CCTVs must be installed in tax warehouses where fuels are stored or facilities for the production of ethyl alcohol and distillates are installed. Cameras must be installed at all points where vehicles enter and exit and allow registration numbers to be recognized. This is envisaged by amendments to the Excise Duties and Tax Warehouses Act, adopted by the government and proposed to be voted in the National Assembly. The aim is to provide 24-hour remote monitoring on the movement of excise goods by the Customs and to minimize the possibility of them leaving the tax warehouses in an unlawful manner. However, the obligation of licensed warehouses for the production and storage of tobacco products to introduce CCTV has been eliminated from the original form of the bill. The Finance Ministry has responded to the objections of tobacco companies who believe such a measure is unjustified. As of May 19, 2019, all manufacturers and traders of tobacco products are already required to affix an identification number to each pack of cigarettes in order to track its movement down the chain from manufacturer to customer.

Bulgaria's government will allocate BGN 144.6 million over the next four years to finance the construction of a 6.08-km section of the southern part of Sofia ring road. The funds will come from both the state budget and from expected revenue from the introduction of an electronic tolling system, the government said in a statement following its weekly meeting. The first funds for the project - some BGN 13.9 million - have already been transferred to the regional development ministry's budget for 2019. In June, Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency signed a contract with local GBS Infrastrukturno Stroitelstvo for the design and construction of the six-kilometre section of Sofia ring road, worth BGN 119 million, VAT excluded.

Genius Sports, one of the largest sports statistics and data collection companies in the world, has announced the opening of a new office in Sofia. It will employ 400 people, and according to the company, that number will double in the next two to three years. The Sofia-based office will play the role of a "neural center" for Genius Sports. It will manage the data the company receives and distributes in more than 150 countries. Genius Sports has a small office in Sofia since 2015, but is now beginning to make a larger entry into the Bulgarian market. The company has more than 500 sports partners, with company data reaching up to 30 million people.

The dm drugstore chain will open its 80th store on the Bulgarian market. It will be located in Sofia on Tsarigradsko Chaussee Boulevard near the former Iztok cinema. Thus, dm sites in the capital will be 32. There are 10 sites in Plovdiv and Varna each, and 6 in Burgas. "We are delighted that people welcome the opening of every new dm store extremely well, and this is the 32nd one in Sofia," said Tsonka Ivanova-Terzieva, manager of the chain on the Bulgarian market. Last October, the retailer announced that it plans to open 6 new sites in Bulgaria - in Varna and Burgas. The company states that their turnover for the last financial year exceeds BGN 132 million.

Cyprus-based Quentrol Limited is seeking approval from Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition to acquire Sofia-based Advisory Services Consulting, according to competition regulator data. The acquisition is not expected to affect competition on any market segment in Bulgaria. According to commercial register data, Quentrol Limited currently holds a 39.95% stake in Advisory Services Consulting. Bulgaria's Development Group also controls 39.95% interest in Advisory Services Consulting, while diversified group Ekip-98 Holding owns the remaining 20.10% interest.

Bulgarian sports goods retailer Sport Depot will open its first physical store in Greece on September 6 and plans to open about 10 new stores under franchise agreements in the neighbouring country in the next two years. The investment in the new store in Thessaloniki including the overhaul totals some BGN 5 million. Until now Sport Depot has sold its products in Greece only via its online store. The store in Thessaloniki will be the company's fourth abroad, as it already operates two stores in Serbia's Belgrade and one in Romania's Bucharest. The new store will spread on 2,600 sq m in Limani shopping centre, which makes it the biggest sports goods store in Greece and the biggest in the Sport 2000 International chain, a partner of Sport Depot. "We expect BGN 75 million revenue for 2019," the CEO said. In 2018, Sport Depots's revenue on the Bulgarian market amounted to BGN 61 million, of which online sales contributed 23%. Sport Depot operates 26 own stores in Bulgaria as well as 3 stores of the Sport 2000 International franchise. It employs over 500 people. The company has a registered capital of BGN 12.1 million.

Bulgarian bottle cap manufacturer Herti said that its consolidated net profit rose to BGN 447,000 in the first half of 2019 from BGN 279,000 in the same period of 2018. Herti's operating revenue increased to BGN 22.6 million in the January-June period of 2019 from BGN 20.4 million in the comparable period of last year. Sales revenue grew to BGN 20.3 million in the review period from BGN 18.0 million the year before. The company's operating expenses amounted to BGN 22.3 million in the first six months of the year, up from BGN 20.6 million in the corresponding period of 2018. The rise was mainly due to expenses for materials, which rose to BGN 13.3 million from BGN 12.3 million. Established in 1993, Herti produces over 1 billion bottle caps per year.

The U.K. may be on course for its first recession since the financial crisis after Brexit uncertainty pushed down the nation’s dominant services industries more than expected. Growth in the sector almost stalled last month, IHS Markit said as it published its Purchasing Managers Index Wednesday. With similar surveys indicating the nation’s manufacturing and construction industries are in deep downturns, the readings imply the economy is set to shrink 0.1% in the third quarter, Markit said. Output already fell 0.2% in the three months through June, which means that such an outcome would mean the country had entered a recession even before it leaves the European Union at the end of next month. “Business activity in the service sector almost stalled in August as Brexit-related worries escalated, curbing spending by both businesses and consumers.” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at Markit. “The lack of any meaningful growth in the service sector raises the likelihood that the U.K. economy is slipping into recession.” Worse could be to come amid fears that Boris Johnson’s government could pursue a potentially damaging no-deal exit.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in July, but the gap with China, a focus of the Trump administration’s “America First” agenda, surged to a six-month high. The report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday came against the backdrop of an escalation in the trade war between the United States and China. The Commerce Department said the trade deficit dropped 2.7% to $54.0 billion as exports rebounded and imports fell. Data for June was revised down to show the trade gap shrinking to $55.5 billion instead of the previously reported $55.2 billion. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap narrowing to $53.5 billion in July. The politically sensitive goods trade deficit with China increased 9.4% to $32.8 billion, with imports jumping 6.4%. Exports to China fell 3.3% in July. The goods trade deficit with the European Union jumped to a record high, with the shortfall with Germany the largest since August 2015. Washington imposed 15% tariffs on more than $125 billion in Chinese imports, including smart speakers, Bluetooth headphones and clothing.

China is financing billions of dollars worth of projects in Iran, making deep inroads into the economy while European competitors struggle to find banks willing to fund their ambitions, Iranian government and industry officials said on Friday. Freed from crippling nuclear sanctions two years ago, Iran is drawing unprecedented Chinese funding for everything from railways to hospitals, they said. State-owned investment arm CITIC Group recently established a US$10 billion credit line and China Development Bank is considering lending US$15 billion more. “They [Western firms] had better come quickly to Iran otherwise China will take over,” said Ferial Mostofi, head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce’s investment commission, speaking on the sidelines of an Iran-Italy investment meeting in Rome. The Chinese funding, by far the largest statement of investment intent of any country in Iran, is in stark contrast with the drought facing Western investors since US President Donald Trump disavowed the 2015 pact agreed by major powers, raising the threat sanctions could be reimposed.