Nearly 586 thousand companies have submitted annual reports for 2023 in the "Business Statistics" Information System of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). This year, the submitted reports are 8,711 more than the previous year, according to the National Statistics Office. The second stage of the campaign is currently underway, and until September 30, 2024, companies and organizations can submit a one-time corrective report. Only for the first week of July, 1,106 corrective reports have already been submitted, according to a report from IS "Business Statistics" as of July 8.

The average social security income in Bulgaria for the month of May is BGN 1,669.53, the National Social Security Institute (NSI) reports. This shows an increase of BGN 29.95 compared to April and BGN 36 compared to March. The average monthly insurance income for the period from June 2023 to May 2024 is BGN 1,535.69 and also increased by BGN 20.29 compared to the data for April. The determined average monthly insurance income for the country for the specified period is used to calculate the amounts of the newly granted pensions in the month of June 2024, according to Art. 70, para. 3 of the Social Security Code, the National Social Insurance Institution recalls.

Bulgarian mutual funds retain their position as an attractive investment opportunity. Accumulating cash from small, non-professional investors, these collective investment schemes earn by investing in diversified portfolios of various financial instruments. Currently, 100 of the contractual funds in our country out of a total of 146 licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission are making a profit. And 20 of these collective investment schemes report double-digit returns to their clients. The profit of "Compass Global Trends" is the highest from the portfolio of the management company "Compass Invest" JSC, it has secured a profit of 22.40%, combined with an increase in the net value of the assets. The fund invests its cash resources in companies whose sales growth is faster than the average level of the market. The aim is to identify and invest in companies with over 20% increase in revenue on an annual basis in sectors of the economy that are also in a growth phase. "Sky Finance", organized by the management company "Sky Asset Management" JSC, reports a 19.84% return and growth in the net value of assets. The fund is actively managed and invests mainly in shares of European banks and financial companies. Geographically, it is aimed at the financial sector of Central and Eastern Europe. "PFBK Vostok" brings its investors a profit of 19.27 percent. It is the first Bulgarian mutual fund that invests in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union, and owns a diversified portfolio of shares of Russian companies. And as a result of the positive performance of these markets this year, the fund's assets have grown and are already over BGN 596,000. It is the first "own" scheme for "PFBK Asset Management" JSC. The company also manages three contract funds of "First Investment Bank" - "PIB Avangard", "PIB Classic" and "PIB Garant", as well as the assets of a closed national investment company - NID "Nadezhda" JSC. "Advance Eastern Europe Class "A", organized by "Karol Capital Management" JSC, showed a yield of 17.83% and an increase in the net value of assets. The fund implements an active investment policy by investing mainly in shares of large companies included in the main stock indices of the regulated markets in Eastern Europe. Its strategy is mostly based on the so-called a top-down approach where the main decision is regarding the allocation of assets between different markets. For class "A", the main markets for the fund at the moment are Greece, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. PIB Avangard is a global high-yield equity fund. It offers access to an actively managed, diversified portfolio of high yielding stocks and financial instruments. The collective scheme's investments are not limited in terms of country, market capitalization or index presence.

State-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz filed a lawsuit against Russian company Gazprom Export before the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, seeking compensation of more than 400 million euros for damages suffered as a result of the unilateral suspension of natural gas supplies in April 2022. In May 2024, Bulgargaz EAD sent an invitation to Gazprom Export for a voluntary settlement of the claim according to the contract between the two companies. The Russian side has done nothing to resolve the issue out of court. The amount of the claim was determined on the basis of a legal and financial analysis, in the preparation of which the services of international law firms were also used. Russia, which until the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine was practically the only supplier of natural gas to Bulgaria, suddenly stopped the supply despite the existing contract and declared the country unfriendly.

The Bulgarian brand "Flair" is the choice of the BOK for sports equipment of the Olympians who will represent our country at the summer games in Paris 2024 (July 26 - August 11). The Haskovo manufacturer will supply the entire set of necessary items, except for the sneakers and bags, which will be manufactured by the Japanese company Asics. It is the distributor of the Asian giant for Bulgaria - "K Diffusion" Ltd, that won the 2022 public contract of the Olympic Committee for the supply of sports equipment for Paris. A partner in the company in question with a 20% stake is the president of the Volleyball Federation (BFV) and vice-president of the BOK, Lubomir Ganev. The remaining 80% is owned by Paulina Parvanova. However, Japan has informed the Bulgarian side that they are not hired to produce specially branded products for such a small delegation, which is why a kind of subcontractor was found for part of the order in the person of "Flear Sport" Ltd. The total estimated value of the equipment order amounts to BGN 243,600 excluding VAT, of which BGN 81,000 excluding VAT is for 300 jackets and 300 pairs of Asics sneakers. The rest of the offer is for 300 sets of t-shirts, shorts, tracksuits, socks, jackets, hats and backpacks. The curious thing is that the official clothing of the Bulgarian delegation for the XXXIII Summer Games will be provided by a company whose main business is agriculture - "ViKo Trading" EOOD. The company registered in Sofia won the BOK public order in May 2024 with an offer of BGN 145,000 excluding VAT for the supply of a total of 900 fashion items - 100 each of men's and women's jackets, men's and women's trousers, hats and belts, as well as and 200 men's and women's blouses each.

DZZD "TRP Burgas 2023", with leading partner "Road Construction VDH" EAD with a 50% shareholding and "Trace Group Hold" JSC - Sofia - a partner with a 50% shareholding, signed a contract for maintenance and repair activities of the republican roads on the territory of Southeastern region, for specific position No. 1 - OPU Burgas. The contractor is the Road Infrastructure Agency, and the contract is worth BGN 161,635,162. The implementation period is 48 months. The execution of the public order includes current repair, current and pre-commercial maintenance. The public contract also provides for winter road maintenance. The engineering company "Trace Group Hold" JSC ended the first quarter of this year with revenues (excluding financial) worth BGN 45.57 million, which increased by 653 percent compared to the same period last year.

A private bailiff has announced the sale of a large production base of "Plantabul" Ltd in the village of Kaspichan with an initial auction price of BGN 2,238,432. The family company was founded in 1999 and specializes in the sourcing, processing and export of wild, cultivated and organic berries, dried fruits, walnuts and nut kernels and herbal teas. It owns two factories - the one announced for public sale and another located in Shumen and intended for nut processing. The company is the largest in Bulgaria, combining all the processes of collection, processing and export of herbs for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. The company has exported 99% of medicinal products to the EU and USA, with 15% of the herbs certified as organic production. Plantabul's revenues for 2022 are BGN 1.721 million - the weakest performance since 2008 until the last year for which data is available. The profit was BGN 189,000. The number of insured persons from over 40 employees in 2020 has decreased by April 2024 to 10. Now the herbal processing factory in Kaspichan is going to auction after the company was placed under attachment in favor of Unicredit Bulbank, which owes BGN 414,550. 3 land properties with a total area of ​​about 26 acres are for sale. 7 buildings were built on top of them, and from the photos it can be seen that they are in very good external condition and even solar panels are installed on the roofs.

The increase in the number of bankruptcies in Germany in the first half of 2024 was 41% compared to the same period last year, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported, citing a study by business restructuring consultancy Falkensteg. In the first six months of 2024, 162 German companies with a turnover of more than EUR 10 million went bankrupt. Among them are well-known companies, including major clothing manufacturer Esprit and Europe's third largest tour operator FTI. This increase in the number of insolvent companies exceeds the forecasts of experts, who expected an increase in bankruptcies for this period of about 30%. It is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to restructure their businesses to avoid bankruptcy. Thus, Falkenstag's analysis showed that of the 279 companies that filed for bankruptcy in 2023, only 35% were saved by the end of the first half of 2024. Among the reasons for this situation, Handelsblatt points to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, inflation, including increased energy and raw material prices, weakening consumer demand, as well as uncertainty caused by global crises and negative forecasts for the German economy. On June 25, the German credit agency Creditreform reported that the number of bankruptcies in Germany in the first half of 2024 reached 11,000, the highest figure in almost a decade. Earlier, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for Germany's economic growth by 0.3 percentage points to 0.2% in 2024. Germany's GDP is down 0.3% in 2023 from the previous year. Experts from the German Federal Statistical Office noted at the end of last year a decline in the purchasing power of the population due to rising consumer prices. fakti.bg

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will discuss a review of the fees it imposes on its biggest borrowers after some countries expressed concerns that the costs are becoming unreasonable due to higher interest rates, reports Bloomberg. The charges apply to countries that borrow more than their allotted share or need more time to repay loans under IMF programs. The policy change will require a 70% vote of the governing board to be approved. The Washington-based fund has collected the fees for years as a way to prevent its biggest borrowers from becoming too dependent on the crisis lender. According to data from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the fees have filled the fund's coffers, but also led to billions of dollars in additional costs for already struggling states. Higher global interest rates, particularly at the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, mean that the total interest rate on some IMF loans is now higher than 8%. This is twice the level before the Covid-19 pandemic. The burden is borne mainly by several countries, including Argentina, Egypt and Ukraine, reaching 6 billion dollars. The fund charges interest of 200 basis points, or 2 percentage points, on outstanding loans above 187.5 percent of a country's normal access - known as a "quota" - to IMF financing. This rate rises to 300 basis points if after three years the loan remains above this rate. This is in addition to the prime rate, which currently stands at around 500 basis points. The IMF said the fees are a necessary part of its financial model, which aims to prevent borrowing too much or taking too long to pay it back. Borrowers and their supporters argue that the surcharges drain resources needed for essential goods like food and health care and are increasingly restrictive given faster inflation and higher interest rates. The US, which is the IMF's largest shareholder, has already expressed willingness to review the fees.

Despite widespread forecasts of a slowdown, global gross domestic product growth is accelerating. The United States is still the leading player in the global team, but it is already visible that other regions are starting to gain momentum. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have expressed concern that the global economy has not been able to regain its pre-pandemic growth rate. As the World Bank points out, in 2024 and 2025 nearly 60% of countries accounting for more than 80% of the world's population will have growth below their average rate between 2010 and 2020. UBS analysts tracked monthly data of 28 economies for April and found that the global economy was growing at an annual rate of 3.5%. If this pace is sustained throughout the year, it will be off the average annual growth of 3.7% in the decade before the Covid-19 pandemic hit global economies in 2020. Equally important, this growth comes amid a slowdown of rising prices. Average headline inflation peaked at 9.4% in 2022 as the health emergency and massive lockdowns sent prices soaring around the world. But as supply chains, energy markets and consumer behavior adjust, and central banks aggressively raise interest rates, albeit belatedly, global inflation is on track to fall to 2.8% this year and 2.4% in 2025 , the IMF predicts. Unlike most other countries, the US has already resumed its pre-pandemic growth trajectory, with GDP expected to grow 2.7 percent this year, compared with just 1.7 percent for advanced economies as a whole, IMF data showed. It is true that there are signs that the biggest economy's stellar performance is coming to an end. US GDP grew at an annual rate of just 1.4% in the first three months of the year, while the University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment is at its lowest level since November 2023. Within the 28 economies analyzed by UBS, the impetus for growth comes from emerging markets such as India, Turkey and Poland. The domestic economy in these and other countries is providing much of the impetus, as falling inflation and stable labor markets prompt more people to spend. A boom in consumer confidence, for example, will propel India's economy to a growth rate of 7.2 percent in 2024 and 6.5 percent next year, according to Fitch economists. This is well above the annual average of 4.6% between 2019 and 2023. After economic stagnation caused by high energy prices and a lack of investment, the Eurozone is recovering. A survey of 5,000 companies in the single currency region by S&P Global found that their expectations for output growth in the second quarter of 2024 were the highest in a year. Even China grew at an annual rate of 5.3 percent in the first quarter, much better than the 4.6 percent forecast in a Reuters poll. This solid start to the year was aided by fiscal and monetary stimulus from the government. China's hopes of meeting Beijing's stated target of "around 5%" growth in 2024 are threatened by a prolonged property crisis, anemic consumption and possible trade wars. Meanwhile, the Eurozone managed to grow by just 0.4% year-on-year between January and March. Political instability seen in the French elections, weaker fiscal firepower due to rising government indebtedness and weaker exports due to trade issues have limited the region's growth prospects. Commodity investors have returned nearly 14% on their oil investments since January, and a staggering 22.5% if they bought silver. It's true that bonds have struggled to generate money, but income-seeking investors such as pension funds and insurers can currently earn a return of nearly 4.5% on 30-year U.S. Treasuries. For now, however, the world economy is moving in unusually calm waters, and investors have wind in their sails. manager.bg