Loans to Bulgaria's non-government sector rose by an annual 8.5% to BGN 57.7 billion at the end of January, the central bank, BNB, said. The loans at the end of the first month of this year were equal to 49.9% of Bulgaria's forecast gross domestic product in 2019, BNB added. Loans to non-financial corporations amounted to BGN 32.9 billion at the end of January, up by 5.8% year-on-year. Loans to households rose by an annual 10.8% to BGN 21.9 billion, while leans to non-financial corporations totalled BGN 2.9 billion, up 24.7% on the year.

The total turnover index for the sector "Transport, storage and post", calculated by seasonally adjusted data, increased by 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the third quarter of 2018, according to preliminary data of the National Statistical Institute. Growth is observed in most activities, the highest in “Air Transport” - by 9.4%. Decrease was observed only in "Storage and handling of freight, transport auxiliary activities" - by 1.6%. The Total Turnover Index for the ICT sector increased by 1.7% compared to the third quarter of 2018. For most activities was recorded an increase, with the largest hike reported in "Information Services" - 9.3%. Decrease was registered in "Publishing" (by 9.1%) and "Production of films and TV programs, sound recording and musical edition" (by 1.6%).

The company, which is preparing the construction of the Bulgarian-Greek gas link ICGB AD, submitted a network code for the IGB gas pipeline to the regulators of Bulgaria and Greece, which made another step towards its certification as an independent gas transmission operator. Documents were filed on February 19, 2019, four months before the deadline of July 1, 2019, not later than 12 months before the date of commercial exploitation of the interconnector. The Network Code contains the rules and procedures for operating the IGB gas transmission system and details of the rights and obligations of the transmission operator and traders. It lists - detailed procedures for normal operation, including requesting capacity at IGB input and output points for straight and reverse flow; all necessary procedures for trading on the secondary market, which will be available to all traders; congestion management procedures and the "use or lose" principle; procedures for publishing data on the functionality and availability of capacity for all pipeline users.

Bulgarian diversified group Bulgartabac Holding said that it is seeking approval from its shareholders to change its name to Bulgarian Investment Holding. The shareholders will vote on the proposal at an extraordinary meeting scheduled for April 11, Bulgartabac Holding said. In 2017, the group sold its biggest cigarette brands for more than EUR 100 million to British American Tobacco (BAT). Also in 2017, Bulgartabac Holding acquired local consumer electronics retailer Technomarket and milk products producer Lodis Invest, diversifying its portfolio.

The latest generation of nano-satellite data receiving antenna is now working on the VIVACOM Plana satellite station. It is installed by the leading Bulgarian company of nano-satellites Endurosat. The two companies have signed a long-term partnership to work together in the field of satellite communications with nano-satellites. Nano-satellites are increasingly being used for ground observation, communication purposes, information transfer, research and training. Plana's antenna is a further step of EnduroSat to create a global network for communication with similar types of satellites to companies, research centers and universities. The role of VIVACOM is to provide professional support in the management and transmission of data from nano-satellites. According to Euroconsult, over 7,000 new nano-satellites are projected to be launched worldwide in the next 10 years.

Greek Piraeus Bank will retain its assets in Bulgaria worth more than BGN 150 mln after the sale of its subsidiary Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. For this purpose a new Piraeus Real Estate Company will be established, which will be controlled by the Greek group. Piraeus Bank Bulgaria is the subject of a deal with Eurobank, the owner of Postbank. The sale is currently being examined by the Commission for the Protection of Competition, and at a later stage the BNB will pronounce its decision. The contract amount is EUR 75 million. As for the new company, Piraeus Real Estate will transfer several subsidiaries to Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, including Varna Asset Management, Beta Asset Management, Delta Asset Management and four others. The assets will be transferred to the company, covering immovable property acquired by debtors. Piraeus Real Estate will be registered with a capital of BGN 1 million and will be headed by Emil Angelov and Arhontia Saridemertsi. The establishment of the new company must be approved by the BNB and the shareholders of Piraeus Bank.

Bulgaria's Sunny Day said that its majority owner Sunny Tour intends to launch a buyout bid for the remaining 4.61% stake it does not already own. Following the buyout, Sunny Tour plans to delist Sunny Day from the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. Sunny Day shares last traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange at a price of BGN 0.995. A 4.61% stake in the company is equal to just over 522,000 shares. Last month, Bulgaria's Amadeus ACG acquired 100% of Sunny Tour. Sunny Day operates two hotels - The Palace Hotel and Marina Hotel - near Varna, on the Black Sea coast.

Spanish real estate developer Bogaris Industrial intends to reduce the capital of its wholly-owned Bulgarian subsidiary Elin Pelin Industrial by BGN 3.975 million to BGN 5,600. Part of the freed funds will be used to cover accumulated losses, while the remainder will be distributed to Bogaris Industrial. The capital reduction will be carried out by decreasing the number of issued shares of Elin Pelin Industrial to 50 from 35,542, keeping their par value of BGN 112 apiece. According to data from Elin Pelin Industrial's annual financial report, the company had BGN 933,000 of accumulated losses at the end of 2018, BGN 474,000 of which racked up in 2018 alone. Elsewhere in Southeast Europe, Bogaris Industrial is also active in Romania.

Brexit could be delayed until 2021 under plans being explored by the EU’s most senior officials, at a time of growing exasperation over Theresa May’s handling of the talks, the Guardian can reveal. A lengthy extension of the negotiating period is gaining traction as the EU’s default position should the Commons continue to reject May’s deal, and a request emerge. Replacing the 21-month transition period with extra time as a member state would allow the UK and the EU to develop their plans for the future relationship with the aim of making the contentious Irish backstop redundant. Brussels is determined to avoid offering a short extension only to have to revisit the issue in the summer when the government again fails to win round parliament. „A 21-month extension makes sense as it would cover the multi-financial framework [the EU’s budget period] and make things easier. Provided leaders are not completely down with Brexit fatigue, and a three-month technical extension won’t cut it, I would expect a 21-month kick [of the can]. It is doing the rounds in Brussels corridors. Martin Selmayr [the European commission’s secretary-general], among others, also fond of the idea.”

More than three-quarters of business economists expect the U.S. to enter a recession by the end of 2021, though a majority still estimate the Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates this year. Ten percent saw a recession beginning this year, 42 percent project one next year, while 25 percent expect a contraction starting in 2021, according to a semiannual National Association for Business Economics survey released Monday. The rest expect a recession later than 2021 or expressed no opinion, the Jan. 30-Feb. 8 poll of nearly 300 members showed. The projections come ahead of the Commerce Department’s release this week of the advance reading for fourth quarter gross domestic product, which was delayed by the government shutdown. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected as of Friday that growth cooled to a 2.5 percent annualized rate in the final months of 2018 from 3.4 percent in the third quarter. NABE members were divided on the impact of the Fed’s balance sheet normalization process. Asked about the effect of the tightening on short-term funding rates, a fifth said saw no impact, a fifth said it would raise rates by 25 basis points, and a fifth said said they would rise 50 basis points or more.

President Donald Trump said he would delay an increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods thanks to “productive” trade talks and that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet to seal a deal if progress continued. The announcement was the clearest sign yet that China and the United States are closing in on a deal to end a months-long trade war that has slowed global growth and disrupted markets. Trump had planned to raise tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports into the United States if an agreement between the world’s two largest economies were not reached by Friday. After a week of talks that extended into the weekend, Trump said those tariffs would not go up for now. In a tweet, he said progress had been made in divisive areas including intellectual property protection, technology transfers, agriculture, services and currency. The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, told a forum in Beijing on Monday that the talks had made “substantive progress”, providing positive expectations for the stability of bilateral ties and global economic development, China’s Foreign Ministry said.