will take back 190 antipersonnel mines that remained after the explosion at the plant in Gorni Lom in September or October, Foreign Ministry said. Greek experts visited the plant Midzhur and inspected the warehouses, which kept intact antipersonnel mines. Possibilities for their return back to Greece, the technical aspects of the process, the condition of ammunition and their residues have been discussed. Mines must be returned as Greece is still the owner, regardless of the signed contract for the utilization of Videx AD. Obligation on the parties to the Ottawa Convention on land mines is to ensure its compliance with the territories under their jurisdiction, whether the destruction is negotiated between private entities

MasterCard has said it will outsource part of its business from its office in Peterborough, in the UK to Bulgaria and the Philippines. UK-based Peterborough Telegraph quoted a company spokesperson as saying that “…in alignment with other MasterCard business functions we are outsourcing an element of our business to both Bulgaria and the Philippines.” The spokesperson didn’t disclose how many jobs will be affected but the newspaper quoted a MasterCard employee in Peterborough as saying he’d been told the outsourcing move will result in the loss of jobs for 300 permanent employees, with up to another 300 employees subcontracted to MasterCard also to be made redundant. The MasterCard spokesperson said the figures were “absolutely not accurate’’, according to the article in the Peterborough Telegraph.

The World Bank will draft a comprehensive review of the financial state of Bulgaria’s energy sector and identify steps towards full liberalization of the electricity market by the end of the year under a deal signed on Friday. The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) signed a consultancy services contract with the World Bank in Sofia, under which the World Bank will make a financial analysis of the sector. World Bank experts will analyse in particular the financial state of the state-run National Electricity Company NEK, which has been persistenly plagued by deficits.The analysis will serve as the basis for choosing a model for a Bulgarian energy exchange. Finding a compensation mechanism that will prevent the accumulation of deficits at NEK at the opening of the energy exchange will be a key part of the assignment. By November the government should be ready to introduce changes to the Energy Law that will provide the legal basis for the complete liberalization of the electricity market. A target date for the liberalization to take place is early 2016.

Europe

Allianz SE said it was more confident about full-year targets, shrugging off continued weakness at its bond-fund management business, Pacific Investment Management Co., after reporting higher profit for the second quarter. Europe’s largest insurer by market value said low claims payouts and a one-time disposal gain boosted earnings. Allianz said it was on track to reach operating profit of EUR 10.8 billion for the full year, which marks the upper end of its full-year target range. After the first six months it had reached EUR 5.70 billion of that. In the quarter, operating profit—Allianz’s main yardstick—rose 2.6% to EUR 2.84 billion. It fell short of the forecast rise to EUR 2.92 billion as an improvement in property and casualty insurance wasn’t enough to offset a weaker contribution, especially from its asset-management business, which includes Pimco, the world’s biggest bond-fund manager, and smaller peer Allianz Global Investors. The asset-management segment’s contribution to the group’s quarterly operating profit fell 25% to EUR 505 million, down from EUR 676 million and shy of the forecast EUR 570 million. This follows a 14% decline in the first quarter.

America

If Venezuelans thought their inflation woes couldn’t get any worse, they were wrong. While the regime has failed to report inflation beyond 2014, contravening the law, the Troubled Currencies Project estimates the annual rate at 808 percent, as of July 25. The figure from Steve Hanke of the libertarian Cato Institute, deduced from the black-market exchange for US dollars, is more than 10 times the official rate of 68.5 percent for 2014. Further, the monthly rate of 20.2 percent pushes the Venezuelan bolívar deathly close to hyperinflation. One now needs 687 bolívares to buy a single US dollar. In other words, the highest denomination bill available, 100 Bs., is worth a mere 14.6 US cents. This black-market rate comes from DolarToday, an outlet censored by the regime. However, they calculate the going value of the bolívar from the Colombian city of Cúcuta, located on the Venezuelan border. In the face of constituent need, Chavista officials have resisted printing 500 or 1,000 Bs. notes — perhaps because they do not want to acknowledge the disparity between official numbers and the reality on the ground.

Asia

China has authorised its policy banks to issue new bonds in order to plough money into infrastructure spending, state media has reported, as planners fret over slumping economic indicators. A month-long stock market rout plus weak manufacturing performance has spooked Beijing. The aggressive move to push money into the real economy comes after the final reading of the Caixin/Markit purchasing managers’ index, published earlier this week, showed growth in China’s manufacturing sector slowed more than previously thought. A first batch of Rmb300bn ($48bn) out of a planned Rmb1tn will be issued soon by policy banks that were recapitalised this spring, the Economic Information Daily said. The money raised will be invested in housing, pipeline infrastructure and other domestic projects, the report said. That is in line with the central bank’s efforts to develop more targeted monetary policy tools to stimulate the economy as capital inflows dry up.

Slavyanka

The Slavyanka mountain is a part of the Rila-Rhodope massif with cobble ridge and steep slopes. It is surrounded by mountains, and a part of the Bulgarian border with Greece passes along its ridge. Once people called the mountain Alibotush (Ali boots). The legend tells that using a trick the Turks finally captured the people’s defender Ali Strashnika (Ali the Terrible). Stricken by his worthy behaviour the Turks’ leader Selim Pasha put in front of Ali boots filled with boiling resin and told him he was going to be free if reaches the top of the mountain with the boots on. Ali did not hesitate, put the boots on and ran towards the top. He managed to get there, but there he died. Then the people named the mountain after him - Alibotush. In today’s Slavyanka Mountain the reserve with the same name is located. Slavyanka reserve has unique vegetation for Bulgaria - Mediterranean evergreen species among Middle-European species. 1400 kinds of grass have been found in the mountain, as 20 of them are endemic. Slavyanka’s fauna is as rich and variable - some 1200 species of insects inhabit the place, as well as turtles, lizards, snakes, fox, wild swine, and many more.

On that day:  August 10 1913 – Treaty of Bucharest