The European Commission has further lowered its forecast for Bulgaria's economic expansion in 2019 to 3.3%, from 3.6% projected in February 2019. The projection for Bulgaria's GDP growth in 2020 was also reduced - from 3.6% to 3.4%, the Commission said in its Spring 2019 Economic Forecast report. In February, the EU's executive body lowered its forecast for Bulgaria's 2019 economic growth to 3.6% from 3.7% predicted in November 2018. Yet, Bulgaria's expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in 2019 is the fourth highest among EU member states, at par with Romania's, data from the report showed. Domestic demand, which mainly supported GDP growth last year, is expected to continue its expansion at a slower pace in 2019, due to more moderate private consumption. The major downside risk to the outlook remains the possibility of a sharp contraction in major export markets. In 2018, exports dragged down Bulgarian economic activity to 3.2% mainly due to lower demand from Turkey. The accelerated inflation throughout 2018 slowed down to 2.3% at the end of the year. Despite the negative effects of last year's poor harvest and energy price hikes on the price levels at the beginning of 2019, inflation is set to decline to 2.0% in 2019 and 1.8% in 2020.

Bulgaria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2018 was 3.1 per cent, according to a Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) annual report on Bulgaria's economic development and policies in 2019 which focuses on structural imbalances and the risks they spell for the economy. Although the 3.1 per cent growth remains above the average for the EU, it is one of the lowest growths reported by the newer EU member states. Keeping the current pace of growth means that catching up with the per capita average income in the EU "is far in the future". Accordng to BAS, the growth pace of Bulgaria is extremely insufficient. The forecast is that the 2019 GDP growth will slow down a bit. Exports in 2018 were close to their 2017 levels. Imports in 2018 increased 3.7 per cent compared to 2017. Bulgaria buys goods mainly from Germany, Russia, China, Italy and Turkey. Imports from these five countries account for 42 per cent of the total imports.

Etem Bulgaria, a unit of Belgium-based holding group Viohalco, and Gestamp have received clearance from the European and Turkish competition authorities for their investment agreement regarding the launch of two joint ventures - Etem Aluminium Extrusions and Etem Automotive Bulgaria. The transaction contemplated in the investment agreement was closed on April 24. Etem Bulgaria's two joint ventures with Gestamp, a leading global group specialised in the design, development and manufacturing of metal components and structural systems, will focus on the extrusion and processing of aluminium profiles for the automotive industry. At the beginning of this year Viohalco said that an investment programme of some EUR 30 million will be implemented in the next three years at the two JVs for the installation of a new extrusion line and related machinery for further processing of aluminium profiles in Bulgaria. The investment will strengthen Etem Bulgaria’s position in the automotive sector and help ensure an adequate response to the increased demand for aluminium products due to recent developments in the automotive industry.

The Financial Supervision Commission has authorized Synergon Holding Jsc., Sofia, to buy a total of 185,802 shares of the capital of Svetlina Jsc., Sliven, from the other shareholders of the company, the regulator announced. This will be done through the investment intermediary Aval In Jsc. with the offered price being BGN 5.50 per share. At the end of April the former privatization fund Synergon Holding Jsc. adjusted its tender offer to the shareholders of the subsidiary Svetlina Jsc. However, the majority owner kept the price at BGN 5.50 per share it had originally offered. On March 15, Synergon Holding Jsc. announced its intention to buy the remaining 42% of the shares in Svetlina Jsc., which it did not own. Sliven-based company Svetlina Jsc. is part of the portfolio of one of the largest privatization funds - Synergon Holding Jsc. The parent company currently holds directly 256,558 shares, representing 58 percent of the votes in the general meeting of its subsidiary.

Part of the arms companies in Bulgaria are increasingly moving away from the years, in which they recorded record profits. On the contrary, VMZ-Sopot, for instance recorded a decrease of its profit by BGN 142.8 million. The company ended 2018 with a profit of BGN 7.2 million compared to about BGN 150 million in 2017, shows the company's report . The huge difference is probably due to the fact that part of VMZ’s contracts expired and new ones are yet to be signed. Still, good news is that in the first three months of this year,the arms factory reported an increase in its profits to BGN 4.5 million, compared to BGN 1.2 million a year earlier. Decrease in revenue was also reported by trader Kintex. This is partly due to the fact that a large number of manufacturers prefer to trade on their own with companies. Kintex registered a profit of BGN 21.6 million in 2018. The Avionams repair works had a profit of BGN 3.5 million in 2018, which is a year-on-year increase. In 2017, the enterprise saw a profit of BGN 1.6 million.

Litigations related to claims for compensation for late payment of deposits, amounts above the guaranteed amount of deposits or for challenging transfers from clients of Corporate Commercial Bank AD (bankruptcy) have been brought against the BNB. Claims in these court cases at the end of 2017 amount to BGN 54 million, now total to BGN 61 million. This was stated in the Central Bank's activity report for 2018, which was submitted on April 30 to the National Assembly. It became also clear that two lawsuits have been filed against the National bank in a New York federal court. The claims are for damages in respect of the actions of the trustees appointed by Corporate Commercial Bank AD at a total value USD 400 million. Again, it is stated that the cases are at an early stage and the issue of the jurisdiction of the federal court has not yet been dealt with. "In view of this, and based on the current information on these cases, the Bank's management assumes that it cannot make a reliable estimate of the likely outcome of court proceedings and therefore no provisions should be charged for these contingent liabilities" of the BNB.

Copper producer Aurubis Bulgaria said that it intends to distribute a total of BGN 202.4 million as dividend for 2018. Under the proposal, the dividend payout will amount to a gross BGN 9.73 per share for 2018. Aurubis Bulgaria shareholders will put the proposal to a vote on June 12. The copper maker paid BGN 20.8 million as dividend for 2017, or BGN 1 per share. Aurubis Bulgaria is a unit of Hamburg-based copper producer Aurubis.

German manufacturing orders picked up slightly in March, but not enough to compensate February's steep fall and held by weak domestic demand for capital goods, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed Tuesday. "The slight order increase in March is not least due to bulk orders," the German economics ministry said. Stripping out volatile demand for big ticket items, manufacturing orders would have registered another monthly decline, the ministry added. Total orders for the key sector rose 0.6% month-on-month, whereas economists polled by The Wall Street Journal last week had expected a 1.2% rise. Compared with March 2018, order volumes dropped 6.0%, taking account of calendar effects. Industrial activity in Europe's largest economy turned down in the second half of last year amid weaker foreign demand and partly reflecting temporary disruptions to production in the key automobile and chemical industries. Tuesday's data indicate that the sector remains in the doldrums. "On the whole, the order situation in the manufacturing sector indicates that industrial activity will remain subdued in the coming months," the economics ministry said.

President Trump turned up the pressure on China on Sunday, threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. Mr. Trump's comments, delivered on Twitter, came as a Chinese delegation was scheduled to resume talks in Washington on Wednesday aimed at resolving a trade war that has shaken financial markets and cast gloom over the world economy. Mr. Trump turned up the heat by saying he would raise import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese products to 25 percent from 10 percent Friday. He'd twice pushed back deadlines — in January and March — to raise the tariffs in a bid to buy more time for a negotiated settlement. But on Sunday, Mr. Trump, who has called himself a "tariff man," said he's losing patience. "The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!" Mr. Trump tweeted.

China won't take part in three-way nuclear talks with the United States and Russia, a government spokesman said Monday, potentially scuttling plans by the Trump administration for a grand nuclear deal between the three nations. CNN reported in April that US President Donald Trump had been privately eying the possibility of a new pact with Russia and China, after previously describing the New START nuclear agreement with Moscow as a "bad deal." Multiple White House officials told CNN that Trump's team was looking into options for a new nuclear treaty after New START expires in 2021 which would involve China and "include all the weapons, all the warheads, all the missiles." Trump said on Friday he had spoken to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese government about a potential three-way agreement, a move which administration officials said could be one of his signature foreign policy achievements.