Bulgaria's industrial producer price index (PPI) rose 2.7% year-on-year in December, after increasing by 3.4% in November, the NSI said in a monthly report on producer prices in industry. On a monthly comparison basis, producer prices edged down 0.7% in December, after dropping 0.3% in the previous month. The PPI on the domestic market climbed 2.9% on the year and was 0.4% lower month-on-month in December. The PPI on the international market added 2.4% on the year and was 1.2% lower than the value recorded the month before.

In 2018 the foreign investments in Bulgaria dwindled with over half a billion Euro to EUR 800 million, preliminary data (from November 2018) of the Bulgarian National Bank show. Meanwhile, Bulgarian companies invested abroad nearly EUR 280 million. Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev noted several days ago that the authorities should take measures to encourage foreign investments in this country. However, Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov contends that we cannot speak of a collapse of investments in the country and supports his thesis with the argument that in 2017 a total of 31 Class A investment projects to the tune of EUR 159 million were fulfilled, whereas last year 28 certified projects amounting to EUR 434 million were implemented. Bulgaria has turned into one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of parts, units, and devices for the automotive industry. Over 100 foreign companies from this sector have business in Bulgaria. These investors employ tens of thousands of Bulgarian citizens.

The American Automobile Component Company Sensata Technologies Bulgaria started building a new production building and warehouse area in Botevgrad. The investment in construction and production equipment will amount to USD 27 million. With the new production expansion, Sensata Technologies Bulgaria plans to open 300 new jobs. The new building will have a total built-up area of 4,000 sq m and is designed to offer a high level of construction and energy efficiency. With new investments, production capacities and more than 4,700 employees across the country, Sensata Technologies continues to be the largest employer in the automotive industry and a preferred partner in Bulgaria.

The world’s largest social network, Facebook, has announced plans to open a content review centre in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. The media giant will work together with Telus International, one of the largest outsourcing companies in Bulgaria. “Next year, around 150 employees will work in this centre to review content and support the many different Facebook communities,” said Telus in an official statement. In 2018, Facebook opened similar centres in Spain and Latvia. The team in Sofia will review reported posts in Turkish, Russian and Kazakh.

The VOSS automotive component company, which will work at the Bahovitsa plant, where the Chinese cars of Litex Motors were manufactured, is looking for people for their team. The first hired employees started training in Poland, where they will be trained to work on VOSS Automotive standards and technologies within 3 months. Future employees will be trained in Poland because the company's factory has a similar output to the Bulgarian. At present, the administrative department consists of 30 people and by the end of May another 150 workers will be recruited. Among the goals that the company has set itself, is to hire about 500 people at the VOSS plant in Bahovitsa by the end of 2019. At the VOSS plant in Bahovica, the machines are to be installed and the production lines will be put into operation in order for the first order to be ready for export in May 2019. In 2018, the German leader in the automotive and machine-building industry, VOSS, added Bulgaria to its network of plants all over the world.

Bulgaria’s First Investment Bank has leased a "significant part" of the site of bankrupt steel mill Kremikovtsi to a unit of Austria's Soravia Group. The financial lease deal is part of Fibank's long-term strategy for reducing assets which do not contribute to the lender's interest income. No further details were disclosed. Fibank acquired Kremikovtsi's assets in January 2016 from local companies Eltrade Company and Ferosplaven Zavod. In April 2011, Eltrade Company purchased the steel mill's assets for BGN 316 million. Fibank said at the time it lent Eltrade Company EUR 59 million to finance the deal. Kremikovtzi, once Bulgaria's largest steel mill located in the outskirts of Sofia, went bankrupt in August 2008.

Steel radiator manufacturer Korado Bulgaria, part of Czech Republic's Korado Group, that its net profit rose by an annual 10% to BGN 5.3 million in 2018. The company's revenue grew 3.3% to BGN 44 million last year, despite a drop in sales volume. Korado Bulgaria sold 547,138 units in 2018, down from 555,747 units sold in 2017. The decrease was mainly due to lower sales in non-EU countries - 29,562 units last year versus 48,314 units sold in 2017. Domestic sales also decreased, to 10,532 units in 2018 from 15,946 units the year before. Sales to other EU countries grew to 507,044 units last year from 491,487 units in 2017. The company produced 467,497 steel panel radiators last year, up from 460,569 the year before, following a strong increase in output in the second half of the year. Korado Bulgaria produced 245,880 panel radiators in July-December, compared to 228,825 radiators in the second half of 2017. Korado Bulgaria also said it has produced 83,800 towel rail radiators last year, without providing comparative data for 2017.

The European Union needs Britain to clarify its next steps on Brexit, a deputy head of the bloc's executive European Commission said. "We continue to urge the UK government to clarify its intentions with respect to its next steps as soon as possible," Frans Timmermans told a news conference. Given the increasing risk that the United Kingdom may leave the EU on 30 March this year without a deal (a “no-deal” scenario), the European Commission has today adopted a final set of contingency proposals in the area of the Erasmus+ programme, social security coordination and the EU budget. The measures would ensure that in the event of a “no-deal” scenario: Young people from the EU and the UK who are participating in the Erasmus+ programme on 30 March 2019 can complete their stay without interruption. EU Member State authorities will continue to take into account periods of insurance, (self) employment or residence in the United Kingdom before withdrawal, when calculating social security benefits, such as pensions.

Venezuelan lawmaker Jose Guerra announced that the Russian Boeing 777 that had landed in Caracas the day before was there to spirit away 20 tons of gold from the vaults of the country’s central bank. The claim set off a welter of social media speculation and outrage. When asked how he knew this, Guerra provided no evidence. Just another outlandish comment from a lawmaker trying to draw attention to the plight of crisis-torn Venezuela? Perhaps not. For one thing, Guerra is a former central bank economist who remains in touch with old colleagues there. For another, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News Tuesday that 20 tons of gold have been set aside in the central bank for loading. Worth some $840 million, the gold represents about 20 percent of its holdings of the metal in Venezuela, the person said. He provided no further information on plans for those bars. With strongman President Nicolas Maduro losing control of the country’s already-scant finances and reserves thanks to U.S. sanctions, who can put his hands on the nation’s estimated 200 tons of gold at home and abroad has become a key question.

China's nuclear power generation increased in 2018 as the country installed more reactor units, official data showed. Altogether 294.4 billion kWh of nuclear power was generated last year, up 18.6 percent year on year, according to the China Electricity Council (CEC). It accounted for 4.2 percent of the country's overall electricity generation, saving 90 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 280 million tonnes. China's nuclear power units kept safe and stable operation in 2018, according to the CEC. The country put into operation seven nuclear power units last year, with newly installed capacity reaching 8.84 million kilowatts, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said. At present, 45 nuclear power units are in operation in the country, with a total installed capacity of 45.9 million kilowatts, the third largest in the world, according to the NEA. Another 11 units are under construction, with a combined installed capacity of 12.18 million kilowatts.