Inflation in Bulgaria on an annual basis decreased in July to 2.4%, but the monthly inflation went up again after the drop in prices compared to the previous month. In July, their increase compared to June was 0.8%. The last time there was such a high monthly price increase was exactly a year ago - last July. And this time, the July increase in prices is typical of summer and is primarily due to the increased demand for goods and services that are related to vacations and free time. For example, prices for cultural and sporting events, goods and services rose sharply by 8.7% after months of falling. By 3.9% in just one month, the prices for visits to restaurants and bars rose, while food products and beverages marked only 0.1% growth. Transport, which mostly became cheaper in recent months, became more expensive again, although only by 0.9% compared to June. July is a month in which air tickets traditionally become more expensive, but fuel also became cheaper only in the last week, otherwise throughout July, gasoline and diesel were relatively expensive against the backdrop of the recent calm in oil prices. This July, for example, plane tickets have risen in price by 26.3%, while last year at the same time their prices had risen by only 12.6%. This is also the commodity with the biggest increase in price during the month. Another source of inflation in July 2024 is package holiday prices, which remain flat for the rest of the year. This time they have increased in price by 15.8% in just one month. Hotel accommodation also contributes to the relatively high price increase. In June it increased its prices by 10.9%, and in July - by another 20.4%.

Unemployment in Bulgaria fell to 4.3% in the period April - June, which is a contraction of 0.3 percentage points, according to NSI data. The unemployed number 130.3 thousand, of which 71.8 thousand (55.1%) are men and 58.5 thousand (44.9%) - women. Compared to a year earlier, the unemployed decreased by 10.7 thousand, or by 7.6%. Unemployed men are 4.4%, and for women the percentage is 4.1. The total number of economically inactive people over the age of 15 is 2,449 million people, of which 990,500 (40.4%) are men and 1,459,100 (59.6%) are women.

The company "Zapryanovi-03", which plans to extract marble from a quarry near the village of Dobrostan, itself wished to go through the more difficult procedure - conducting a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). EIA is a long and complex procedure in which the investor hires specialists with different expertise who must prepare a report and judge whether the investment intention may cause damage to nature in the area, as well as give recommendations on what can be done to don't let that happen. The investment intention of "Zapryanovi-03" Ltd. submitted to RISV-Plovdiv envisages the construction of a quarry for the extraction of marbles in the concession area "Vratitsa" in the land of the Assenovgrad village of Dobroostan. The deposit is on a little more than 219 decares. It was studied on the basis of a contract concluded between "Zapryanovi-03" and the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism on 27.02.2013. The company's intention is to mine marble in the area for 35 years. Residents of the villages of Dobrostan, Cherven, and Muldava protested more than once and spoke out against the mining of aggregates and marbles in the area, as they fear that this will endanger normal life in the nearby villages.

Over the next 10 years, over 19 thousand megawatts (MW) of new capacity are planned to be built in Bulgaria, with 90 percent of them being renewable energy sources - electricity production from renewable sources such as sun, wind and water. Of the planned nearly 17.5 thousand megawatts of new RES capacities, the majority - 85% - are photovoltaic plants. The Electricity system operator predicts that our country, from being a major exporter, will in the coming years cover its consumption by importing electricity at a more competitive price. Our coal plants are under extreme market pressure, mostly due to the high cost of carbon emissions. This will further complicate the management of the balance between production and consumption within the country. In this way, apart from technical, financial problems will also be created for the local coal plants from the unrealized availability for production. Without a financial support mechanism, coal plants will not produce electricity for economic reasons. With the accepted development of RES production, it is predicted that by 2033, it will exceed 50% of the projected gross electricity consumption in the country.

The purchase of the milk processing company OMK from the Greek "Tirbul" and BGN 16 million provided the "Galaxy Investment Group" with a new large field for construction in Plovdiv. The company, which is part of the group around "Vinprom Peshtera" (now "VP Brands International"), is one of the largest construction and investment groups in the city. Through her company "City Investment" she bought the land of the former factory of "United Dairy Company" (OMK) in Plovdiv. It is 35.8 decares, 14.3 of which are built with 32 buildings - workshops, warehouses, workshops, administrative buildings, etc. The factory became vacant after, as a result of the merger, the production of OMK in Plovdiv was closed and moved to the newly built factory of "Tirbul" in Sliven. "City Investment" already owns another 48 decares adjacent to the newly acquired land. This provides over 80 decares to "Galaxy Investment Group" in the "Northern" area of ​​Plovdiv along Danube Blvd. The new owner of the property plans to build a complex of multi-purpose buildings there. The land is in close proximity to Royal City, the city's first multi-functional complex with housing, offices, commercial premises and restaurants, owned by "Galaxy Investment Group".

The renewal of the production base of "LB Bulgaricum" in Vidin will start from September, announced the acting Minister of Economy and Industry Petko Nikolov. The base will be developed and improved, as there are no plans to build a new base in Bulgaria. However, it is planned to create a research laboratory in Sofia in cooperation with the Japanese company "Meiji". For the repair and improvement of working conditions, the company will rely on the Strategic Plan for Agricultural Policy, as well as on other opportunities offered by European funding. Upcoming renovations will include upgrades to the cold storage, warehouses and energy efficiency of the buildings, with the option of using photovoltaic systems. The company will also invest in new machinery for the production of dairy products. Air conditioning and equipment maintenance contracts have already been renewed. The Minister informed that the salaries of the employees have been increased by 10 percent retroactively from May 1 this year, and in September an additional 20 percent increase will be discussed.

The Bulgarian outsourced software services company Codery offers foreign companies to hire technology teams to start their operations in the country. The service for rental teams developed by Codery already works with a dozen clients, mainly from Western Europe, and the expectation is that by the end of the year their number will reach about 15, for which about 100 local IT specialists will be engaged. In 2023, the company already has BGN 2.6 million in revenue, compared to just over half a million in 2022. And the plans are for the business to grow both organically and through acquisitions in the coming years. The financing received from the mezzanine fund Silverline Capital, which, together with co-investors, invests EUR 2.6 million in the company will help with this. The innovative thing about Codery's business model is that it is something in the middle between the so-called gig economy (or freelance work) and outsourcing agencies. In the first case, companies can hire the specialists they need, usually for a specific project, contacting them directly, most often through various platforms for freelancers and shared teams, and the contracts are usually short-term. In the second, the business concludes a long-term (usually for several years) contract with a third party - an outsourced service provider, whose employees it uses to perform specific activities, but all management of the team remains with the outsourcing agency. With the service offered by Codery, the client entrusts the Bulgarian company to "assemble" the necessary team, but then effectively takes over its management. The specialists hired in this way remain Codery employees, but there is also an option to be "bought out" after a certain time and to officially transfer to the company that hired them.

Two companies and a total of six individuals filed appeals against the amounts awarded to them as compensation for the expropriation of their properties due to the construction of the Hemus motorway. The cases under the Law on State Property were filed in the Administrative Court - Razgrad by the companies "Agro Finance" JSC and "OMEGA AGRO INVEST" Ltd and three individuals who are appealing the decision of the Council of Ministers from May 17 this year to expropriate properties and parts of properties - private property for the needs of building the infrastructure object on the territory of Razgrad and Targovishte regions. The complaints filed by them against the government act concern a total of 11 landed properties, five of which are company property. An expert must inspect the respective properties and answer what is their market price and what is the amount of equivalent monetary compensation for the expropriated parts. The expert will have to give two versions of his conclusion – once taking into account the transactions with similar properties 12 months back before assigning the assessment by the SC on May 23, 2023, and a second time, within a one-year period until the date of expropriation – May 17, 2024 .The cases will be heard in the first week of September. ekip7

In the first quarter of 2024, global debt hit a new record, rising by $1.3 trillion to $315.1 trillion in just three months, according to the latest data from the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF). ). In countries with a developed economy, the USA and Japan made the biggest contribution to the increase in this indicator, and in the developing world - China, India and Mexico. Overall, the ratio of global debt to world GDP is 333%. Today, the largest share of global debt is held by non-financial corporations ($94.1 trillion), while sovereign debt is a close second behind the leader ($91.4 trillion). Financial sector debt is $70.4 trillion and household debt is $59.1 trillion. In the US, the cost of servicing the national debt already exceeds defense spending, and interest payments will continue to rise. Therefore, the White House may have to raise taxes or cut spending. So far, none of the political parties in the United States has a clear strategy for solving the problem of the country's fiscal instability. For emerging markets, rising debt burdens pose more serious risks. These risks are particularly high if the country is experiencing slow economic growth in a high interest rate environment. In such a scenario, many developing countries may have to restructure their debt as new loans become unavailable. Even more worrying is the fact that about a third of developing countries have still not recovered from the pandemic, and their per capita income is below the level seen in 2019. In the first quarter of 2024, the debt of emerging markets reached a record $105 trillion, an increase of $55 trillion over the past 10 years.

China will impose restrictions on the export of antimony and related elements in the name of national security. This was announced by the Ministry of Trade. Antimony is used in a wide range of products, from batteries to photovoltaics to ammunition and weapons. China is the world's largest producer of the rare metal. Beijing holds 48% of the world's antimony mine output in 2023, according to US Geological Survey data. Export controls on the rare element will be imposed from Sept. 15 to protect China's security and interests and to enable Beijing "to fulfill its international obligations for the non-proliferation of radioactive contaminants," the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. In future, anyone wishing to export a mineral or ore containing antimony in various forms will have to apply for a license. It is not clear to what extent exports will be blocked, but the wording "non-proliferation" suggests that it could be used for military purposes, the AP said. Last year, China imposed restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium, two metals used in computer chips and solar cells, to "protect national security". The US has restricted China's access to advanced semiconductors and other technologies for security reasons. Some US policymakers worry that they are too dependent on Beijing as a source. Antimony is used in flame retardants, batteries, night vision goggles, nuclear weapons production and other products, a 2021 US International Trade Commission report shows.