Bulgaria's trade deficit decreased to BGN 2.4 billion in the first five months of 2019, from BGN 3.5 billion in the like period of last year, the country’s statistical office, NSI, said. Exports (FOB) increased 9.1% year-on-year in the period under review, reaching BGN 23.3 billion, while imports (CIF) rose 3.5% to BGN 25.7 billion. In May alone, Bulgaria's exports grew 7.3% on the year to BGN 4.6 billion, while imports decreased by 0.6% to BGN 5.1 billion.

Bulgaria has fulfilled almost all of its commitments required for ERM-II entry with the exception of receiving the final results from ECB’s comprehensive assessment of the local banking sector, as well as the adoption of the bill on state-owned enterprises, according to the Finance Ministry. The ECB is expected to publish the results of the six audited Bulgarian banks on Jul 26, but the stress tests are over and banks have been already informed for the preliminary results, according to unofficial media sources. The bill on the state-owned enterprises aims to fulfil the requirement for improving the public companies’ management and still remains to be adopted by the parliament, the Finance Ministry said. The bill was drafted with the assistance of the OECD and the final version was discussed and adopted at first reading in the parliament in June. The deadline for amendments in the bill expires on Jul 17, which means that the second reading of the law by parliamentary commissions and the assembly could be completed within one week after Jul 17.

The copper company Asarel Medet will invest BGN 150 million in 2019. Although traditionally the company's investments are not small - an average of BGN 100 million per year, the larger amount this year is mainly intended for the modernization of the enrichment factory and infrastructure on the site of the plant in Panagurishte, as well as for other projects. Since the privatization of the company in 1999, BGN 1.2 billion have been invested so far.

Cast Futura BG LTD, based in the Southern Industrial Zone of Plovdiv, intends to appoint another 110 employees by the end of the year. It specializes in the production of parts for white electronics - thermocouples, burners, ceramic candles, lighters, timers, etc. Cast Futura BG intends to appoint another 110 employees by the end of the year. Workers are now about 500 when the staff in one of the units was doubled at the beginning of the year, and the mode of work is two-shift in a 5-day work week.

Bulgaria's ERG Capital-3 REIT is seeking the approval of its shareholders to sell real estate assets for a price of at least some EUR 6.6 million, VAT excluded. Both properties intended for sale are located in Sofia, the company said in a statement earlier this week. Bulgaria's ERG Capital-3 REIT shareholders will vote on the proposal at a meeting scheduled for August 19. In November last year, the company sold real estate assets for EUR 3.5 million.

Bulgaria’s state Nuclear Power Plant Kozloduy reconnected its 1,000 megawatt Unit 5 nuclear reactor after successfully completing increased capacity tests on July 13-14. The tests followed a planned maintenance and refueling, NPP Kozloduy said, adding the Soviet-made reactor was reconnected to the national power grid at 1328 local time (1028 GMT). The other reactor, Unit 6, is working at full capacity, the plant said.

Sensor systems manufacturer Sensata Technologies Bulgaria, a unit of Belgium-based Sensor-Nite, said that its net profit edged down to BGN 21.3 million from BGN 22.4 million the year before. Sensata Technologies Bulgaria's sales grew to BGN 477.9 million last year from BGN 352.8 million in 2017. Cost of goods sold rose to BGN 410.2 million from BGN 307.8 million. Selling and distribution costs increased to BGN 18.3 million in 2018 from BGN 10.2 million a year earlier, while administrative expenses rose to BGN 18.8 million from BGN 14.3 million. The company did not generate any financial revenue in 2018, compared to financial revenue of BGN 7 million in 2017. Financial expenses increased to BGN 5.6 million last year from BGN 2.2 million in 2017. Sensata Technologies Bulgaria's assets grew to BGN 325.4 million at the end of 2018 from BGN 249.2 million a year earlier. Earlier this year, the Botevgrad municipal government said that Sensata Technologies Bulgaria broke ground for a USD 27 million new production and storage facility in the city. Sensata Technologies Bulgaria is a wholly-owned unit of Sensor-Nite, which in turn is part of U.S.-based Sensata Technologies, which manufactures sensing, electrical protection, control and power management solutions for the automotive and aviation industries. Sensata Technologies Bulgaria has two production bases - in Botevgrad and Plovdiv, and a testing laboratory in Sofia.

Automotive rubber products manufacturer Teklas Bulgaria, a wholly-owned unit of Turkey's Teklas Kauçuk Sanayi ve Ticaret, said that its net profit fell to BGN 52.4 million in 2018 from BGN 54.7 million in 2017. The company's sales grew to BGN 370.3 million in 2018 from BGN 303.2 million the year before. Expenses for materials rose to BGN 206.0 million last year from BGN 157.3 million in 2017, while expenses for hired services increased to BGN 51.7 million from BGN 39.7 million. Personnel costs amounted to BGN 50.7 million in 2018, up from BGN 41.3 million the year before. Teklas Bulgaria's assets edged down to BGN 264.5 million at the end of 2018 from BGN 269.6 million a year earlier. In 2019, the company expects to grow its net profit and revenue by 31% and 23%, respectively.

The sanctions that were discussed by national envoys of European Union member-states against Turkey over its illegal drilling activities off Cyprus do not go far enough for Nicosia, which wants tougher measures. According to a draft statement by the European Council, with which most EU member-states are in agreement, the measures against Turkey should include a suspension of negotiations on the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement and a halting of high-level dialogues for the time being. It also calls for a reduction of pre-accession assistance to Turkey for 2020 and for the European Investment Bank to review its lending activities in Turkey. However, the measures in the draft are seen, by Cyprus in particular, as too general and vague, with critics saying that they do not include a clear reference to restrictive measures that the European Council said it would propose in June. These restrictive and targeted measures would have included specific sanctions against people or companies involved with Turkish drilling activities off Cyprus.

The Seattle metro area is now home to the stock market's only two trillion-dollar companies: Amazon joined neighbor Microsoft in that exclusive club Thursday. Amazon briefly topped the trillion-dollar mark for the first time since September. At that time, both Amazon and Apple were worth more than a trillion dollars. Apple shares have since pulled back a bit. The iPhone maker is now worth about $920 billion. Big Tech stocks have soared this year, despite concerns about the possibility of more regulation in the United States and worldwide as well as trade tension between the United States and China. So far, their sales and earnings growth have remained relatively strong. Microsoft, which is now worth nearly $1.1 trillion, is the most valuable company on the planet. It has soared 36% thanks to optimism about its cloud business. Amazon is up more than 35% and it has rallied as of late on optimism about its upcoming Prime Day shopping extravaganza. The was on a seven-day winning streak that came to an end Thursday.

The chairman of Huawei said the Chinese tech giant has yet to see any benefit from President Donald Trump's promise to allow US companies to sell some components to the company and called on Washington to remove it from a security blacklist. The "unjust and unfair" decision to add Huawei Technologies Ltd, the biggest maker of network equipment for phone companies to a list that restricts exports is hurting its US suppliers and global customers, Liang Hua told a news conference. US officials accuse Huawei of facilitating Chinese spying, a charge the company denies, and see it as a growing competitor to US technology industries. Its founder, Ren Zhengfei, said in June the company has cut sales forecasts by $30bn over the next two years due to curbs on access to US chips and other components. Trump promised last month to allow some sales to Huawei but said it will stay on the "entity list" until talks over Washington's tariff war with Beijing are concluded. "So far we haven't seen any tangible change," Liang said.