Bulgaria’s economy posted 0.7 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2018, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) in Bulgaria in the last three months of last year was BGN 29.88 billion (EUR 15.28 billion). In annual terms, economic growth in the fourth quarter was 3.1 per cent. The flash estimate’s seasonally-adjusted data showed an increase of 0.2 per cent in domestic consumption during the fourth quarter (up by 5.3 per cent on an annual basis), along with a 0.3 per cent increase in gross fixed capital formation (which was up by four per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2017). Exports rose by 2.4 per cent during the fourth quarter (and were up 0.8 per cent compared to the same period of 2017), while imports were 3.3 per cent higher compared to the previous quarter (and 2.5 per cent higher on an annual basis), resulting in a trade deficit of BGN 699 million or 2.3 per cent of GDP.

Bulgaria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 5.6% in the same period 2017, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. Youth unemployment, covering persons in the age bracket 15-29 years, dropped to 7.4% in the period under review from 9.4% in the fourth quarter of 2017, NSI said in a quarterly labour force survey. Long-term unemployment rate - covering people who have been without a job for more than a year - was 2.9%, or 95,700 people. The employment rate among people aged 15 to 64 rose by 0.2 percentage points year-on-year to 67.7%. The share of economically active people aged 15-64 fell by 0.5 pp to 71.1%. There were 1.3 million economically inactive persons aged 15-64 in the fourth quarter, or 28.9% of the population in this age group. Of them 71,000, or 5.4%, were discouraged persons.

Velocity Minerals Ltd. announces that it has received additional positive drill results from the Rozino gold project in Bulgaria. Highlights include 24.4m from surface @ 0.85g/t gold and 31.8m @ 0.58g/t gold, including 8.0m @ 1.04g/t gold. Mineralization remains open for expansion. “The addition of near-surface gold mineralization outside of the PEA base case pit limit was a primary objective of the current drill program,” stated Keith Henderson, Velocity’s President & CEO. “We have been successful in demonstrating that the Rozino deposit is not fully defined by the PEA results and that there is potentially more to be added in terms of additional mineralization.” Mr. Henderson continued, “In total we plan to complete more than 12,000 metres of drilling at Rozino this year. This will include both infill drilling and additional exploration drilling as we seek to define the outer limits of the deposit.”

Sofia-based company Vkusna yadka will invest BGN 5 million in a new factory in Lozen, which will be third for the company. The investment is co-financed by the Rural Development Program with a subsidy of BGN 3,910 million and the rest is from own funds. Part of the amount is also planned for the development of company brands. The construction will begin in the middle of this year. The factory will have an area of 1500 square meters and will operate with modern technology. It is expected that the investment will significantly increase the production capacity of the company and provide at least 20 new jobs. The company also has a factory in Silistra, where it also has 8000 decares of own sunflower crops and silos. The company exports raw materials to Mexico and the United States. The latest annual financial report published in the register shows that the company's total revenue for the year 2017 was BGN 5,070 million and the profit was BGN 130 thousand. In 2018 the company registered a 48% growth in revenue - a result of the development of its brand strategy.

Bulgaria's Doverie United Holding said that its wholly-owned unit Doverie-Invest has signed a preliminary agreement for the acquisition of 63.8% interest in Moldova's Moldindconbank (MICB). The signing of the agreement with Moldova's government gives Doverie-Invest the right to participate in a public tender for the acquisition of the 63.8865% stake in Moldindconbank, with the starting price set at BGN 76.6 million. Last month, Moldova's central bank BNM gave preliminary approval to the Bulgarian company to acquire the majority stake in Moldindconbank. "The investor expresses his interest in an appropriate period for Moldindconbank, after the BNM decided by law, on 18 January 2019, to extend for the last three-month period the sale deadline of the newly issued shares of this bank. Thus, the sale of the single share package in the amount of 63.89% of the bank’s share capital, will take place for the benefit of the bank’s activity and its further development," BNM said at the time. This is not Doverie's first attempt to enter Moldova's banking market. In September 2017, the company also received the BNM's prior permission to acquire the share package of another Moldovan bank but "for objective reasons that transaction was not carried out", the central bank said. Eleven commercial banks operated in Moldova as at the end of 2018. Moldindconbank ranked second in terms of profit - 530 million lei, up from 455.6 million lei in 2017.

Bulgartransgaz said it has suspended its tender for construction of a 484 km gas pipeline from compressor station Nova Provadia to the border with Serbia, worth an estimated BGN 2.29 billion, VAT excluded. The procedure was suspended over a complaint filed with the Commission for Protection of Competition by local power plant equipment maintenance and repair services company Atomenergoremont, the state-owned Bulgarian gas transmission system operator said. In its complaint, Atomenergoremont has challenged Bulgartransgaz' clarifications on issues raised by persons interested in participating in the procedure. Bulgartransgaz's clarifications cover 15 questions by interested parties, mainly related to how the contract will be financed and the payment time frame. Tendering will be resumed if the competition regulator denies Atomenergoremont's request for suspension of the tender or if it rules in Bulgartransgaz' favor at the end of the proceedings. Subsequently, Bulgartransgaz will have to extend the deadline for submitting offers, taking into consideration for how long the procedure was suspended.

The first plant for handmade Italian pasta will open doors in the industrial zone near Bulgarovo. Investor is the Dutch company Maviglia, which today holds leading positions in the production of fresh pasta in Belgium and the Netherlands. The company has already bought 9 acres of the industrial park. The estimated investment is about BGN 5 million. The company announced it will start with 10 workers, with an option to increase them to 40.

Canada's Dundee Precious Metals said its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation from the operation of its Chelopech gold-copper mine in Bulgaria rose to USD 116.8 million in 2018 from USD 107.9 million the year before on the back of record gold output. The Chelopech mine generated revenue of USD 213.6 million last year, up from USD 206.2 million in 2017. Gold in copper concentrate produced edged up to 141,840 ounces in 2018 from 141,235 ounces the year before, while gold in pyrite concentrate increased to 59,255 ounces last year from 56,449 ounces in 2017. Cash cost per tonne of ore processed and all-in sustaining cost per ounce of gold beat or were at the low end of 2018 guidance. DPM also expects to start commercial gold production at its other gold mine in Bulgaria - Krumovgrad, in the second quarter of 2019.

The EU should offer the UK concessions over Brexit, a leading German economic think tank said. The boss of the IFO Institute said steps should be taken to keep the "EU and the UK in a joint customs territory after 2020". Gabriel Felbermayr said German firms were being affected by the uncertainty surrounding the terms of the UK's departure. "Businesses are suffering already," he said. Mr Felbermayr, director of the IFO, told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that German exports to the UK had fallen by about 10% in real terms since summer 2016. The IFO has calculated that German GDP could be permanently lower by 0.2 to 0.5% in the long-run, with larger negative effects in the short-term. "The uncertainty around this whole process is costing [German business] dearly," he said. The concern was not so much about if there would be tariffs or controls at the borders. "The big concern is how to get rid of this enormous uncertainty that has been weighing on economic activity for two years now," he said. While German business groups were maintaining a tough stance to avoid undermining the European Commission's negotiating stance, Mr Felbermayr said the EU should take a softer approach.

U.S. retail sales recorded their biggest drop in more than nine years in December as receipts fell across the board, suggesting a sharp slowdown in economic activity at the end of 2018. The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales tumbled 1.2 percent, the largest decline since September 2009 when the economy was emerging from recession. Data for November was revised slightly down to show retail sales edging up 0.1 percent instead of gaining 0.2 percent as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales increasing 0.2 percent in December. Retail sales in December rose 2.3 percent from a year ago. The December retail sales report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government that ended on Jan. 25. No date has been set for the release of the January retail sales report, which was scheduled for publication on Friday. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales dropped 1.7 percent last month after a slightly upwardly revised 1.0 percent surge in November. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. They were previously reported to have jumped 0.9 percent in November.

Tata Power, The AES Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation inaugurated India’s first grid-scale battery-based energy storage system in Rohini, Delhi. The 10 megawatt (MW), 10 megawatt-hour (MWh) grid-connected system, owned by AES and Mitsubishi Corporation will pave the path for wider adoption of grid-scale energy storage technology across India. Fluence, a market-leading supplier of energy storage technology jointly owned by Siemens and AES, supplied its state of the art Advancion technology for the project. Battery-based energy storage enables electricity to be stored and then delivered within milliseconds, reducing instability of the electric grid and enabling more energy to be captured and delivered on demand. India has the ambitious vision of installing 225 GW of renewable energy generation by 2022. Battery-based energy storage provides the flexibility and agility to better integrate intermittent solar and wind energy resources into India’s electric grid and ensure high-quality power for consumers.