The gross external debt of the country at the end of July 2019 is EUR 34195.3 million (57.8 per cent of the projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP)), the Bulgarian National Bank reports. Debt increased by EUR 1039.4 million (3.1 per cent) compared to the end of 2018. Debt decreased YoY by EUR 259.9 million (0.8 per cent). At the end of July 2019, long-term liabilities amounted to EUR 25771.1 million (75.4 per cent of gross debt, 43.6 per cent of GDP). On a year-on-year basis, long-term debt decreased by EUR 592.2 million (2.2 percent). The gross external debt of general government at end-July 2019 was EUR 5452.7 million (9.2 per cent of GDP). Compared to the end of 2018, it decreased by EUR 88.2 million (1.6 per cent). On an annual basis, the sector's external liabilities declined by EUR 194.8 million (3.4 percent). The external liabilities of the Banks sector amounted to EUR 4638.1 million (7.8 percent of GDP). The debt of the Banking sector increased on an annual basis by EUR 127.1 million (2.8 percent) compared to July 2018. External liabilities of Other sectors amounted to EUR 10853.7 million (18.3 percent of GDP). The sector's debt decreased by EUR 110.4 million (1 percent) on an annual basis.

The poverty line should be BGN 363 from January 1, 2020, according to a draft decree of the Council of Ministers defining the poverty line, published for public discussion on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the portal for public consultation. The deadline for discussing the project is October 27. The poverty line this year is BGN 348. The proposed new size for 2020 is 4.3 percent higher than in 2019. The report of the social minister states that the determination of the poverty line for the country is made on the basis of the methodology adopted by a decree of the Council of Ministers of September 24 this year. By setting the poverty line at BGN 363 for 2020, financial support for people with permanent disabilities will be updated and respond to the dynamically changing economic environment, the social minister's report said. From January 1, 2019, with the entry into force of the Disabled Persons Act, the approach in force until December 31, 2018 to determine the amount of monthly financial support for people with permanent disabilities changed.

The Pirin National Park Directorate has opened a procedure for awarding, through a competition, the implementation of tourist activities and services at the picnic attraction facility in Chalin Valog. It is located in the park section Vihren, and the term is 1 year. The right to provide tourist services - information, sale of souvenirs, sale of drinks and other goods, preparation of specialized advertising materials for the site will be granted. They will be able to organize events and events with sports, educational and other character, but only after coordination with NP Pirin. For the right to carry out tourist activities and offer tourist services in the picnic attraction facility, the contractor will undertake to manage the site and the park furniture - to varnish the wooden elements, to replace the broken, rotten and damaged elements, to repair the fireplaces before the tourist season, to provide security and garbage collection in the area of the attraction facility.

Acronis, a software company specializing in cybersecurity, storage, and data management, is now a unicorn (ie, valued at more than USD 1 billion) after receiving funding a week ago from investment bank Goldman Sachs. This is the first major foreign capital injection in the company's over 15-year history, according to its co-founder and CEO Sergey Belusov. The raised funding will be used to acquire companies and expand the engineering teams in Bulgaria, Arizona and Singapore, where Acronis is based. In the last seven years, the company has acquired four data management and cybersecurity companies. The company opened a large office in Bulgaria last year, where it entered after acquiring the local T-Soft, whose team of 20 specialists has worked with it for years. There are now nearly 200 employees in the country. "We are very happy with this investment, as it will allow Acronis to continue its large-scale development plans, but it also gives a great assessment of the company's achievements so far and the prospects for the company. Specifically in Sofia we plan to double the number of employees in the next 12 months" Plamen Toshev, managing director of Acronis Bulgaria, said.

A European project for the expansion and development of port terminals in Burgas envisages full integration between sea and rail transport, as well as a significant increase in the capacity of the Bulgarian port. BMF Port Burgas - the concessionaire of the port terminals Burgas East - 2 and Burgas West successfully completed the activities of the European project: "East to West. Access to the OEM Corridor (Orient/Eastern Mediterranean Transport Corridor) through the Burgas Central Port. Studies for the completion of the port infrastructure and railway connections.” Feasibility studies were carried out within the project and a preliminary and technical project for the completion of the port infrastructure and railway connections have been prepared. The project has an indicative value of EUR 2,670,000, with 85% of this amount or EUR 2,269,500 being awarded under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), Transport sector, as a grant.

About BGN 2 million will be invested in a new campsite on a 58-decare site adjacent to the village of Skobelevo, where the first private ethnographic complex Damascena is already operating. The project of Alba Group SPLTD envisages a minimum of 50 campers and caravans whose owners will enjoy their own space of approximately 100 square meters of lawn divided by rose plantations for which drip irrigation is already being built. 6 two-bedroom houses with private bathrooms and 6 stationary caravans to be leased to tourists are planned. Over 2000 fruit trees have already been planted in the area of the future complex, work is underway to build a small hot water pool and a large (25x12 m) pool with mini roll and aqua slides. For socialization and comfort of guests there is a shelter with tables, there is a kitchen with stoves and grills, the barbecue seats can accommodate 70.

BDZ stops 14 passenger trains to use the locomotives for other routes until October 20. The movement of part of the trains running on the routes is canceled: Karlovo - Zimnitsa; Dupnitsa - Petrich; Varna - Shumen; Zimnica - Sliven; Stara Zagora - Karlovo and Karlovo-Tulovo, as well as Sliven - Karlovo and Shumen - Kaspichan. The passengers of these trains will be carried by bus. The changes are temporary and are related to the need to provide a sufficient number of locomotives for high-speed trains, BDZ explained. More information about train numbers and how passengers can travel can be found on the BDZ website.

France's government unveiled a draft 2020 budget with more than nine billion euros in tax cuts for households as it hopes to move on from on from roiling "yellow vest" protests while still cutting the deficit to within EU limits. The "social crisis" brought on by the protests, as well as a slowdown in global economic growth, "led us to make decisions that encourage investment and consumption", Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said as he unveiled the draft 2020 budget. The draft budget, which will be officially presented to the cabinet on Friday, will cut taxes for households by 9.3 billion euros ($10 billion) and businesses by more than one billion euros. That includes five billion euros in tax cuts for some 12 million households already promised by President Emmanuel Macron, the result of a "great national debate" he held to try to address the ongoing protests. Macron, who swept to the presidency in 2017 with a pledge to get the country back on a solid financial footing, was caught short by the "yellow vest" movement which accused the former investment banker of ignoring the day-to-day struggles of many French. After months of street protests that often spiralled into rioting and battles with police, Macron unveiled tax cuts, wage increases and other measures for low-income households.

The rapidly growing internet sector accounted for $2.1 trillion of the U.S. economy in 2018, or about 10% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), an industry group said. The Internet Association, a group representing Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc, Twitter Inc, Uber Technology Inc and many other firms, released its estimate as the tech sector has come under increasing criticism, with some lawmakers calling for the breakup of major firms and renewed antitrust scrutiny. The study says the internet sector represents the fourth largest sector of the U.S. economy, behind real estate, government and manufacturing. Last year, manufacturing accounted for about $2.3 trillion in U.S. GDP. The study found that the internet sector has nearly 6 million direct jobs, which accounts for 4% of U.S. jobs, while U.S. internet firms spent $64 billion in capital expenditures. The study also found the internet sector indirectly supports another 13 million jobs. In 2015, the Internet Association estimated the sector was responsible for an estimated $966.2 billion, or 6% GDP in 2014. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in April estimated the “digital economy” accounted for 6.9% of the 2017 U.S. GDP, or $1.35 trillion, in 2017, placing it in seventh place overall.

Iran's oil minister ordered his country's energy sector to be on high alert to the threat of "physical and cyber" attacks. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said "it is necessary for all companies and installations of the oil industry to be on full alert against physical and cyber threats," in a statement published on the oil ministry's Shana website. Zanganeh said precautions were needed due to American sanctions and the "full-scale economic war" that the Islamic republic accuses the United States of waging against it. Washington, Riyadh, Berlin, London and Paris blame Iran for attacks that damaged the Saudi oil sector on September 14 and forced the world's largest crude exporter to sharply reduce production. Tehran denied any link to the strikes, which were claimed by Huthi rebels in Yemen. Iran supports the rebels against a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Huthis since 2015. Following the attacks, US President Donald Trump said he was preparing a response. Several days later he endorsed military restraint, signalling his preference for intensifying a "maximum pressure" campaign through economic sanctions. Iran denied press reports on September 21 that its oil installations were disrupted by a cyber attack.