The total value of goods exported from Bulgaria in January to June 2019 was 6.3% higher than in the first six months of 2018, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. In the period January – June 2019 the total value of all the goods exported from Bulgaria amounted to BGN 27.84 billion. In June 2019 alone, Bulgaria’s total exports of goods added up to BGN 4.52 billion, a decrease of 6.4% compared with June 2018. The total value of all the goods imported into Bulgaria in January – June 2019 amounted to BGN 30.51 billion (at CIF prices), about 0.4% per cent more than January – June 2018. In June 2019, imports of goods decreased by 14.3% compared with June 2018 and added up to BGN 4.71 billion. Bulgaria’s total foreign trade balance (exports FOB – import CIF) was negative in January – June 2019 and amounted to BGN 2.67 billion. At FOB/FOB prices (after elimination of transport and insurance costs on imports) in the period January – June 2019 the total foreign trade balance was also negative and added up to BGN 579.2 million. In June 2019 the total foreign trade balance (exports FOB – import CIF) was negative and added up to BGN 188.7 million.

In the second quarter of 2019, the average gross monthly wage in Bulgaria was BGN 1260, increasing by 4.3% compared with the first quarter of 2019, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. Compared with the second quarter of 2018, the average gross monthly wage in the second quarter of 2019 rose by 12% (11% in the public-financed sector and 12.4% in the private sector). The largest month-on-month increase of the average gross monthly wage was registered in: electricity, heat and gaseous fuel production and distribution (up by 9.1%); the hotel and restaurant business (up by 7.3%); and education (also up by 7.3%). The largest year-on-year increase was recorded in "other activities" (up by 17.3%), real estate operations (up by 16.5%), and education (up by 15.5%). In April 2019, the average gross monthly wage was BGN 1281, in May 2019 it was BGN 1246, and in June 2019 it stood at BGN 1253.

Czech billionaire Petr Kellner runs to buy Central European Media (CME), which owns Bulgarian bTV. Not only that - he remained the only candidate in the deal, writes the Czech edition of Hospodářské noviny. For the past two years, European media group Central European Media, part of US AT&T, has sold some of its assets in Central and Eastern Europe. In March, the group announced that it had begun a "review of strategic options, including the eventual sale of the company." Since then, there has been speculation as to whether individual TVs will be sold, or whether the entire group operating in five countries - Markiza TV in Slovakia, TV Nova in the Czech Republic, PRO TV in Romania, Kanal A, POP TV in Slovenia, and in Bulgaria - bTV, Ring TV, as well as the thematic channels bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Cinema and bTV Lady. Initially, there were several candidates to buy CME, with two remaining, the PPF investment group of Peter Kellner and the American media company Discovery. Discovery no longer has interest in the deal, which means Kellner remains the only candidate.

Spanish hospitality group Melia Hotels International said that it will open its seventh hotel in Bulgaria next year, further expanding its presence in the Black Sea country. The Melia Sunny Beach hotel, located in the coastal resort of Sunny Beach, will offer 987 rooms, the company said. The facility is a hotel complex comprising three buildings. The first building is new, while the other two will be renovated after the opening of the first one in accordance with the quality and service standards of the Melia Hotels & Resorts brand. Melia Hotels International has six other hotels of its brand located on the Bulgarian coast - four in Nessebar, one in Obzor and one in Varna area. Altogether, they feature 2,400 rooms. Melia Hotels International entered the Bulgarian market in 2007 through the opening of the five-star hotel Melia Grand Hermitage in the Golden Sands resort north of Varna.

There is strong investor interest in Bulgaria by companies from South Korea, said Prime Minister Boyko Borissov. Besides with Volkswagen, negotiations on the construction of an automotive plant in Bulgaria are underway with Hyundai as well, the Bulgarian PM said, and added that he expected more clarity on the South Korean investment, which amounts to over USD 1.5 billion, by September. Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov added that there is a second South Korean investor – SK Innovation, the world’s biggest car battery manufacturer - who is searching out for sites in Bulgaria. Communication is still at a very early stage and Bulgaria will be in competition with several other countries for the future plant.

An application for participation in the Belene NPP project was also submitted by the US company General Electric. This was announced by Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, who also expects the Russian company Rosatom to submit project documents. What an application Rosatom will submit will be clear in a week: "Our Russian partners have repeatedly confirmed their willingness to participate in the implementation of this project. We expect Rosatom to submit such an application by August 19, when the deadline expires. As the procedure foresees, in the next phase, we will make a short list identifying the companies with whom we would like to negotiate," Petkova said. Asked if Russian-made reactors can work with US turbines, Petkova replied: "The turbines of the two reactors for the Belene NPP project will be different, different - yes, this is purely technical. There is no problem that will happen. "

Bulgarian diversified group Doverie United Holding swung to a consolidated net profit after minority interest of BGN 5.2 million in the first half of 2019, from a net loss of BGN 2 million in the like period of 2018. The group's total revenue increased to BGN 83.7 million in the January-June period from BGN 67.5 million in the comparable period of 2018, Doverie United Holding said. Operating expenses increased to BGN 78.2 million in the first six months of 2019 from BGN 69.7 million a year earlier. Cost of goods sold rose to BGN 32.6 million from BGN 31.4 million, while expenses for hired services increased to BGN 16.9 million from BGN 14.4 million. Doverie United Holding consolidated the results of 21 subsidiaries, active in various sectors of the economy, including healthcare, insurance, retail trade, real estate, and others.

German youth unemployment in 2018 was lower than ever after reunification: the unemployment rate among young people and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 is 6.2 percent throughout the Federal Republic. However, there are still differences between East and West Germany. Young people in the East continue to be unemployed more often or find it harder to find a training position - the unemployment rate for the under-24s is 8.6 percent. In the west, however, the figure is only 5.8 percent. The total unemployment rate for Germany at the end of July was 5 percent. Young people and young adults are usually more likely to be unemployed than people over 25 years of age. That may be surprising, after all, young people are in great demand on the job market - but only with a completed vocational training and several years of work experience, which is often the case only from the age of 25 years. Young people also become unemployed more often because they are most likely to be affected by redundancies, fixed-term contracts or short-term employment at work. Another reason is that they are not yet so determined in their career choice. About one in four and one in four breaks the Vocational Training Report prematurely.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc said that fears of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession are increasing and that Goldman no longer expects a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies before the 2020 U.S. presidential election. “We expect tariffs targeting the remaining $300bn of US imports from China to go into effect,” the bank said in a note sent to clients. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 1 that he would impose a 10% tariff on a final $300 billion worth of Chinese imports on Sept. 1, prompting China to halt purchases of U.S. agricultural products. The United States also declared China a currency manipulator. China denies that it has manipulated the yuan for competitive gain. The year-long trade dispute has revolved around issues such as tariffs, subsidies, technology, intellectual property and cyber security, among others. Goldman Sachs said it lowered its fourth-quarter U.S. growth forecast by 20 basis points to 1.8% on a larger than expected impact from the developments in the trade tensions. Rising input costs from the supply chain disruption could lead U.S. companies to reduce their domestic activity, the note said. Such “policy uncertainty” may also make companies lower their capex spending, the economists added.

A weakening domestic economy and the ongoing trade war raging between Washington and Beijing is taking its toll on Chinese acquisitions in Europe. A new survey by EY shows that China’s mergers and acquisitions spree of recent years has slowed dramatically in the first half of 2019. EY’s study revealed that China invested just $2.4 billion into acquiring or investing into European companies in the first six months of this year, an 84% decrease from the same period in 2018. The number of deals fell by 28% across Europe as a whole, and the majority of the 81 deals were smaller ones. There were no M&A deals at all in the first half in Germany, which is normally the most popular EU country for Chinese firms looking to invest. According to EY, China invested a little over $500 million into Europe’s biggest economy, a sizeable drop from the $10 billion it invested in 2018. The UK overtook Germany to become the top M&A destination in Europe for Chinese businesses in the first half. "The main reason for the reluctance of Chinese investors is the situation in the Chinese home market,” said Yi Sun, head of China Business Services at EY in a statement.