Financial news

Total Producer Price Index in Industry in August 2015 decreased by 1.9% compared to the previous month. Lower prices were registered in the mining and quarrying industry by 2.6%, in the manufacturing by 2.4% and in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 0.6%. In the manufacturing, more significant prices decreases were seen in the manufacture of basic metals by 5.5% and in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products by 0.7% while prices increases were reported in the manufacture of leather and related products by 1.8% and in the repair and installation of machinery and equipment by 1.2%. Total Producer Price Index in August 2015 decreased by 2.9% compared to the same month of 2014. In the manufacturing, the prices fell by 4.6% compared to August 2014. More significant prices decreases were seen in the manufacture of basic metals by 4.2%, in the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products by 0.7% and in the repair and installation of machinery and equipment by 0.5%, while the producer prices went up in the manufacture of other transport equipment by 6.6%, in the manufacture of textiles by 5.5% and in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products by 5.0%.

Unemployment in the European Union was 9.5 per cent in August 2015, down from 10.1 per cent in August 2014, according to Eurostat. In Bulgaria, unemployment in August 2015 was 9.7 per cent, down from 11.4 per cent in August 2014, among the largest decreases in joblessness among EU member countries, going by Eurostat figures. The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the 19-member euro zone was 11 per cent in August 2015, down from 11.5 per cent the same month in 2014. Eurostat estimated that 23.022 million men and women in the EU28, of whom 17.603 million were in the euro zone, were unemployed in August 2015. Compared with July 2015, the number of unemployed people decreased by 33 000 in the EU28 and by 1000 in the euro area. Compared with August 2014, unemployment fell by 1.490 million in the EU28 and by 892 000 in the euro area.

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

Companies

The heads of four employers’ associations submitted tip-offs with the prosecuting authority for three types of irregularities in the energy sector. Vasil Velev, Chair of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), Bojidar Danev, Chair of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), Tsvetan Simeonov, Chair of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), and Kiril Domuschiev, Chair of the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG), told Bulgaria’s Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov that the elimination of the flaws identified by them could result in a reduction in electricity prices. Tsatsarov reminded the chairmen of the four organizations that a working group including representatives of the Energy Ministry, the State Agency for National Security (DANS), and the prosecuting authority was investigating potential offenses in the sector and vowed that the results of the probe would be published in November.  The four organizations suggest that the prosecuting authority notify the competent US bodies about the privatization of the two thermal power plants in the Maritsa Iztok Complex, AES-3C Maritza East 1 EOOD and ConturGlobal Maritza - East 3, currently owned by US investors.

The deficit of NEK is BGN 3.7 billion, of which BGN 2.3 billion generated by projects devoid of economic logic, said Minister of Energy Violet Petkova. These are investment costs, which currently have not been recovered, she said, pointing to projects NPP Belene and Tsankov Kamak. She said BGN 1.4 billion is the tariff deficit of NEK, which is the result of the regulatory framework in which the system works. The result of NEK being in such state today is definitely bad management over the years, not only of NEK, but of the whole energy system, Petkova said. According to her the way out of this situation is the introduction of market mechanisms in the sector and "stoppage of leaks" in the system. Bulgarian independent energy market will be a very serious step that puts Bulgarian energy sector into a qualitatively new situation - on a market basis, which is very important.

Over BGN 48 million without conducting contract will be paid by government for the construction of a fence along the border with Turkey. Selected companies by the governors of Burgas, Yambol and Haskovo will need to build a 82-km fence along with the infrastructure around it. This will cost nearly BGN 600 thousand per kilometer. Most money will sink in Burgas, where the contracts are for BGN 25 million. Regional Governor Valcho Cholakov has appointed three companies with which contracts have been concluded. These are the AB Invest NN and Patstroy Burgas. The third company is Buldeni. Three companies are selected for the construction of the fence in Haskovo. Governor Dobri Belivanov has signed contracts for nearly BGN 11 million with Transport Construction and Rehabilitation, Metallic - Ivan Mihalov ET and Geoplanproekt. Section of fence in Yambol will come close to BGN 13 million. Governor Dimitar Ivanov selected Transport Construction and Rehabilitation and Geostroy Engineering.

At its meeting on Wednesday, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) adopted the planned decrease of the prices of natural gas and heating from October 1. The price of natural gas will drop by 14.26 % on Thursday, meaning that the total decrease since the beginning of the year will exceed 30 %. The prices of heating generated from power plants operating on natural gas will also drop considerably. The calculations of KEVR show that compared to the last heating season, the prices will decrease by 16.4 % in Sofia, 16.8 % in Veliko Tarnovo, 15.3 % in Vratsa, 10 % in Varna, 14.4 % in Burgas, 12.8 % in Pleven and 17.06 % in Razgrad. The lowest drop in the prices of heating on an annual basis will be registered in Plovdiv, where it will amount to 9 %. A reserve of 5 % is left in order to prevent customers from being harmed in case the prices of natural gas increase during the heating season. The chairperson of KEVR, Ivan Ivanov, said that there is a seasonal practice for the prices of natural gas to increase in the fourth quarter of the year.

Global insurer Generali's operating profit from operations in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) rose 1.7% to EUR 253 million in the first half of the year, the group's Bulgarian unit said. Generali's CEE group comprises Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Montenegro. Gross written premiums in the CEE countries rose by 5.7% to 1.828 billion euro, with both life and property and casualty insurance (P&C) segments reporting growth, Generali Bulgaria said in a press release. Generali's operating profit on the life segment in CEE in the first six months of the year grew by 9.6% to EUR 813 million on the back of the excellent performance of risk insurance and investment-linked insurance products. Furthermore, significant growth, of 73.3%, is reported in the single-premium products, in particular in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia.

Europe

Eurozone inflation slipped below zero in September, a development that is likely to spur further calls for the European Central Bank to ratchet up its EUR 60 bln per month asset-purchase programme. Consumer prices in September were 0.1 per cent lower than they were a year earlier, according to a preliminary estimate from Eurostat, the European statistics agency. In August they rose by 0.1 per cent. The fall in prices is the first time in six months that the 19-nation currency bloc has experienced deflation, and was driven largely by a decline in energy prices, which were 8.9 per cent lower than a year earlier, due in part to a slump in oil prices. The decline is a far cry from the 2 per cent inflation targeted by the ECB, which in January embarked on a landmark EUR 1.1 tn programme of asset purchases dubbed quantitative easing and has since been buying EUR 60 bln of assets a month in a bid to inject life into the moribund eurozone economy.

America

America's top 400 billionaires are now richer than ever, boasting a record-smashing combined wealth of $2.34trillion, up $50billion from a year ago, according to the latest issue of Forbes Magazine. Microsoft founder Bill Gates continued to dominate the prestigious list for the 22nd year in a row with a $76billion fortune, retaining his No 1 spot despite losing $5billion from 2014. But it was Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who has emerged as the biggest overall gainer, adding a whopping $16.5billion to his war chest in a single year after his company posted a quarterly profit in July. Despite leaving his post as CEO of the software company Oracle Corp last year, Larry Ellison has retained his No 3 spot on the Forbes list, with a $47.5billion net worth. Charles and David Koch, co-founders of Koch Industries, a giant company with interests in the oil industry, building and manufacturing, this year tied for fifth place, each bringing to the table a $41billion fortune.

Asia

Japan needs more economic stimulus to stave off a serious shock from China, according to one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s closest advisers. Etsuro Honda, an architect of Abenomics in his role as special adviser to Mr Abe, said passing a supplementary budget to boost the stagnant economy was an “urgent task”. “I don’t think we should call it a technical recession yet, but generally speaking, the Japanese economy is in a static situation,” Mr Honda said. “It is not growing positively.” Mr Honda’s comments highlight the depth of concern in Tokyo about where demand will come from, as crucial export markets in Asia slow down, while consumers continue to struggle at home. Mr Abe dropped a hint of further stimulus during a presentation to a group of investors at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters on Tuesday, in which he declared the beginning of “Abenomics 2.0,” a new phase of his signature package of economic, fiscal and monetary reforms.

October 1 – holiday of Bulgarian singers and music

In 1980, October 1 first proclaimed official holiday of all Bulgarian singers and musicians. On this day, the famous medieval Bulgarian composer St. John Koukouzeles was born. He was called the Angel-voiced for his incredible singing talent. He is one of the most prominent names of Byzantine church music. A founder of new notation characters and new notational signs, he retained only twenty-five of the old ones. According to his life-story, he was of Bulgarian origin and was born in the town of Dirahia (duratza) in the XIV century. As a child he live in Contantinople, where he received elite education in the court school. His talent was highly esteemed by the emperor. At one point of his life, however, he secretly left Constantinople an went to live in Sveta Gora, where he became a monk in the St. Atanasius Atonski monastery. He spent the rest of his life there.

On that day:  Merdanski Monastery St. Forty Martyrs