In April 2024, Bulgaria's current account balance was negative at EUR 56.9 million, the trade deficit was EUR 491 million, and foreign direct investment decreased by EUR 64.3 million, according to the latest data of the BNB for the balance of payments of our country. The balance on the current and capital account of Bulgaria in April was also positive in the amount of 99.6 million euros, with a surplus of 48.2 million euros a year ago, and in the first four months of the year there was a surplus in the amount of 1.1006 billion .euro with a deficit of 142.5 million euros in the period January - April 2023. The balance on the current account in April 2024 is negative and amounts to 56.9 million euros, with a deficit of 25.2 million euros a year earlier, and for the period January - April the current account is positive and in the amount of 286 million euros, with a deficit of 438.4 million euros exactly a year ago. Bulgaria's trade balance in the fourth month of the year remained negative and amounted to 491 million euros with a deficit of 157.2 million euros in the same month of 2023, with the export of goods increasing by 335.9 million euros (increase by 9.9%) to 3.7455 billion euros compared to a year earlier, while imports increased by 669.6 million euros (by 18.8%) to 4.2366 billion euros. For the first four months of 2024, the trade deficit reached 1.4825 billion euros, against a negative balance of 850.1 million euros in the same period of 2023, with exports decreasing by 480.9 million euros (down by 3. 3%) to 14.1978 billion euros, and imports increased by 151.4 million euros (increase by 1%) to 15.6802 billion euros. The financial account in April was positive and in the amount of 94.6 million euros, with a deficit of 439.3 million euros a year earlier, and for the first four months of the year it was negative and in the amount of 320.8 million euros compared to a negative balance of EUR 480.7 million in January - April 2024. The capital account is positive and amounts to EUR 156.5 million in April, with a deficit of EUR 73.5 million a year earlier, and for the period January - April it has a deficit of 320.8 million euros with a negative balance of 480.7 million euros in the same period of 2023. Direct foreign investments in Bulgaria decreased in April by 64.3 million euros, with their decrease with EUR 91.7 million exactly a year earlier, and since the beginning of 2024 they have increased by EUR 698.1 million after a growth of EUR 1.8434 billion in January - April 2023. The largest net positive flows of direct investments in our country in January - April 2024 came from Austria (EUR 215.4 million), Italy (EUR 200.2 million) and Greece (EUR 98.4 million), while the most the large negative net flows are to Russia (173.5 million euros) and Germany (133.1 million euros).

At the beginning of 2024, the number of persons insured for a second pension in Bulgaria who have expressed a desire to change their participation in the additional pension insurance funds will decrease. A total of 89,774 insured in the supplementary pension insurance funds have taken advantage of their right to change participation and transfer funds from the individual lots, transferring a total of over BGN 425 million. This is shown by the data of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) for the activity on supplementary pension insurance for the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, a total of 115,764 applications for change of participation and transfer of funds from one pension fund to another were submitted to pension insurance companies by 122 thousand persons a year earlier. A total of 89,774 insured persons who submitted applications in the first three months of this year changed their participation in the supplementary pension insurance funds, and the share of persons who changed their participation was 1.79%. For comparison, in the first quarter of 2023, a total of 97,482 insured persons from those who submitted applications changed their participation in the supplementary pension insurance funds. The total amount of transferred funds to insured persons with changed participation, who submitted applications in the first quarter of this year, is BGN 425.6 million. The share of transferred funds is 1.82% of all. For comparison, in the first quarter of last year, the amount of funds transferred to insured persons with changed participation was BGN 411 million. The total number of insured persons in the four types of pension funds as of March 31, 2024 increased to 5,024,480 persons, or by 0.47% compared to the end of 2023. The largest share of insured persons is concentrated in universal pension funds - 80 .49%. Those insured in the voluntary and professional pension funds occupy a share of 12.77% and 6.54%, respectively. The share of those insured in the voluntary pension funds under professional schemes is the smallest - 0.20 percent. Over 4 million people were insured in a universal pension fund (UPF) by the end of March 2024. The average amount of accumulated funds per insured person increased to BGN 5,142.66. A total of 318,666 individuals were insured in occupational pension funds (OPF) at the end of March 2024. A total of 641,452 individuals were insured in voluntary pension funds (VPF) at the end of March this year. At the end of March, 9,904 persons were insured in voluntary pension funds under occupational schemes (VPFPS).

Bulgaria is far behind in terms of the "share of insured household property" indicator compared to all our neighbors in the region. According to the Association of Bulgarian Insurers (ABZ), less than 10 percent of Bulgarians' homes are protected by insurance, usually for mortgaged homes. In Hungary, insured homes are already 75 percent, in Poland - 60 percent, in the Czech Republic - 63 percent, in Slovenia - 66 percent, in Croatia - 25 percent, in Romania - 20 percent. In Turkey, 14% of homes are insured, and in Greece, 15%, according to data from ABZ. Insurance is the only existing mechanism for financial recovery after a natural disaster, and more and more people are realizing it, Kolchakova pointed out. Insurance is the only way for farmers to protect their income in the event of natural disasters.

The Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), together with the Central Depository, has launched its newest platform for borrowing financial instruments, which starts today. It will use the infrastructure of the T7 trading system. The securities lending platform provides a new generation integrated service of the BSE and the Central Depository, which allows all investors to lend or borrow for a certain period of time financial instruments included in the main indexes of the Exchange. Borrowing contracts are standardized, with current exchange members as parties to them. The new platform opens another opportunity for investors in the country and aims to increase the liquidity of the capital market in Bulgaria. Collateral for borrowed instruments is only in the form of cash, and their management is carried out by a Central Depository. "Our goal is, through a known and reliable infrastructure of the Stock Exchange and Central Depository, to reduce the risk when borrowing financial instruments. This is essential for institutional investors, who are also the main borrowers. Secured borrowing of securities is directly related to the activation of short sales and is the basis for the development of a derivatives market", declared the executive director of the BSE, Prof. Dr. Manyu Moravenov.

Tutrakan is home to the largest production center in Europe of the international company FAAC Technologies - one of the leading international players in the business of access automation (automatic doors and gates), parking equipment (ticket machines, payment machines, etc.) and access control (barriers, turnstiles) - for both residential and industrial sectors. FAAC Technologies has 54 companies on five continents with consolidated revenues of more than 700 million euros and more than 3,700 employees, according to information on the company's website. With its turnover - BGN 142 million for 2023, the subsidiary "FAAK Bulgaria" is one of the largest enterprises in the region of Ruse and Silistra. In addition, the company is also the largest employer in Tutrakan municipality. 200 people work for her in the city, and in the industrial park, in which she has also attracted four of her subcontractors, a total of almost 550 people are employed - mainly from the city and the surrounding villages. FAAC Technologies belongs to the Roman Catholic Church - since 2014 it is owned by the Archdiocese of Bologna, i.e. of the regional church of Emilia-Romagna. Production takes place in an industrial park in Tutrakan - 18,000 square meters of buildings on over 100 decares of the former "Therma" stove factory. Now on the territory of Tutrakan FAAC there are practically three separate plants. It produces under five brands - FAAC, Magnetic, Genius, TIBA and spare parts for Datapark. They export to the whole world - India, Malaysia. Australia, South Africa, Dubai, Egypt. They mainly supply related companies, part of the group. Over the years, "FAAK Bulgaria" also brought four Italian companies to Tutrakan - their subcontractors, who now produce on the territory of the industrial park in rented premises. Inntech (in Italy Barrati), for example, processes workpieces with CNC lathes. IBG Motors has been making small motors, and since a year also wiring harnesses. The owner is an Italian who had a production in Moldova, but closed it and moved to Bulgaria. SGM Plastics manufacture plastic parts. ZlCPress is a foundry for aluminum parts under pressure, a technology different from the extruded aluminum profiles that FAAK buys from manufacturers in Bulgaria. Some of the companies also have production in Italy, and others - only in Bulgaria. Now about 550 people from the city and surrounding villages work in the industrial park in Tutrakan.

The chain of gas stations OMV takes a key step towards its transformation by renewing its corporate identity in the next 3 years on the territory of 7 countries - Austria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Serbia. Brand identity and design will be completely revamped across the board – both in the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) segments. The new design will be rolled out in stages at 1,000 petrol stations serving more than 650,000 customers every day. The renewed brand identity will also encompass the rapidly expanding network of eMotion charging stations for electric vehicles. Approximately 1.5 million business cards will be updated in the next 3 years. Part of the process is the digital transformation, which will start with the OMV Group website (new.omv.com) and continue with the OMV MyStation app, which is used by more than 1 million users in Central and Eastern Europe.

The factory for electrical components of "ABB Bulgaria" in Rakovski strives for production with zero emissions by reducing carbon dioxide by 1250 tons. To this end, a number of energy optimization measures are implemented, such as 100 percent energy metering and control, a building management system, installation of heat pumps, LED lighting improvements and installation of electric vehicle charging points. The plant reduced the energy consumption of its operations by 22 percent, but also increased production revenue, which significantly improved energy intensity by 43 percent compared to 2019. The 39,000 square meter plant consists of two production buildings and produces low and medium voltage products for data centers, industrial and manufacturing plants, critical infrastructure and buildings. The first significant step was to upgrade all conventional lighting in the two production halls with energy-saving LED lighting fixtures, as well as an intelligent lighting control system. To reduce heating, ventilation and air conditioning energy use and up to 80 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from gas use, heat pumps were installed in the factory last year along with centralized heating and cooling control and monitoring and a distribution system of liquids. In order to fulfill ABB's commitment to electrify the car fleet by 2030, the Rakovski branch has started the conversion of its car fleet to electric vehicles. At the Rakovski branch, 17 AC and DC EV charging points were installed, supporting EV charging for the wider community and for passing traffic.

A private executor is selling a property in the Plovdiv village of Razevo Konare, Kaloyanovo municipality for almost BGN 1.3 million for over 3,900 square meters of area. It is a farm yard for herbs with storage and production premises and a one-story building of 430 sq. m, which serves as a metal warehouse. together with the property, the machinery and equipment located in it is for sale. The owner is the company "Bulgarska bilka BG" Ltd, and the reason for the sale is outstanding mortgage payments, as well as encumbrances and foreclosures. This is the second sale, after no new owner was announced at the end of May. Then the price, for when the property was sold, it amounted to 1,377,760, and now the price is BGN 120,640 less, plovdiv24

In the first quarter of 2024, labor costs per hour worked in the European Union rose by 5.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, while those in the euro area rose by 5.1%, according to data from the European statistics agency Eurostat . Firms' labor costs include not only wages and salaries paid to employees, but also indirect labor costs - primarily social security contributions paid by the employer. In the euro area, hourly wages increased by 5.3%, while indirect labor costs increased by 4.5% and total labor costs increased by 5.1% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Across the EU, hourly wages and salaries increased by 5.8%, total labor costs by 5.5% and the non-wage component by 4.8%. The most significant increase in wage costs per hour worked in the first three months of the year was registered in Romania (jump by 16.4% on an annual basis), followed by Bulgaria (increase by 15.8%), Croatia (by 15. 3%), Poland (by 14.15%) and Hungary (by 13.7%), with two more member countries showing an increase in the indicator by over 10 percent, namely Latvia (by 12.7%) and Lithuania (by 11.1%). Total costs per hour worked in Bulgaria increased in the first quarter of 2024 by 15.8% compared to a year earlier, and the non-salary component - by 15.9 percent.

The salaries of the managers of major US companies are increasing much faster than the average compensation, pushed up by current stock prices and increased transparency, reported Agence France-Presse. Between 2017 and 2023, the average compensation of a manager of a company included in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which combines 500 of the largest American companies, increased by nearly 40 percent, according to the consulting company Equilar, to $16.3 million. By comparison, average employee compensation in the U.S. grew by just 27 percent. In 2021 and 2022, a series of setbacks hit several major Wall Street companies, including Starbucks, JPMorgan Chase, Intel, and General Electric. . The Dodd-Frank Act, which emerged in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, requires publicly traded companies to put their executives' compensation to a shareholder vote at least once every three years - a provision called "Say on Pay.". The vote is advisory only, but in the event of a no, the majority of boards of directors opt out and change the package. "Tell About Pay" introduced transparency into the business world, which "left bad practices behind". From that perspective, I think things are much better," said Roseanna Landis Weaver of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires companies to publish the ratio between the CEO's compensation and the average salary in the company In 2023, a manager received an average of 196 times the average salary at his company, compared to the difference of 158 times five years earlier, according to a study published this week from Bentley University in partnership with the Gallup Institute, 82 percent of Americans think it is "somewhat" or "extremely" important to "avoid an extremely large gap between the salaries of bosses and middle-level employees." pay" has encouraged many companies to turn to specialist consulting firms and use metrics to compare their plans with those of the rest of the market.

China's industrial production slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in May, the country's National Bureau of Statistics reported today, quoted by DPA. This figure was significantly below the forecast rate of 6.2 percent, as well as the 6.7 percent rate reported for April. Retail sales rose 3.7 percent on a year-on-year basis, beating expectations for 3 percent growth and following April's 2.3 percent. Investment in fixed assets rose 4 percent year-on-year to a forecast of 4.2 percent. Unemployment remained unchanged at 5 percent, in line with expectations.