Business Industry Capital
Bulgaria
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BNB Exchange Rates
(15.01.2019) |
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EUR |
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1.95583 |
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GBP |
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2.19109 |
USD |
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1.70562 |
CHF |
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1.73728 |
EUR/USD |
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1.1467* |
ECB exchange rate |
Basic Interest Rate |
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as of 01.01 |
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0 % |
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Financial news |
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Bulgaria ends the third quarter of 2018 with a EUR 2.2 billion surplus on the current account, according to Eurostat's seasonally-adjusted data. The amount is smaller compared to the same period of 2017 when the surplus was EUR 400 million higher - EUR 2.6 billion, indicating a slight slowdown on an annual basis. However, compared to the second quarter of 2018, the surplus is remarkably higher - for April-June, it was only 0.3%. The European Union as a whole has a current account surplus of EUR 38.7 billion (1.0% of GDP) for the third quarter of 2018, however, reporting year-on-year and quarterly declines. In the third quarter of 2017, the surplus amounted to EUR 60.4 billion (1.6% of GDP), and in the second quarter of 2018 to 59.9% (1.5%). Data for the EU as a whole are seasonally adjusted. Over the period July-September, the surplus on the current account for goods marked a more than double decrease compared to the second quarter - to EUR 10.2 billion from EUR 24.4 billion. Source: investor.bg
A record BGN 929 billion was paid between people and businesses in 2018, according to BNB statistics. For comparison, BGN 702.6 billion were processed in 2017, and BGN 779 billion in 2016. The amount for last year was nearly BGN 200 billion more than in the years before the crisis. The cash flow in 2018 was generated by a little over 1 million payment orders. On average, citizens and businesses issued settlement and payment orders for 4272 cash transactions per day. The biggest was their issue on December 21st. On average, a payment of BGN 3.74 billion were ordered per day last year, data from the central bank shows. The biggest cash flow for one day was processed on December 14 - BGN 6.6 billion. The record as a sum for one-day payments, however, was recorded in 2016 on 14 January - BGN 6.95 billion. The largest transaction in 2018 was for BGN 31.9 million and the smallest for BGN 2.94. Source: 24 chasa
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Companies |
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Bulgaria will seek ways to boost power supplies by the state-owned electricity producers to the day-ahead market of the Independent Bulgarian Electricity Exchange (IBEX) in an attempt to stabilise the market, the energy ministry said. The exact volumes of additional electricity that each state-owned power producer can provide for trade on the IBEX is yet to be determined, energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said after a meeting of the heads of the three power distribution companies in the country, the state-owned power producers and their parent company - the Bulgarian Energy Holding, IBEX and the Electricity System Operator. The state-owned National Electricity Company, Kozloduy nuclear power plant and Maritsa East 2 thermal power plant, currently obliged to provide 690 MWh hourly for trade on the IBEX day-ahead segment, will have to increase this amount to over 700 MWh as of January 19. As another step towards reducing demand risks on the market, the power distributors should propose within a week new standardised products for trade on IBEX which would diversify trade. Source: investor.bg
Until 2030 there will be no closure of the Maritsa-Iztok complex. This applies to both TPPs and mines. This is outlined in the Integrated National Climate and Energy Plan by 2030, with a horizon of 2050, which was presented for the first time before the trade unions. These plans set national targets for Member States and policies and measures to achieve them. This ensures the achievement of the European climate change targets up to 2030, namely a 32% share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency and at least 15% intersystem connection. According to Ministers Petkova, coal is part of the national security and there is no other alternative for the Bulgarian energy system. "After 2030 there is a planned phase-out of capacity in the three TPPs on the territory of the complex," the Energy minister said. The reason is their technological resource. But if there are investments in new technologies, they will continue to operate. Source: Sega
Nestle's ice cream factory in Varna is ceasing operations, the company said. The plant is owned by the Swiss company Nestle and the British R & R, which more than two years ago created the Froneri joint venture, which is also the direct owner. 72 people working in the factory will have to find a new job, with the company promising packages with benefits that go beyond the legal minimum for all of the affected employees. Froneri also said that work would be offered to those interested in other subsidiaries abroad. "We are determined to continue work and development on the Bulgarian market, but in order to maintain growth and our competitiveness at the local level, we need to rethink the future of our factory in Varna," the company said. Froneri Bulgaria will continue to work with around 90 people who are engaged in sales, marketing, supply and finance. "The company continues to develop its business in Bulgaria and will continue to invest in increasing ice-cream consumption in Bulgaria as a market leader," the report said. Froneri is the second largest ice cream maker in Europe and the third largest in the world. Nestle has been working in Varna since 2006 when the Swiss company bought the ice cream factory, which is the leader on the Bulgarian market with a share of about 40%.
Armaco Arms Trading Company is the new owner of the Kartala ski area, located in the Bodrost area near Blagoevgrad. The deal was concluded in the first days of the new year as the seller is the Bulgarian-American Credit Bank (BACB). The area, which includes 5 km long ski runs, a two-station cabin lift and two ski lifts, was started in 2006 by Prima Invest BG, but subsequently came under the control of the bank for an unpaid loan. The buyer company, Armaco, declined to announce the deal price, but confirmed that it was already closed. Source: Capital
Sofia Commodity Exchange AD has developed a new e-commerce platform, the management of the company announced at its regular annual briefing. Work has begun from scratch, but it is done in cooperation with a US company with experience in this field. The platform – software and hardware, is financed entirely by own funds of the Commodity Exchange AD, said its executive director Vassil Simov. It is built on a modular principle and provides opportunities for subsequent upgrading. The Internet system will manage the internal business processes of the exchange and offer new electronic services and access for brokers and other interested parties to remote auctions as well as occasional trading. A special surveillance zone will be set up at Sofia Commodity Exchange AD. Source: Banker
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Bulgarian Industrial Association
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World
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Europe |
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Demand for financial services in the UK has fallen for the first time in five years, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry and PricewaterhouseCoopers, a result from Brexit uncertainty and regulatory changes. And profitability in the sector which raises most tax in Britain was flat for the third quarter in a row in the three months to December 2018, the survey added. The slowdown comes with only 75 days until Brexit and amid concerns that the UK could leave the European Union without a deal. The financial sector would be one of the hardest hit by no deal as firms lose access to EU markets and several companies have put in place a no-deal Brexit contingency plan. The survey of 84 firms said demand is expected to continue falling during the quarter to March, with profitability also expected to drop for the first time in three years. "A combination of macroeconomic and Brexit uncertainty, regulatory compliance and global market volatility are taking a toll on the UK's financial services sector," CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said. She added the survey results should serve as a warning shot about the UK economy.
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America |
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Citigroup posted fourth-quarter revenue that missed analysts' estimates by a half-billion dollars as bond trading declined amid a difficult December for markets. The bank said fixed-income revenue dropped 21 percent to $1.94 billion from a year earlier as trading conditions deteriorated after the company gave guidance in early December. That miss accounted for the lion's share of the revenue shortfall: Citigroup said it produced $17.1 billion in company-wide revenue, below the $17.6 billion average estimate of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. "A volatile fourth quarter impacted some of our market-sensitive businesses," CEO Michael Corbat said in the earnings release. He added that management "remain committed" to delivering on their 2019 targets. Still, the bank made $1.61 in profit per share excluding one-time impacts of the U.S. tax overhaul, beating analysts' expectations for $1.55 on better-than-expected cuts in expenses and loan losses. Operating expenses fell 4 percent to $9.89 billion in the quarter, driven in part by lower compensation costs. Earnings of $4.2 billion rose 14 percent in the quarter, thanks to lower expenses, credit costs and a lower corporate tax rate.
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Asia |
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China will roll out a series of measures to maintain stable employment this year, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, citing the country’s human resources ministry. China is grappling with the impact of a slowing economy amid a damaging trade dispute with the United States, its largest trading partner, and sources have said it plans to set a lower economic growth target of 6 to 6.5 percent in 2019, compared with “around” 6.5 percent in 2018. In order to ensure employment, the Chinese government will reduce the burden on companies, officials from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said, adding that research on plans to cut their social insurance premium rate would be accelerated. “Enterprises with fewer or zero layoffs can take half of the previous year’s unemployment insurance premium back,” an unnamed senior ministry official said, reiterating a policy that was flagged by the State Council, China’s cabinet, in December. China’s urban unemployment rate was 3.8 percent by the end of 2018, with 13.61 million new jobs created in urban areas last year, up 100,000 from 2017.
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Indexes of Stock Exchanges 14.01.2019 |
Dow Jones Industrial |
23 909.84 |
(-86.11) |
Nasdaq Composite |
6 905.92 |
(-65.56) |
Commodity exchanges 14.01.2019 |
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Commodity |
Price |
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Light crude ($US/bbl.) | 51.21 |
Heating oil ($US/gal.) | 1.8700 |
Natural gas ($US/mmbtu) | 3.7100 |
Unleaded gas ($US/gal.) | 1.3800 |
Gold ($US/Troy Oz.) | 1 291.30 |
Silver ($US/Troy Oz.) | 15.72 |
Platinum ($US/Troy Oz.) | 808.20 |
Hogs (cents/lb.) | 66.82 |
Live cattle (cents/lb.) | 126.68 |
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Municipality of Stambolovo |
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The territory of the municipality of Stambolovo has been inhabited since ancient times. The region is rich in archeological monuments of all epochs: there are artifacts from Thracian, pre-Roman and Roman times as well as proto-Bulgarian settlements from the Middle Ages. Among the most notable are the Thracian rock niches and rock tombs near the village of Dolno Cherkovishte and the Thracian cult complex Chala in the village of Kralevo. Also interesting are the remains of Thracian wine-stones near the village of Dolno Botevo. In the municipality there are also two protected areas, Oreshari and Golemiat Sipei, where the favorable living conditions have provided a home to 87 species of birds, 21 of which are listed in the Bulgarian Red Book of endangered species. These include the Black Stork, the Griffon and Egyptian vultures, the long-legged buzzard and the Imperial Eagle. The main livelihoods of local people are tobacco and vineyard cultivation. Indeed, the region is famous for its vineyards, which cover an area of 8 376 decares, mainly concentrated around the villages of Stambolovo, Tsareva polyana, Popovets, Tankovo and Malak Izvor. Here the famous wine Stambolovo Merlot is produced.
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