Over BGN 69.3 million more for benefits for temporary incapacity due to general illness were paid out by the state social insurance (DOO) in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, the National Insurance Institute announced. For the first three months of this year, a little over BGN 294 million were paid out, while 12 months earlier the amount was BGN 225 million. The increase was 30.8%. The increase in costs is a consequence of the increase in the income of individuals, but also of the change in the insurance legislation, which entered into force on January 1, 2024. Since then, the days of incapacity for work paid by employers were reduced to two, and the financial burden of the third passed to the budget of the LLC. Thus, with an almost identical number of persons to whom sick leave was issued during the compared periods, there was an increase in the number of people with paid benefits for temporary incapacity from the National Social Security Institute - from 485,520 in 2023 to 561,258 this year, which is 75,738 or 15.6% more. The increase in the number of sick leaves for which there is a payment from DOO is 120,743 - from 718,035 last year to 838,778 this year (+16.8%). The number of paid working days in incapacity for work on a quarterly basis increased by 691,179. In 2023, individuals spent 4,724,094 days in incapacity for work, and a year later these days were 5,415,273 (+14.6%).

House prices in the first quarter of the year, as measured by the house price index, fell by 0.4 percent in the euro area and rose by 1.3 percent in the EU compared to the same quarter a year earlier, the most - the new Eurostat data. In the fourth quarter of 2023, house prices fell by 1.2 percent year-on-year in the euro area and rose by 0.2 percent in the EU. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, housing prices fell by 0.1 percent in the euro area and rose by 0.4 percent in the EU in the first quarter of 2024. Bulgaria is the country in the EU where the prices of housing grew at the highest rate (7.1 percent) compared to the last quarter of 2023. A reference to Eurostat data shows that on a quarterly basis this is the most significant increase in housing prices in our country since the last quarter of 2007 d. Hungary (5.1 percent) and Poland (4.3 percent) followed our country in terms of housing price growth during the period January - March 2024 on a quarterly basis. Also on a quarterly basis, the most significant decrease was recorded in Denmark (2.5 percent), France (2.1 percent) and Slovakia (1.7 percent). Compared to the first quarter of 2023, housing prices in Bulgaria have grown at the second highest rate (16 percent), with only Poland ahead of our country with an increase of 18 percent. A reference to Eurostat data shows that on an annual basis the increase is the most significant compared to the increase registered in the third quarter of 2008. In third place in terms of increase in housing prices on an annual basis is Lithuania (9.9 percent). On an annual basis - compared to the first three months of 2023, the largest decrease was in Luxembourg (10.9 percent), Germany (5.7 percent) and France (4.8 percent). In the first quarter, EU rental prices rose by 0.9 percent compared to the last quarter of 2023, as well as by 3 percent compared to January-March last year.

In 2023, only in South Central, the price of fields did not rise, but fell by 4.1%, according to the NSI data. The price is the highest in the North-East region - BGN 2,500 per acre, increasing by 22.4% compared to the previous year. In the North-West region, the price of transactions with fields increased and reached BGN 1,638 per hectare (with 7.4%), in the North-Central region - 1,761 BGN per hectare (with 11.8%), in the South-Eastern region - 1,185 BGN per hectare (with 8.1%), in the Southwest region - BGN 689 per hectare (with 7.2%). The average price for rent/lease of one acre of fields reaches BGN 62, which is 1.6% less compared to 2022. The average price for rent/lease of one decare of permanently grassed areas is BGN 25, which is 3.8% less compared to the previous year.

Natural gas traders who pumped quantities into the gas storage in Chiren in the period May 1, 2022 - October 11, 2022 will receive a total of BGN 278 million in compensation because at that time the raw material was very expensive and today it cannot to be implemented in the market, where prices are already much lower. This was decided by the interim government of Dimitar Glavchev by approving a program for the payment of compensations from the "Security of the Electricity System" Fund, which will enter into force after being approved by the European Commission, since it is a matter of state aid. According to preliminary estimates, the state-owned public gas supplier "Bulgargaz" will receive the largest part of the amount – BGN 157 million. The remaining BGN 122 million is for other traders who pumped gas in this period. Among them is the company "Sustainable Energy Supply", which is owned by the subsidiary of the Russian company "Lukoil" company "Litasco" and the former boss of "Lukoil Bulgaria" Valentin Zlatev. It imports Russian natural gas to Bulgaria for the needs of the Burgas refinery "Neftohim" and has reserved capacity in the gas storage facility. The Greek company "Mithylineos" also has capacities in Chiren, which systematically supplies gas to the Bulgarian market through "Bulgargaz". According to the Council of Ministers, the compensations are necessary because, assuming a certain commercial risk, the companies have contributed to achieving the target of a storage capacity of at least 80% in accordance with the European emergency action plan.

One new dam is on the final stretch and, it seems, will be ready within this year - "Luda ​​Yana", 2 km from Panagyurishte. The facility has been under construction for eight years and will be particularly important for about 50,000 people in Panagyurishte municipality and some neighboring municipalities, which the reservoir will supply with drinking water. At the moment, the project is 80% ready, claim the contractors from "Strabag" and "GP Group". The "Luda ​​Yana" project was started in the 1980s, but was stopped in 2000, when, according to a report by the Audit Chamber, it was 70% complete. This means that all that was left was to finish. However, a whole decade passes before the announcement of a public procurement, during which 12 governments change. The regional ministry started a preliminary selection of candidates in the tender during the "Oresharski" cabinet in 2014. In 2016, when Liliana Pavlova (GERB) was already at the head of the ministry, the department concluded a contract for over BGN 56 million with a merger between the construction companies "Strabag" and "Stanilov". The project practically consists of several sub-sites: a dam wall and its adjacent facilities, a spillway, a diversion tunnel, a water tower, an injection gallery, a drinking water treatment plant, two water supply pipelines and two pumping stations. The total volume of the new dam will be 20 million cubic meters, says the "GP Group". The height of the dam wall is 43 m, for comparison the wall of the Rhodope "Vacha" is 145 m, and of "Kamchia", which supplies Varna with water - 85 m. After the collapse of "Stanilov" the company was replaced by "GP Group"  and the consortium was renamed to "Strabag - GP". In accordance with the contract, prior consent was requested from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for a change in composition, and it was granted. The contract for construction is for 56.3 million BGN, for design and author supervision - almost 4.2 million BGN, and that for construction supervision - just over 7 million BGN. Thus, the total price for "Luda ​​Yana" exceeds 67 million BGN (the amounts include VAT). So far, more than BGN 32 million have been paid to the builder, BGN 5 million to the supervisor, and BGN 2.4 million to the designers. The project is fully financed by the state budget. The contractor is the consortium "Shrabag - GP Group", with participants "Shrabag" AG (50%), "Shrabag" (10%) and "GP Group" (40%). The second company is owned by "Bau Holding Betailingungs" and has Serbian citizens on its management board, but in practice it is owned by the first company. Some of the major sites of "Strabag" are 14.5 km from the "Europa" highway, the Ihtiman - Kostenets railway section (together with "GP Group"), etc. In 2021, "Strabag" was a sponsor of the football "Levski". "GP Group" was the largest construction company in Bulgaria in 2017 and 2018. At the beginning of 2024, the company built the "Zheleznitsa" tunnel on the "Struma" highway for BGN 250 million.

A 5-star hotel on the seashore has been announced for sale for over 15 million BGN by a private bailiff. The auction is for the hotel "Zornitsa Sands", which is located in the resort of Saint Vlas, municipality of Nessebar and has been announced for the second time. The public sale is for repayment of debts to the municipality of Nessebar, and the debtor is the company "Health and Spa Holidays" Ltd. The property is located on the beach and has an area of ​​over 9 square meters. The hotel has five floors including a ground floor. There are also pools in the yard that overlook the beach. Exactly a year earlier, the first attempt was made to sell the hotel, at which time they wanted BGN 16.901 million. telegraph.bg

The company "Sinvexa" has submitted an application to the CPC for the acquisition of one of the established Bulgarian companies in the ICT sector - "Paraflow". Its main shareholders are two companies owned by Dimitar Dolnooryahov. "Paraflow" was established in 1995 by Nikolay Avramov, Geno Genov and four other partners. 12 years ago, only Avramov and Genov remained, and currently the former's share is 75% against Genov's 25%. Over the years, the company has established itself as one of the well-known names in the IT sector with numerous projects for IT solutions: from ERP systems and system integration to hardware and consulting services. Clients are both government organizations and companies from various industries such as banking. Over the past three years, the business has been growing, and the revenues for 2023 are slightly over BGN 30 million compared to BGN 24 million a year earlier. The employees are about 90. The profit in recent years has been between half and 1 million BGN. The company has offices in Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. After the eventual approval by the CPC, Avramov will leave the company he created, and Genov will remain in some form of management to ensure continuity. After the transaction, "Paraflow" will have a new executive director - Emil Georgakiev, well-known in telecom circles, former technical director of "Vivacom", who was most recently the executive director of the Albanian telecom One Albania. The ambitions of Nikolov and Georgakiev are to double the business of "Paraflow" within five years. Apart from telecoms, among the company's biggest local competitors are "CNS", "Contrax" and "Lirex".

An emblematic building on Main Street in Plovdiv, recognized as an architectural monument of culture, entered the list for sale by a private bailiff. The property at 11 "Knyaz Aleksandar I" Street, in which valuable ancient finds and artifacts from Roman times were discovered during renovation, currently houses the Star Gallery shopping center. The five-story building is owned by "SS Property" Ltd, with partners Karl Polzhofer and Eng. Rudolph Leitner - both Austrian citizens. The final measure is applied because of obligations to Volksbank Steiermark AG. The starting price from which the bidding will start is BGN 24,177,927.36 including VAT. The building, built between 1926 and 1930, has the status of an architectural and construction monument of culture with the category "ensemble significance" and is an element of a group monument of culture - a system of street ensembles along "Knyaz Alexander I" Street and . "Father Paisii". The two Austrian investors bought the building in 2004. Archaeological treasures were discovered in the basement during the renovation. Foreigners bear the costs of the restoration and display of the finds. In 2021, the two signed a contract with the Municipality of Plovdiv, which took over the management of all archeology in the building. There are encumbrances imposed on the property with 9 independent objects - foreclosure in favor of the claimant Volksbank Steiermark AG, for the amount of BGN 3,341,613.36, as well as a contractual mortgage for the amount of BGN 5,867,490 together with interest.

In June 2024, the US economy added 206,000 new jobs, while the unemployment rate rose surprisingly to 4.1%, the highest level since November 2021, and wages rose by 3, 9% - the weakest increase since June 2021, official Labor Department data showed. The report appeared to confirm that the chances are increasing that the Federal Reserve will be able to tame inflation without tipping the US economy into recession and could push the US central bank one step closer to its first rate cut later this year. New non-farm payrolls rose by 206,000 in June against forecasts for a slightly more modest gain of about 190,000. However, the May figure was revised sharply downward to 218,000 from an initial estimate of 272,000, with the data for April - to 108,000 from 165,000. The private sector contributed to the creation of just 130,000 new jobs in June against market expectations for 190,000, with manufacturing shedding 8,000 jobs, healthcare adding 44,000 new jobs, while in the public sector - 70,000 jobs. At the same time, the unemployment rate rose surprisingly in June to 4.1%, with expectations for a stabilization at May's level of 4.0%. This is the highest unemployment rate since November 2021. The number of unemployed rose by 162,000 to 6.811 million, while the number of employed rose by 116,000 to 161.199 million. Labor wages rose 0.3 percent in June from May, or an increase of as much as 10 cents to $35.00 an hour, against expectations for a 0.4 percent gain. Hourly wages rose 3.9% in June from a year earlier, following a 4.0% increase in May, the slowest gain since June 2021. Despite this deceleration, annual wage growth remains well above the range of 3.0 to 3.5 percent, which is considered consistent with the Federal Reserve's inflation target of 2 percent, and after May's headline inflation in The US slowed on an annual basis to 3.3% from 3.4% a month earlier.

China is ready to begin operating the country's first spaceport for international commercial spacecraft launches, with the spaceport located in the coastal city of Wenchang in Hainan province. On June 30, a training exercise with a simulated launch of a launch vehicle was held there. The first actual launch of a launch vehicle is scheduled to take place this year. In the future, the new spaceport is planned to be expanded with additional launch pads and related facilities. The construction of China's commercial "star port" in Hainan was completed in early June. It is planned that the Changzheng-12 two-stage oxygen-kerosene launch vehicle will soon be launched from there for the first time. Once operational, the Wenchang Spaceport will become China's fifth space launch site. The project was carried out with the participation of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and the China Satellite Network Group. The construction of the spaceport itself was carried out by the China Aerospace Construction Group. In addition to the commercial spaceport, Wenchang already has a state spaceport - built in 2009 and put into operation in 2016. It is one of China's four space sites and so far the only place in the country where the technical specifications allow the launch of the CZ-7A (Changzheng-7-a), which is the longest (60.7 m) launch vehicle developed in China . Other next-generation launch vehicles that can be launched in China only from the spaceport in Hainan Province are the commercial CZ-8 as well as the CZ-5. The latter has the maximum weight (from 859-879 tons) among all national analogues. The Hainan State Spaceport has so far launched seven Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, the main block of China's Tianhe Orbital Station, its Wentian and Mentian laboratory modules, and the Tianwen-1 Mars Landing Probe. , as well as the Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 unmanned lunar probes.