Bulgaria is second to last in the EU in purchasing power standard (PPS) in 2023, expressed in real individual consumption (AIC) per capita, ahead of only Hungary, according to the latest Eurostat data. For the first time since its entry into the EU in 2007, Bulgaria is not last in this ranking, according to Eurostat data. With an EU average of 100 percent, purchasing power standards vary widely, from 70 percent in Hungary to 138 percent in Luxembourg. Real individual consumption includes all goods and services used by households, regardless of whether they were bought and paid for by households directly, by governments, or by non-governmental organizations. It is considered the main indicator of the material well-being of households. In 2023, 10 member states register real individual consumption above the EU average, while the other 17 are below it. It is highest in Luxembourg (38 percent above the EU average), Austria and the Netherlands (17 percent each) and Germany (16 percent). At the opposite pole are Hungary, where real individual consumption is 30 percent below the EU average, Bulgaria (-27 percent) and Slovakia and Latvia (-25 percent each). The distribution of GDP per capita also shows large differences within the EU. Above the EU average are 11 member states, with the highest level again in Luxembourg (139 percent), Ireland (111 percent) and the Netherlands (30 percent). At the opposite pole with the lowest GDP per capita are Bulgaria (36 percent below the EU average), Greece (33 percent) and Latvia (29 percent).

Wheat from European Union countries bordering the Black Sea is traded cheaper than production from other countries in Europe. The rich harvest in the Black Sea region helps lower prices. Basic wheat from countries such as Romania and Bulgaria is cheaper than that from major producers France and Russia, according to UkrAgroConsult pricing. Russia's harvest is forecast to be more than 10% lower than originally expected because of the cold, while farmers in France are suffering from heavy rains. At the same time, Romania expects a record harvest of 10.5 million tons for 2024-2025. Traditionally, the harvest in Bulgaria is around 6 million tons. The price of wheat in the Black Sea region hovers around 220-225 dollars per ton. French wheat is quoted at $245 per ton, and Russian wheat at around $248 per ton, the data also show. Egypt's state buyer, the General Procurement Authority, bought Romanian and Bulgarian cargoes in two tenders in June. "One of the most competitive export sources at the moment is Romania, as recent GASC purchases show," the analysts concluded.

Exactly 10 years ago, on June 20, 2014, the fourth largest Bulgarian bank, Corporate Commercial Bank - CTB, was closed and placed under special supervision, after which it never started operating again. Balance sheet 1.5 billion BGN recovered. There is a crime, but no punishment. Criminals are also missing. And what is felt most is the severe lack of perspective that the case will ever end. The main defendant continues to be the former main shareholder Tsvetan Vassilev, accused of 146 crimes for BGN 2.7 billion. During the pre-trial proceedings, the prosecution's actions were directed only at the first level of borrowers. Minimal effort has been made to gather information about the next tiers as well as the actual beneficiaries of the money allocated. There is also no convicted head of the Bulgarian National Bank, and the then governor Ivan Iskrov was not even charged. Former Tsvetan Vassilev continues to hide in Serbia. According to the latest data from the trustees of CTB as of March 2024, the recovered amount in the bankruptcy estate of CTB is BGN 1.49 billion. If we judge by the funds owed to the recognized creditors of the bankrupt bank in the lists published in the Commercial Register, it can be concluded , that the total theft from CTB, including the guaranteed deposits for BGN 3.7 billion, amounts to over BGN 5 billion. Between 25 and 30% of them have been recovered over 10 years, and the main creditors (among whom, in the first place, the Guarantee Fund of bank deposits) have already received over 25% of their receivables outside of guaranteed deposits.

The state-owned Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) is ready to lose one of its biggest and most scandalous exposures. It is about the BGN 150 million granted in 2019 to the newly established company "Roadway Construction", which was used to acquire the relatively small construction company "Road Construction Engineering" from the village of Gruevo, Momchilgrad. The seller was Rumen Gaitanski-Valka's company "Bio Mining", and the buyer also had indirect connections to him. So, in reality, the BBR loan financed an intra-group transfer without a real change of control, and the money went to Gaitansky personally. Because of the unserviced loan, the bank is trying to sell the 99.6% of "Road Construction Engineering" pledged in its favor. However, the price is far more modest - BGN 8.9 million, or only 6% of the allocated amount, but even with that there is a lack of interest. That the Roadway Construction loan was irrecoverable was evident when it was issued, and over the years it has probably been heavily provisioned, but now it appears that the BDB is ready to admit the loss in full. BBR offers at a public auction with open bidding 5,112,240 shares, representing 99.615% of the capital of "Road Engineering" JSC, which are owned by "Roadway Construction" and are pledged in favor of the bank. As of 2022, the bank has appointed its own managers of the two companies as a precautionary measure for the bets, and in reality it has control over them, although Gaitanski's lawyer Emil Georgiev is said to be the owner. "Road Engineering" is still a working company. In its latest report for 2022, it declared a drop in operating income from BGN 19.2 to BGN 9.6 million, but its loss fell slightly from BGN 3.6 to BGN 2.6 million. Employees in 2021 exceeded 200, but subsequently decreased to about 50, as many as according to the latest data as of April. The problem is that now there is no interest in anyone buying the company even for a much more modest sum. Initially, the package of shares was announced at an auction, scheduled for June 11, with a starting price of BGN 8.9 million. However, bidding never took place "due to a lack of submitted applications for participation in the auction." That is why BDB has scheduled a second auction for June 24. Its starting price has been lowered to BGN 7.12 million, which is already below 5% of the bank's initial exposure. Of the eight large exposures found for over BGN 1 billion, to date BGN 260 million have been repaid by payment. One of the loans has been repaid in full, and five are regularly serviced. The list of the eight big ones included companies linked to the interests of Delyan Peevski, such as "Sunny Day", "Blagoevgrad BT", "Technomarket" and "International Investment" (an investor in a five-star hotel in Greece). The other big clients were "BMF Shipping" of the Domuschievi brothers, "Insa Oil" of Georgi Samuilov and "Transpekt", through which the bus carrier "Union Ivkoni" was bought and refinanced.

The furniture production company "Irim" is one of the largest companies in the segment in Bulgaria. Founded in 1990, for more than 30 years the company from Ruse has managed to achieve success, to increase its capital and accumulate growth in revenues and turnover, despite the difficult conditions for business development in the country. The family company reports an increase in its turnover in recent years, and according to expectations, by the end of 2024, it will reach about BGN 90 million. "Irim" does not stop investing in its development, but like many other companies in our country, today it faces one of the most serious problems for any business, namely the lack of personnel. Our main problem today is precisely related to the increasingly difficult finding of workers, and this problem is getting deeper and deeper. The only way out of this crisis is to hire employees from abroad, and that's exactly what we will do," commented the co-owner of "Irim" Nikolay Ivanov. The furniture company is finding a way out of the crisis related to the lack of staff in our country by hiring workers from Bangladesh and Nepal .Very soon they will be trained in the production, what they are offered is accommodation, food and wages of 500 euros per month.We expect our first 24 workers from Nepal and Bangladesh to start work this summer, on the 1st August", Ivanov tells us. "Irim" produces cabinet furniture, with kitchens occupying the largest share in the company's production. Half of the production of the company from Ruse is realized on the Bulgarian market, and the rest is exported abroad.

The factory for the production of bio-essential oils and floral waters in Razevo Konare is being sold for the second time by a private bailiff. The measure was imposed due to debts of the owner "Bulgarska bilka BG" Ltd. The starting price from which the bidding will start is BGN 1,257,120. The sum is total and includes the value of the real estate - BGN 470,800, plus that of the machinery and equipment - BGN 786,320. At the first public sale in May, the initial auction price was BGN 1,377,769, of which BGN 411,529 was for the real estate, and BGN 966,240 was for the equipment. It is relatively new and put into operation in 2018 and 2019. The factory is located on an area of ​​nearly 4 acres. It has a storage base of 428 square meters, as well as another room of 415 square meters, which has been reconstructed from an agricultural building for a metal warehouse. Encumbrances have been imposed on immovable property, and a special lien has been established on movable property. If a buyer appears during the trading days, he will appear on July 17 at the Plovdiv Regional Court. "Bulgarska bilka BG" Ltd was registered in 2014 in Plovdiv. Until recently, the company claimed to be among the world's largest producers of organic Roman and German chamomile essential oils and floral waters, with a distillery capacity of 25 tonnes per hour. The portfolio included various products, such as floral waters, tinctures, nutritional supplements, teas, shampoos, etc. ""Bulgarska bilka BG" Ltd, with a capital of BGN 50 and sole owner Kostadin Manev, is a debtor in an executive case. Other companies related to Manev also have obligations. "Dekar dva" Ltd, of which he was the manager until 2022, was seized by the National Revenue Agency for BGN 2, which was the amount of the authorized capital. Since 2022, its owner is Tsvetelina Cherneva. "Bio Invest Group", which was transferred under the same scheme, again to Cherneva, was seized in favor of the NRA. The company owes BGN 138,974.63 to the tax authorities. According to documents, Cherneva owes the NRA an amount in the amount of BGN 315,954.91, and the obligation belongs to Kostadin Manev's former company - "Agro Bio Group". In February of this year, Manev registered a new company "Champion food", with a diverse subject of activity - from trade in animal products to real estate transactions.

"Bianor Holding" AD completed the transaction on the acquisition of 51.02% of the capital of "Prime Holding" AD on June 18. The basis for determining the acquisition price is the value of 100% of the group of "Prime Holding" AD, defined as a one-time revenue from sales realized in 2023, adjusted with the net financial position and working capital as of May 31 of this year. Between the sellers and the buyer "Bianor Holding" there are options to acquire the remaining 48.98% after the beginning of 2025. This will be based on a formula based on Prime Holding's group revenue and profit before tax, charges and depreciation for the relevant 12-month period. At the end of May, "Bianor Holding", "Prime Holding" and "Digital Lights" signed final contracts by which Bianor Holding acquires 100% of "Digital Lights" OOD and 51% of "Prime Holding" AD, with an option to acquire the remaining 49%. Along with this, "Bianor" presented the new brand - Wiser Technology, which unites all the companies in the group and positions them as a leading European company for the development of high-tech software solutions. "Bianor Holding" brings together a group of high-tech IT companies that perform high-value-added software services for a number of technology leaders around the world.

From July 22, the payment of dividends to the shareholders of Solvay Sodi JSC in the amount of BGN 36.29 per share before taxation will begin. The proposal of the Board of Directors was approved at the held general meeting of shareholders. The annual financial report of the company, which ended 2023 with a profit of BGN 230.4 million, was accepted at it. The dividend payment for individuals will take place at the cash desk in DSK Bank branches, and for legal entities - by bank transfer. and their right expires with the expiration of a 5-year statute of limitations, starting from July 22, 2024. At the general meeting, a new Board of Directors was elected with a 5-year term. Its members include Stefano Bignini, Spiros Nomikos, Edward Mackay, Jean-Chalb Gelalian, Basak Yoge and Shengül Arslan. With the investments made in Bulgaria's largest soda plant and its affiliates, production efficiency has been improved and energy consumption has been reduced. The company's priority is to end the use of coal by 2030, transition to renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency, innovate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The European Commission proposes an EU budget of 199.7 billion euros for 2025. The budget will be supplemented by payments in the amount of approximately 72 billion euros under the "Next Generation EU" program, which in Bulgaria is implemented through the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, thus the total amount will amount to more than 270 billion euros. In the draft budget, 53.8 billion euros are earmarked for the common agricultural policy (CAP) and 49.2 billion euros for regional development and cohesion. These are the two heaviest feathers. After them, the EC proposes that 16.3 billion euros be allocated "to support the partners and interests" of the Community around the world. This includes the Instrument for Neighbourhood, Development Cooperation and International Cooperation (NISRMS-Global Europe), for which more than 10 billion euros have been allocated. Separately, nearly 2.7 billion euros have been provided in pre-accession funds and support for the countries of the Western Balkans. 1.9 billion euros are set aside for humanitarian aid. About 4.3 billion euros in the form of grants, as well as a little over 10 billion euros in the form of financing, are planned to support Ukraine. Over 13 billion euros are planned by the EC for investments in development activities.

One of the largest residential solar panel installation and management companies in the U.S. has suddenly shut down and filed for bankruptcy, the latest blow to the beleaguered industry. Titan Solar has installed thousands of systems in the US. The company recently informed employees on June 13 that it was going out of business because it had not secured a buyer for the company, according to an email cited by TIME. According to Titan, it has helped more than 100,000 households go solar. However, it's not the only major player in the sector to shut down recently, just one of 16 major solar companies to file for bankruptcy in 2023 and 2024, according to Solar Insure. It's big businesses like Pink Energy and Vision Solar that are facing regulatory action and customer complaints. Consumers stay with solar panels in their homes. Some are working with lenders to find another company to take over the maintenance of these panels, while others are simply trying to get out of the loans. The sector is facing significant upheaval. Another example is Sunlight Financial, which provided financing for residential solar and filed for bankruptcy last October. Another of the country's largest companies in the SunRun sector, saw its share price fall 87% from its 2020 peak, and Sunnova's share price fell 88%. There are a number of reasons why the sector is lagging, including higher interest rates, fewer opportunities to offset the energy bill in some states and the generally high cost of installing solar panels. Titan's failure is also indicative of a major flaw in a U.S. solar energy model that has been fraught with consumer complaints and regulatory action. Titan operated on a so-called "dealership model," not doing any sales itself, but instead outsourcing them to "dealers" who sent teams. According to Walid Halti, founder of AI-based solar installation company Monalee - "Their model was to grow at any cost - they didn't care how they were going to make sales." For Titan, the dealer program proved to be a "double-edged sword", according to Ara Agopyan, founder and CEO of Solar Insure. "Dealers' primary motivation was to maximize their commissions, which sometimes resulted in aggressive sales and resale tactics for systems without adequate consideration of specific customer needs," he wrote.

The government of Kazakhstan has published an updated forecast for the socio-economic development of the country for the period 2025-2029, in which a growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of 6% is expected. The former Soviet republic with a population of about 19 million people is in third place by area in Asia and ninth - in the world. The official statistics of Kazakhstan have not yet provided GDP data for the period January-April and January-May 2024, which makes it difficult to objectively analyze and forecast the economic situation. However, according to the Office for National Statistics, the short-term economic indicator for the four months of 2024 is 3.9%, and for the five months it falls to 3.7%. Real GDP growth for the three months of 2024 is 3.7%, while the government had previously estimated it at 3.9%. In April and May 2024, economic trends in Kazakhstan are alarming compared to previous periods. Growth rates in the construction industry are slowing. In the four months of 2024, they were 12.2% on an annual basis, and in the five months of 2024, they decreased to 8.1% on an annual basis. Despite this decline, the construction sector remains one of the main drivers of economic growth. Oil production remains the weak point of the economy. The four months of 2024 saw a decline of 0.8% year-on-year, reflecting continued stagnation in the oil sector, which is having a negative impact on overall economic growth. The transportation sector saw a positive trend with growth of 7.8% y/y in the four months of 2024 and 7.1% y/y in the five months of 2024. Trade and Industry saw moderate growth rates for the period January -April 2024 (respectively 2.3% and 3.2% on an annual basis). Agriculture shows marginal annual growth of 1.7% for the four months of 2024 and 1.6% for the five months of 2024, indicating a gradual recovery of the sector. Halyk Finance said it considered the government's forecast too optimistic, and based on available information, revised its forecast downwards from 4.5% to 3.9%. due to several negative factors. First, fiscal uncertainty is a significant risk. As we wrote earlier, insufficient tax collection and the need to increase transfers from the National Fund to cover budget expenditures, including due to the flood situation in the country, are putting pressure on the budget. Second, investment activity has declined. The completion of the active investment phase in the expansion of the Tengiz field led to a significant reduction in fixed capital investment in the country as a whole. Thus, for the first quarter of 2024, investments decreased by 0.8% on an annual basis, and for the period January-April - by 5.3% on an annual basis, which affects the general economic activity. About a month ago, analysts from the largest American bank JPMorgan Chase improved their forecast for the growth of China's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 - to 5.2%, from the previously expected 4.9%, the Chinese state agency reported " Xinhua". The reason for the increased forecast is the higher-than-expected growth of the Chinese economy of 5.3% for the first quarter on an annual basis.