The total income average per household member in the second quarter of 2019 was 1,547 BGN, a 4.9% increase compared to the same period of 2018, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. The highest relative share of income was that from wages and salaries (57.8%), followed by income from pensions (27.6%) and self-employment (6.2%). In nominal terms, the income from wages and salaries increases from 835 BGN to 894 BGN ( by 7.0%) and the income from pensions increased from BGN 413 to BGN 427 (by 3.4%). The total expenditure per household member in the second quarter of 2019 was BGN 1,402, a 5.3% increase compared to the same quarter of 2018. The greatest share in the total expenditure was expenditure on food (31.4%), followed by housing (15.5%), taxes and social security contributions (14.2%) and transport and communications (11.7%).

A draft Ordinance to supplement Ordinance No. H-18 of 2006 on registration and reporting of sales in retail outlets through fiscal devices, the requirements for the software for their management and the requirements for the persons who make sales through e-shops, proposes an extension of the period within which the persons using Integrated Computer-Based Trade Management System (ICBTMS) to bring their activities in compliance with the requirements of the Ordinance until 31 January 2020. It is also proposed to extend the period for bringing the activity in compliance with the requirements for entites, which sell goods or services through online stores, and do not use other software to manage their sales other than the software of the electronic store, until March 31, 2020. Considering the specifics of organization of the activity of medium and large enterprises, as well as the specifics of the software used by them, the project envisages creating an alternative opportunity for these enterprises to use sales management software generating a standardized audit file. Enterprises should also meet the criteria for medium and large enterprises set out in the Accounting Act, because it is considered that this category of entites has a relatively low risk of unreported income, since these are enterprises that normally have sufficiently secure systems for internal controls that allow tracking of their sales.

The International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington finally rejected on August 13 the claim of the State Reserve Fund of Oman against the Republic of Bulgaria. The claim was for EUR 80 million in respect of the closed CCB. The accusation stated that the Bulgarian state and the BNB had breached the Agreement on mutual promotion and protection of investments between Bulgaria and Oman. The decisions to place the CCB under special supervision and revoke its license were attacked because the state did not protect Omani's investments in it. According to the lawyers of the Omani Fund, the Bulgarian state and the Bulgarian central bank should have provided liquidity support to the tear-down vault, as well as developing a rescue plan to be offered to the shareholders. The Fund was a shareholder with a 30% stake in the closed bank, which it had acquired in 2009 against BGN 185 million. Following the bank's closing, the fund's financiers estimated that the revoked license had caused material damage for EUR 80 million and filed a lawsuit against the state.

California-based parent company of TAD Group has filed lawsuits in Washington commercial arbitration against Bulgaria over the foreign investor protection convention, as the entire brand has suffered from a leak from the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The claim is for a seven-figure sum that will be requested by the state. This was announced by Georgi Stefanov, the lawyer of the Bulgarian owner Ivan Todorov - one of the defendants in the case of the hacking attack against the NRA, which is under arrest.

Bulgaria will have sufficient electricity production capacity at least by 2028 and therefore no difficulties in electricity supply are expected under normal meteorological and emergency conditions. This is the main conclusion in the 10-year plan for the period 2018 - 2027 prepared by the Electricity System Operator (ESO), the state-owned enterprise that operates the electricity transmission network in Bulgaria. The project does not include the Belene NPP project, although the government has resumed the procedure for its construction. Instead, the power plant owned by Ahmed Dogan TPP Varna is present in ESO's accounts, not only with its three power units, which it claims to have equipped to run gas, but with all six. In practice, this means that by 2025, TPP Varna will be the second largest producer of electricity in the country after Kozloduy NPP. The state-owned TPP Maritza East 2 was left without one of its units this summer, after obe of its chimneys was destroyed in a fire and because of the company's critical financial condition, the facility is unlikely to be rebuilt. ESO also predicts that there will be residual availability for electricity generation in Bulgaria between 9.6 mln MWh and 18.3 mln MWh annually , which means that about 27% of the available capacities will be unutilised.

The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) signed a contract with an international consultant to develop a capacity mechanism, as provided by European legislation, for power plants that produce electricity from coal, said Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova. By the end of October, this mechanism must be notified to the European Commission, Petkova pointed out and hoped that the mechanism would be approved. Thus, we will give a much greater sustainability to the development of coal mining in Bulgaria and a guarantee for our energy security, said Temenuzhka Petkova. This industry is a sector of the Bulgarian economy of strategic importance and at the heart of a number of other sectors. It forms almost 5% of GDP. It directly employs are nearly 22,000 people and indirectly - about 120,000. One of the biggest challenges facing the mineral industry is related to the development of coal mining, said Petkova. Coal-fired power plants account for 46% of the electricity production in the country, which is directly related to the national and energy security.

The Financial Supervision Commission has confirmed a prospectus for the initial public offering of a share issue, which will be issued by Bulgarian Private Equity Fund AD, Sofia. The issue amounts to 4 385 503 shares, with a nominal and issue value of BGN 1 each, and is the result of an increase in the capital of the company. This became clear from the regulator's decisions made at its meeting yesterday. The aforementioned issue of shares, in the process of issue, is entered in the register of public companies and other issuers of securities kept by the Financial Supervision Commission.

The Latvian lender which accused the country’s central bank head of corruption is failing and will be shut down, European banking authorities said on Thursday. PNB Banka, one of the smallest lenders under ECB supervision with just 550 million euros of assets, has seen “significant deterioration in its capital situation to the point that the bank’s assets were less than its liabilities,” the ECB said in a statement. The lender came into the spotlight when it accused Latvia’s central bank chief Ilmars Rimsevics of seeking bribes and using the local supervisor’s decisions “as a goad to extort”. Rimsevics, who has denied all accusations, was briefly detained by Latvian authorities last year and barred from office for several months but the European Court of Justice said that Latvia has failed to prove his guilt so his removal was illegal. While the ECB normally supervises larger institutions, it took over PNB Banka on a request by the Latvian financial watchdog, which said it was hoping this would help “avoid any misunderstanding and possible reproaches” after the bank’s allegations.

General Electric's stock plunged after a whistleblower accused the conglomerate of misleading investors by allegedly engaging in a $38 billion accounting fraud. The whistleblower called the fraud "bigger than Enron." The allegations stem from investigator Harry Markopolos, who accused GE of hiding massive losses and heading for bankruptcy. Markopolos is known for his role as the whistleblower who warned the SEC about Madoff's Ponzi scheme, but those claims were initially ignored by regulators. The issues outlined by Markopolos lie primarily in GE's troubled Capital unit, a financial services division often seen as a black hole in the company. The Capital unit holds commercial and personal loans, as well as insurance policies that include coverage of long-term care. Markopolos suggests that an accounting rule change for insurance liabilities and a significant lack of reserves to cover long-term care liabilities will push GE to take a $29 billion hit. While GE called the report meritless, an analyst said the allegations reflect "a GE culture that historically hid losses and deceived investors."

Japan surpassed China in June as the top holder of US Treasuries as the trade war between the world’s two largest economies intensified. Japan increased its holdings of US bonds, bills and notes by $21.9 billion to $1.12 trillion, the highest level in more than two and a half years, according to data released by the Treasury Department. Meanwhile, China’s ownership rose for the first time in four months to $1.11 trillion, up by $2.3 billion. The last time Japan held the position as America’s largest foreign creditor was May 2017. A cautious months-long calm in the US-China trade war was interrupted in May when talks between the two sides broke down. In June, the US raised tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 per cent from 10 per cent. While Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a ceasefire in late June, that only lasted about a month before the US President announced that on September 1 he’ll impose a 10 per cent levy on virtually every import from China which are not yet subject to duties.