Inflation in Bulgaria is again gaining momentum in March, and our country ranks fourth in the European Union to raise prices, according to data from the European Statistical Office. In the third month of the year, prices rose by 2.8 percent over the same period last year. As of February 2019, the consumer basket is 0.2 percent more expensive. The highest rise in Eurostat was recorded in Romania (4.2%), Hungary (3.8%) and the Netherlands (2.9%). Compared to February, annual inflation is falling in six countries, staying stable in two, and rising to 19. Compared to March, the lowest growth rate was in Portugal (0.8%) and Greece (1%). In the euro area, inflation is 1.4 percent from 1.5 percent in February. In the EU it is 1.6%, stable against February. In the euro area, energy (+0.52 percentage points), services (+0.51 percentage points), food, alcohol and cigarettes (+ 0.34%) contributed most.

The German companies that have invested in Bulgaria are most satisfied with the country’s tax legislation compared to the levies in other Central and Eastern European countries. This shows a survey of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK). Bulgaria also attracts investments from Germany with cheap labor, although a large part of German companies pay above the average salary to their employees. They, like the Bulgarian companies, face the problem with finding highly qualified personnel. This is precisely the problem that gives Turkey an advantage in the race where Volkswagen woukld choose to build its new plant in Eastern Europe. Due to the rise in unemployment in Turkey, there are enough trained people to work at the plant. If Volkswagen decides to invest EUR 1.3 billion in a whole cars factory in Bulgaria, the country will be 12th in the world in automotive production. The decision is not political, but depends entirely on the concern.

The State Reserve Fund of the Sultanate Oman has waived its claims against Bulgaria before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over the bankruptcy of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB), the Finance Ministry said. This happened after two rounds of written defences. The statement does not state the reasons for the decision, but specifies that it is final and that there is no possibility of bringing an action again before this or another international tribunal. The State Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman, in its capacity as shareholder in CCB Jsc., filed the arbitration case on October 22, 2015. The reasoning quoted violation of the standards for treatment of foreign investors established in the Agreement on Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investments between Bulgaria and Sultanate of Oman through the actions of the authorities of the Republic of Bulgaria (the Bulgarian Government, the Bulgarian National Bank and the Bulgarian Court) related to the placement under special supervision of CCB and the subsequent withdrawal of its license. Thus, all claims of the State Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman can be considered as definitively dropped, and the case ended in favor of Bulgaria.

The Danish furniture chain JYSK plans to open eight new stores in Bulgaria in 2019. Four of the sites will be in Sofia - The Mall, in the Hadzhi Dimitar quarters, Bulgaria Mall, Sky City Mall, and one in Blagoevgrad. The location of the other three is in the process of negotiation and the company is looking into opportunities for Kazanlak, Targovishte and Haskovo, announced Lyuben Mishev, a retail manager. Last year, JYSK Bulgaria also opened eight new retail outlets in Bulgaria, it has reached 26 sites in 18 cities. The chain entered the country in 2005, but began to grow in 2013 after the mother company acquired ownership of the franchise shops. Online sales have a 7% share of total revenue and have a 32% increase between September 2018 to March 2019. The best-selling commodity groups are furniture, blankets and pillows, seasonal products and garden furniture, the company said.

CEZ Distribution Bulgaria is planning to invest BGN 5.2 million in the distribution network of the Blagoevgrad region in 2019. The funds will be invested in building low and medium voltage facilities, power grid reconstruction, adding new clients and integration of smart metering. CEZ Distribution Bulgaria operates the distribution grid on an area of 40,000 sq km in western Bulgaria, including the Sofia region.

Malta-headquartered Kambi Group has signed an extended sportsbook agreement with Bulgaria’s National Lottery, which will also support the Bulgarian company's planned entry into Moldova this summer. National Lottery, recently won a tender launched by Moldova's Public Property Agency for a 15-year contract to run both its national lottery product and a brand new online and retail sportsbook, as part of a public-private partnership. "Kambi will support National Lottery JSC by providing its multi-channel Sportsbook product, with plans to go live online in the next few months, followed by a retail rollout where the Kambi Sportsbook will be available to players in local stores and soon-to-be developed sports betting shops," Kambi said. Sports betting is currently prohibited in Moldova, but at the end of 2016, the country passed legislation to regulate the activity under a monopoly framework. Kambi and National Lottery signed a multi-year deal in July 2017. Kambi is a provider of premium sports betting services to licensed B2C gaming operators, which employs over 500 people. In Southeast Europe (SEE), the company has an office in Bucharest. Kambi Group is listed on First North at Nasdaq Stockholm.

Billa Bulgaria, the local arm of supermarket chain Billa owned by Germany's REWE Group, has opened a new store in the Paradise Center shopping mall in Sofia. The new store is Billa Bulgaria's 126th in the country and its 50th in the capital city. The new store offers a commercial area of 1,893 sq. m., which makes it the biggest store of the supermarket chain in Bulgaria. Earlier this month the company said that it will invest over BGN 34 million in expansion and renovation in 2019. By the end of the year Billa Bulgaria will open a new store in another big shopping centre in Sofia - The Mall.

Volkswagen’s Slovak unit pledged on Wednesday to increase efficiency by 30 percent by 2020 to get ahead of the company-wide savings drive as it seeks to raise its competitiveness within the group. The country’s biggest car plant and largest private sector employer has seen investment of 2.8 billion euros ($3.16 billion) since 2010 but its focus on SUVs leaves it vulnerable to an EU drive to cut CO2 emissions and VW’s aim to launch almost 70 new electric models by 2028. Bratislava makes electric versions of the Volkswagen up!, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo but no plans have yet been made for models built on VW’s electric vehicle platform. The plant, which made 408,208 cars last year mostly for the Chinese, U.S. and German markets, is in the running to produce several new models, VW Slovak Chief Executive Oliver Grunberg told a news conference. The plans include reduction of its 14,800 staff by 3,000 this year and slower wage growth. Workers at the factory went on strike two years ago over pay. VW Slovakia agreed then to hike wages by 4.7 percent from June 2017, followed by a 4.7 percent rise in January 2018 and 4.1 percent from last November.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund will pay about $98 million dollars to extend the term of its ownership in a portfolio of New York properties and to acquire a few new, the fund said on Wednesday. “The partnership between Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), Trinity Church Wall Street and Hines has extended the remaining 72-year ownership interest in the Hudson Square portfolio in New York City to a 99-year term,” it said in a statement. NBIM holds a 48 percent stake in a portfolio of 12 assets in the Hudson Square submarket. As part of the transaction, NBIM has also agreed to acquire a 48 percent interest in two to-be-constructed assets adjacent to two of the existing assets in the portfolio, currently solely owned by Trinity Church Wall Street, the fund added.

Amazon is partially retreating from the world's biggest market for online shopping. It will close its marketplace in China in the coming months, meaning Amazon customers in the country will no longer be able to buy goods from Chinese merchants. Amazon did not explain why it was withdrawing its marketplace service, saying only it will instead focus on selling goods shipped from other countries into China. Amazon's platform competes for Chinese sellers with Tmall, owned by the country's e-commerce leader Alibaba (BABA). Amazon first entered the Chinese market 15 years ago, when it acquired an online book retailer, but it has struggled amid fierce competition. Research suggests that the company's market share in China was miniscule compared to local rivals. China's online retail market is huge, notching up about $2 trillion in sales annually, according to research firmer eMarketer. The US market is worth just over one quarter of that. The Chinese market is dominated by Alibaba, which accounts for more than half of all transactions, and local rival JD.com (JD), eMarketer data shows.