The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects the Bulgarian economy to grow by 3.4% this year, affirming its November forecast. Bulgaria's economic expansion is expected to slow down to 3.0% in 2020, the EBRD said in its May 2019 Regional Economic Prospects report. Last year, Bulgaria's economic growth moderated to an estimated 3.1%, from 3.8% in 2017, as private consumption was the main driver of growth. Public and private investment will also contribute positively to growth, as the absorption of EU funds will continue. The bank also said it expects economic growth in the region of Southeast Europe (SEE) to reach 3.0% in both this year and next. In November, the bank predicted 3.2% economic growth in SEE in 2019.

In 2018 Bulgaria reduced the CO2 emissions from fossil fuels with 8.1%, whereas the EU reduced these emissions with 2.5% on average. Bulgaria places second after Portugal which managed to reduce its CO2 emissions with 9% last year. Bulgaria’s share in the total CO2 pollution in the EU is 1.3%. Biggest increase of CO2 emissions was registered in Latvia-8%. Eurostat specifies that the indicators depend on whether a given country imports or exports energy sources. If a country imports coal, pollution from coal burning is calculated in its data, but when a given country imports electricity, the pollution is at the expense of the country where this electricity was produced. Bulgaria is among the gross exporters of electricity in the EU.

The Gorubso-Madan extraction plant will look for another location in the municipality where it already has lead-zinc mines. This became clear after the government authorized the company to prospect for metallic minerals in the Borieva-East area. The permit is for three years and Gorubso-Madan should invest at least BGN 285 thousand. Gorubso-Madan is owned by Varba-Batantsi, in which equal shares are held by Minstroy Holding of Nikolay Valkanov and KCM 2000. By the beginning of 2012, the company was owned by the former buyer of Kremikovtzi Valentin Zahariev, but in the end practically did not operate. Gorubso-Madan is a concessionaire of two deposits in the area, while Varba-Batantsi owns the extraction rights on the deposit of the same name, again near Madan. The extracted ore is processed in Rudozem. At its meeting on Wednesday, the government also decided to extend the concession for ore extraction from the Djurkovo field (Plovdiv District) for five years. The change is at the request of the concessionaire Lucky Invest, in which the main shareholder with 48.8% is the KCM group again. The company exploits another deposit in the area of Lucky, where silver and zinc are also extracted.

Bulgaria's Albania Telecom Invest has completed the acquisition of Telekom Albania, held by Greece’s OTE Group, for a total gross equity consideration of EUR 50 million. Following clearances by both Albania's electronic and postal communications authority (AKEP) and Albanian competition authority in March and April, respectively, OTE Group has sold its entire stake of 99.757% to Bulgarian company Albania Telecom Invest. Albania Telecom Invest is owned by Bulgarian businessman Spas Roussev and by Albanian-Bulgarian investor Elvin Guri. Roussev is also chairman of the supervisory board of Sofia-based telecoms group BTC trading as Vivacom. Telekom Albania, whose majority shareholder is OTE - Deutsche Telekom's subsidiary in Greece, operated as Albanian Mobile Communications (AMC) until July 2015. The company was acquired by OTE Group in 2000. In 2009, with Deutsche Telekom's acquisition of OTE, it indirectly became part of Deutsche Telekom.

Glass packaging manufacturer BA Glass Bulgaria turned to a net profit of BGN 37.3 million in 2018 from a net loss of BGN 6.3 million in 2017. The company's sales revenue grew to BGN 246.6 million last year from BGN 221.3 million the year before. In 2018, BA Glass Bulgaria generated 31.6% of its sales revenue on the local market and 68.4% from exports. The company exports its output to over 20 countries in Europe. Other operating revenue shrank to BGN 571,000 in 2018 from BGN 9.8 million a year earlier. Cost of goods sold increased to BGN 120.2 million last year from BGN 116.5 million in 2017. Losses from asset impairments dropped to BGN 2.4 million in 2018 from BGN 43.1 million in 2017. In 2017, BA Glass Bulgaria impaired its interest in Cyprus-based Ivaglass Manufacturers Limited. The company has two production bases in Bulgaria - in Sofia and Plovdiv. BA Glass Bulgaria's output increased by an annual 3.3% in 2018. BA Glass Bulgaria employed 720 people at the end of 2018 - 511 in Plovdiv and 209 in Sofia. This compares to 727 employed a year earlier - 517 in Plovdiv and 210 in Sofia. In 2017, Portugal's BA Vidro, through its unit Portugal's BA Vidro Ltd, completed the acquisition of Bulgaria's Drujba Glassworks from Greek glassmaker Yioula. Drujba Glassworks was subsequently renamed to BA Glass Bulgaria and delisted from the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

Sofia Airport has recorded a profit of BGN 12.6 million for 2018, which is 10.8% more than a year earlier. This became clear from the published airport report shortly before the bidders' tenders were opened. For the previous year the revenues of the company amounted to BGN 168 million, which is by BGN 20.9 million, or by 14.2%, more than those for 2017. The main revenue growth of the airport comes from the revenues from sales - BGN 109.4 million, which increased by 15.6%. The remaining BGN 58.8 million are from fundings. Actual fees for the past year amounted to BGN 106 million. Of these, the most significant part (BGN 37.9 million) was a security charge, a landing charge of BGN 33.4 million, and a passenger fee of 30 million. The last year's report of Sofia Airport shows that it served 11.3% fewer aircrafts a from a year earlier. The rest is for its competitors - the Bulgarian subsidiary of the Greek Goldair Handling and the Chimimport-related Swissport Bulgaria. In 2013, Chimimport, through its aviation division, Bulgarian Airways Group bought a minority shareholding in Swissport Bulgaria, which since 2007 tried to develop a business with its own power at the metropolitan airport, but has encountered a number of problems.

Bulgaria's Alteron REIT has signed a preliminary agreement to sell investment property in Varna's west industrial zone for BGN 6.5 million. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019. Alteron did not provide further details. Alteron's assets totalled BGN 36.3 million at the end of March, according to its interim financial statement. Investment properties formed BGN 19.8 million of its total assets.

Almost five years after the shutdown of Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB) and four after its bankruptcy on May 9, the allocation of receivables collected by the bailiffs amounts to BGN 570 million. They will be paid to the creditors included in the first partial allocation account that contains over 7 thousands of institutions, businesses and citizens. Most of them held amounts over the guarantee threshold of EUR 100,000 in their accounts or had deposits with preferential terms depriving them of the right to receive their money from the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund. The Fund is also on the receivable list for BGN 3.7 billion out of the total of over BGN 5 billion lost by the bank, but will make way for the secured creditors, which means that practically anyone with the right for distribution will receive only a small percentage of their claim.

According to the European Commission's spring economic forecast, economic growth is expected to continue at a slower pace. The Commission nonetheless raised Estonia's economic growth forecast by 0.1 points to 2.8 percent. The European economy is forecast to continue expanding for the seventh year in a row in 2019, with real GDP expected to grow in all EU member states. Regarding Estonia, the European Commission said that strong, broad-based growth is expected to continue in 2019. In its winter outlook, the Commission had lowered Estonia's 2019 economic growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 2.7 percent; however in its spring outlook, the economic growth forecast was raised back to 2.8 percent, while leaving next year's growth estimate unchanged at 2.4 percent. With a labor market close to full employment and moderating inflation, increasing real incomes will uphold private consumption. According to the forecast, the general government balance is projected to remain in deficit, at -0.3 percent of GDP in 2019 and -0.5 percent of GDP in 2020.

U.S. President Donald Trump defended himself on Wednesday following a media report that said his businesses had lost more than $1 billion from 1985 to 1994, saying he had leeway with his taxes as a real estate developer. The report, published in the New York Times on Tuesday, detailed how his core businesses of casinos, hotels and apartment buildings had lost $1.17 billion over a decade, allowing him to avoid paying income taxes for eight of those 10 years. Trump said he was allowed massive tax write-offs for depreciation and many “non monetary” losses, adding the report contained “very old information.” “You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes ... almost all real estate developers did - and often re-negotiate with banks, it was sport,” Trump said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday. Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have requested Trump’s tax returns as part of investigations into the president and possible conflicts of interest. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin this week refused a request for those documents, setting up a likely legal fight.

Iran's president said on Wednesday that it will begin keeping its excess uranium and heavy water from its nuclear programme, setting a 60-day deadline for new terms to its nuclear deal with world powers before it resumes higher uranium enrichment. Hassan Rouhani's address to the nation came on the anniversary of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the nuclear accord. Rouhani said Iran wanted to negotiate new terms with the remaining partners in the deal, but acknowledged that the situation was dire. "This surgery is to save the [deal], not destroy it," Rouhani said. The 2015 deal saw sanctions on Iran lifted in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme. After the US withdrew from the accord it restored crippling sanctions on Iran, exacerbating a severe economic crisis. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif insisted that the decision to partially withdraw from certain provisions did not violate the agreement, and asserted it was provoked by US actions toward Iran.