The European Parliament adopted, by an overwhelming majority, both its two opinions on the proposals for European Council directives on the corporate taxation of a significant digital presence and a Digital Services Tax (DST). MEPs added to the list of services that qualify as taxable revenues the supply of “content on a digital interface such as video, audio, games, or text using a digital interface”, regardless of whether the content is owned by that entity or if it has acquired the rights to distribute it. Online platforms selling digital content, such as Netflix, can therefore be taxed. MEPs agreed to reduce the minimum threshold above which a company’s revenues are liable to be taxed. The rules would apply to any entity generating revenues within the EU of more than EUR 40 million during the relevant financial year. The European Commission had proposed that this should be 50 million euro. MEPs underlined that the DST is a temporary measure. Adopting the Significant Digital Presence, the Common Corporate Consolidated Tax Base or similar rules reached at the OECD or at UN level would be permanent solutions.

Consumption per capita in Bulgaria in 2017 was 54 per cent of the European Union average, the lowest in the bloc, according to figures released on December 13 by EU statistics office Eurostat. Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) is a measure of material welfare of households. Across the EU countries in 2017, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 54 per cent of the EU average in Bulgaria to 132 per cent in Luxembourg, Eurostat said. The data is based on revised purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures, the statistics office said. Ten EU countries recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2017. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 32 per cent above the EU average, ahead of Germany (22 per cent above). They were followed by Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom, which recorded levels around 15 per cent and 20 per cent above the EU average, and Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and France with levels around 10 per cent above the EU average.

The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and the China Development Bank (CBD) have concluded a EUR 300 million financial agreement. The funds are part of a negotiated loan, amounting to EUR 1.5 billion, which will be disbursed in tranches. It was signed at the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Heads of Government from China and the Central and Eastern European Countries in July 2018, during which the first meeting of the China-CEE Interbank Association, hosted by the Bulgarian Development Bank, took place. This is the largest project of the China Development Bank's 16 + 1 financial initiative, in which China will provide EUR 2 billion to the CEE countries. Nearly 75% of these funds are planned for Bulgaria. This resource can take the form of bilateral loans from the CBD to the BDB and be used for co-financing, syndicated loans, project finance, participation in equity funds, support for projects of common interest and other projects subsequently agreed between BDB and CBD, including the ‘One Belt One road’ initiative.

Insurance company ‘IC Group’ has been sold and has become a member of a major Eastern European insurance company – Euroins Insurance Group (EIG). ‘IC Group’ will continue to operate on the market under the name of ‘Euroins Georgia’ and will fully implement the practices of the European insurance company, international experience and modern insurance system already approved in Europe, which are eligible for the local consumer market. Euroins Insurance Group represents one of the major insurance companies operating in the Central and Eastern European markets. The company is oriented on the full spectrum of insurance services. The company, founded in Bulgaria functions in 8 European countries. The company has subsidiaries in four of these countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, and Ukraine. In 2014 Euroins started operating in Greece. EIG has approximately 1600 employees, while the number of customers reaches more than 2.5 million. The annual revenue of the company is half a billion Euro. ‘IC Group’ was founded on November 10, 2005 and since then has offered a full specter of services to its customers. The company is actively involved in the implementation process of legislative regulations, as the member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (France, Georgia), Business Association of Georgia and Georgian Insurance Association.

In 2017 the activity of Bulgarian inventors grew - the number of both the patents (79) and the utility models (440) doubled. However, the activities of the companies are mainly oriented towards the introduction of innovations that are low-tech and are new to the national rather than to the international market. This shows the traditional report "Innovations BG 2018" of the Applied Research and Communications Foundation, assessing the state and the potential for innovation of the Bulgarian economy. For the second consecutive year, the patents of the business sector are ahead of those of individuals. Registered business patents are about 22 on average per year for the period since 2001. At the same time, the utility models (so-called small inventions) registered by individuals (about 60 per year) show almost constant growth, significant for the last two years. In 2017, the business registered 35 new patents. More than one patent had Assarel Medet-Panagurishte, Mauer Locking Systems-Varna, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., and Chemax Pharma-Sofia.

The capital of Bourgas-Alexandroupolis BG Plc will be increased by BGN 120,000 through the issue of 1200 new shares of this value. The shares will be acquired by the state through the budget of the Ministry of Energy. This is what the Council of Ministers has decided at a meeting. The funds for the capital increase are provided in the budget of the Ministry of Energy for 2018. They are intended to support the project company as well as to secure the company's financial commitments as a shareholder in the international company Trans Balkan Pipeline BV, registered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Bourgas-Alexandroupolis BR Plc. Is a state-owned joint-stock company in which the Minister of Energy exercises the rights of the sole owner of the capital. Trans Balkan Pipeline BV was established in 2008 under the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation, Bulgaria and Greece.

Bulgarian farming group BG Agro said that it has merged three of its wholly-owned units. BG Agro Trade Company has absorbed Bulport and BG Agro Innovations and Investments, BG Agro said in a bourse filing. The merger has been entered into the commercial register. BG Agro did not disclose its motives for the decision.

Conservative lawmakers in the U.K. voted on one question, but decided another. Their choice may not make the path for an orderly Brexit any easier, but it may make a disorderly Brexit a little less likely. The ballot presented to 317 Tory members of parliament on Wednesday night was straightforward: It asked them whether they had confidence in their party leader, Prime Minister Theresa May. The result – she prevailed by 200 votes to 117 – shows that many clearly don't. But if the verdict offers May little comfort personally, it shows that MPs understood the real question they were being asked was somewhat different. Were they willing to gamble on Britain exiting the European Union without a deal? It is hard to see their answer as anything other than a vote of no confidence in the hardline Brexiters who have been pushing for months to replace May with a leader who would champion a no-deal Brexit. The result suggests the Tories want to hold the center ground, which is where May has belatedly sought to lead them. Unfortunately, she has squandered much good faith along the way and now leads with diminished authority.

The number of Americans filing applications for jobless benefits tumbled to near a 49-year low last week, which could ease concerns about a slowdown in the labor market and economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ended Dec. 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Last week’s decline in claims was the largest since April 2015. Claims hit 202,000 in mid-September, which was the lowest level since December 1969. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 225,000 in the latest week. Claims shot up to an eight-month high of 235,000 during the week ended Nov. 24. The Labor Department said only claims for Virginia were estimated last week. The four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 3,750 to 224,750 last week.

China will keep its economic growth within a reasonable range next year, striving to support jobs, trade and investment while pushing reforms and curbing risks, the top decision-making body of the Communist Party, the politburo, said. “We will promote steady growth, promote reform, adjust structure, benefit people’s livelihood and prevent risks in a coordinated way, and keep economic operation in a reasonable range,” politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping announced. The government has recently launched a raft of measures, including reductions in reserve requirements for banks, tax cuts and more infrastructure spending, to ward off a sharp deceleration in the economy. Further steps to bolster growth are expected. It will further stabilize employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, investment and market expectations and boost market confidence. The politburo called for greater awareness of potential problems in the economy given changes in both external and domestic conditions. “We should strengthen coordination and cooperation, focus on major contradictions, grasp the pace and strength of the economy, and strive to achieve the best policy mix and the maximum overall effect,” it said.