Bulgaria’s jobless rate fell by 0.3 percentage points month-on-month to 5.6% in April, the government's Employment Agency said. Compared to April 2018, Bulgaria’s jobless rate was 0.8 pp lower. A total of 194,603 people were registered as unemployed with labour offices in April, of which 20,868 newly-registered during the month. The number of people who found a job in the fourth month of the year totalled 22,323. There were 23,285 registered job vacancies in April. The highest share of vacancies was registered in the hotels and restaurants sector, 38.3% of the total.

The average household expenditure per capita in Bulgaria rose 11% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, while the average income per household member increased by 8%, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. Household members spent an average of BGN 1,403 during the first quarter, while their income amounted to BGN 1,519 in the same period. Expenses for food accounted for 30.2% of the total household expenditure, while expenditure on housing cost a further 18.2%. Taxes and social insurance contributions constituted 14.0% of the total expenditure, followed by transport and communications with 12.1%. Wages and salaries formed 57.6% of the total household income, followed by pensions and self-employment income with 27.9% and 6.4%, respectively.

The toll system implementation in Bulgaria, which was initially planned for Aug 16, will be postponed until mid-November, according to an agreement between transport companies, the regional development ministry and PM Borissov. The real-time tests of the toll system will start as of Aug 16 and will continue three months before its final implementation. All transport companies will have to equip their vehicles with special boarding machines in charge of checking the heavy-freight vehicles’ traffic. The regional development ministry has also prepared new toll fee tariffs for the transport sector as transport companies were very dissatisfied with the initially proposed fee prices.

By the end of the year, 14 new businesses will open in Burgas, which will offer 650 new jobs. Their activities are in the light and food industry, hydraulic systems and high technology. Two of the companies have logistics activity. The new enterprises are located in the Northern Industrial Zone and are part of Industrial and Logistic Park - Burgas. This is the result of a joint project of the Municipality of Burgas and National Company Industrial Zones, which in recent years has brought a lot of people willing to work in the area. The industrial area occupies an area of 240 decares and is almost entirely full. Its total investments exceed BGN 80 mln. "We have only 2 plots available and 15 candidates to buy them," said Stamen Stamov, Executive Director of Industrial and Logistic Park - Burgas. Almost half of the investors in the new zone are from the Burgas region, the rest are from the country and 7 are foreign investors. The total number of companies that have built or are in the construction stage of their sites is 34.

Bulgarian express delivery company Speedy said that it is proposing to its shareholders to distribute a gross dividend of BGN 1.40 per share for 2018. The company paid a gross dividend of BGN 1.20 per share for 2017. Under the proposal, Speedy will distribute a total of BGN 7.53 million as dividend for last year, the company announced. Shareholders will vote on the proposal at a meeting scheduled for June 17. Speedy shares closed at BGN 47.4 apiece on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The express delivery company's non-consolidated net profit rose to BGN 12.2 million in 2018 from BGN 8.4 million the year before.

Metro Cash & Carry Bulgaria avoided the big sanction imposed on the company by the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) in early February 2019. The Sofia Administrative District Court abolished the fine of nearly BGN 15 million imposed following a complaint by Lidl Bulgaria, according to which Metro used prohibited advertisements and messages that discredit the reputation of its competitor. It is an advertising campaign of Metro from 2018 with the slogan "Do not change the taste, change the store, the Italian week is the whole year. Metro. We have it". In its appeal, Lidl argues that the slogan contains one of the main elements with which Bulgarian consumers of FMCG permanently identify and recognize Lidl. These are "thematic weeks," says Lidl, supporting its claim with 2015, 2016, and 2017 research. The CPC accepted the retailer's opinion and Metro was fined BGN 15 million. However, the Court adjusted the Commission's decision.

Austrian insurance group UNIQA said that its profit before taxes from operations in Bulgaria rose to EUR 800,000 in the first quarter of 2019 from EUR 600,000 in the same period of last year. UNIQA's net premiums earned fell to EUR 12.3 million in the January-March period of this year from EUR 13.2 million in the comparable period of 2018. Gross written premiums were unchanged year-on-year, and amounted to EUR 21.4 million in the first three months of the year. Gross non-life premiums grew 12% on the year to EUR 12.9 million, and gross health premiums increased 7% to EUR 2.3 million in the review period. This was offset by a 20% in gross premiums from life insurance, which amounted to EUR 6.2 million in the first quarter of the year. In Bulgaria, the Austrian group owns 99.9% of UNIQA Insurance, 99.6% of UNIQA Life Insurance, 99.8% of Vitosha Auto and 100% of UNIQA Real Estate Bulgaria. In Southeast Europe, UNIQA operates in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Croatia. In the region - excluding Romania - the group turned to a pre-tax profit of EUR 2.3 million in the first quarter of 2019 from a loss before taxes of EUR 2.9 million in the comparable period of 2018.

Nestle has entered exclusive talks to sell its skin health business to a consortium led by EQT Partners for 10.2 billion Swiss francs ($10.1 billion), as the food group shifts its portfolio in response to changing consumer demands. The proposed transaction with private equity firm EQT, a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and PSP Investments is expected to close in the second half of 2019 pending regulatory approval, Nestle said on Thursday. Nestle Chief Executive Mark Schneider put the skin health unit up for sale last September as the group moved to ditch underperforming businesses, following years of slowing growth as many consumers favored fresh foods over packaged goods. Nestle was also under fire from activist investor Daniel Loeb’s Third Point, which asked for a faster overhaul in July. The U.S. hedge fund has since generated very good returns on its Nestle stake, leading Loeb to praise Schneider’s performance this year. Nestle shares were up 0.8 percent at 1315 GMT, after hitting an all-time high earlier in the session following the announcement of the deal, which according to Refinitiv data is the second largest European private equity buyout since the financial crisis after Carlyle’s acquisition of an Akzo Nobel unit last year.

On Wednesday, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order escalating his administration's campaign against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, raising pressure on allies to follow suit in banning the company from their 5G and other networks. The US claims Huawei, one of China's most important companies, poses a spying risk to Western technology infrastructure. The latest move against the firm comes amid a worsening trade war between Beijing and Washington, after talks expected to bring a breakthrough fell apart, resulting in billions of dollars in further tariffs from both sides. While some US allies -- notably Australia and New Zealand -- have followed Trump's lead on Huawei, others have been more reticent. Europe in particular is split over whether to ban the company, a market leader on 5G technology which is expected to be the lifeblood of the new economy. The Huawei issue cuts to the heart of tensions between security and economic interests when it comes to China and Chinese influence. While many countries around the world share Washington's suspicion towards Beijing, they are unwilling to take the economic hit that openly standing apart from China would entail.

China’s economy lost steam in April, underscoring the fragility of the world’s second-largest economy as it girds for an intensified face-off with the U.S. over trade. Industrial output, retail sales and investment all slowed more than economists forecast. The state sector continued to boost investment while private business eased off, and growth in manufacturing investment came in at the slowest pace in data dating back to 2004. Faltering credit and consumption at home coupled with a weaker global economy means China is running out of steady growth engines right when it needs them. The soggy data spurred expectations the government will need to boost stimulus to cushion the blow from the escalating trade war, sending Asian stocks mostly higher. The yuan was little changed. U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out 25% tariffs last week, leaving Chinese producers reeling. There’s a chance such levies will be widened to all the Chinese goods America buys.