The government approved the annual report on the implementation of the state budget of Bulgaria for 2018 and the report to it. It noted that 2018 ended with an excess of revenues over expenditures under the Consolidated Fiscal Program (CFP) on a cash basis of BGN 135.1 million. Relative to GDP, this represents 0.1 percent. The CFP balance is positive for the third consecutive year, after a surplus of 0.8 percent of GDP was reported in 2017. The general government budget balance for 2018 according to the methodology of the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010), according to the April deficit and debt notification tables, is positive at 2% of GDP, which complies with the provisions of the Public Finance Act. The fiscal reserve as of December 31, 2018 is BGN 9.4 billion, incl. BGN 9 billion in deposits with the BNB and banks and BGN 0.4 billion in receivables from EU funds for certified expenditures, advances and more. Revenues, grants and donations under the Consolidated Fiscal Program for 2018 amount to BGN 39,650.9 million, which is 103.8% compared to the annual estimates.

Bulgaria-based life insurance companies increased their gross written premiums by an annual 18.9% to BGN 310 million in the first seven months of 2019, according to data from the Financial Supervision Commission. The rise was mostly driven by sickness insurance premiums, which more than doubled to BGN 71.4 million in the January-July period of 2019 from BGN 31 million in the comparable period of 2018, financial regulator data showed. The four biggest life insurers had a combined market share of 87.3% of the total market. Bulgaria-based non-life insurance companies increased their gross written premiums to BGN 1.40 billion from BGN 1.17 billion in the same period of last year. The rise was mostly driven by motor vehicle liability insurance premiums, which grew to BGN 647.4 million in the January-July period of 2019 from BGN 501.7 million in the comparable period of 2018. Motor insurance premiums formed 73.6% of the total gross premiums in the review period, followed by fire, natural forces and property insurance with 11.9% of the total, and accident and sickness with 4.8%.

Bulgaria's government has awarded a three-year metals exploration permit to Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech, a unit of Canada's Dundee Precious Metals (DPM), for the St. Nikola deposit, in southern Bulgaria. Dundee Precious Metals Chelopech will invest at least USD 470,000 in exploration activities during the three-year period. Last week, DPM said that it has successfully completed ramp-up activities at its Krumovgrad open pit gold mine, located at the Ada Tepe property in southern Bulgaria, and that the mine has been operating at the full design tonnage for 10 days straight. DPM also operates the Chelopech gold and copper mine in central Bulgaria.

More than BGN 430,000 have been approved by the government for the World Bank office in our country. The funds will be transferred to the budget of the Ministry of Finance, at the expense of restructuring of expenditures under the central budget. They "will ensure the fulfillment of our country's commitments under the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) for the long-term positioning and functioning of the World Bank Office for Shared Services and other functions in Sofia", according to the government’s press center. The agreement itself states that "the WB office is expected to include a large number of IT professionals", "it is envisaged to develop and deliver high value added services and products" and full capacity should be reached within a five-year period of 300 people employed full-time. The financial framework envisages a total of BGN 1.5 million for this year; for 2020 - BGN 3.5 million, for 2021 - BGN 2.1 million and for 2022 - BGN 2.4 million

US-based automotive parts distributor LKQ Corporation has merged its subsidiary Auto Kelly Bulgaria with Elit Kar, keeping only 20% equity interest in the combined business. The combined business, which will continue to operate under both the Elit Car Group and Auto Kelly brand names, will acquire parts from LKQ's aftermarket supply chain. No further details were disclosed. LKQ Corporation is a leading provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles, with operations in North America, Europe and Taiwan. In Europe, the company is present in 21 countries, employing more than 27,000 people and serving 700,000 customers through its network of 1,100 branches.

Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition said that Cyprus-based Quentrol Limited's planned acquisition of Sofia-based Advisory Services Consulting does not need anti-trust clearance as the combined turnover of the two companies in Bulgaria in 2018 is under the BGN 25 million threshold. Quentrol Limited can proceed with the acquisition immediately. According to commercial register data, Quentrol Limited 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.

Web design and development company Americaneagle.com has acquired Bulgarian digital agency Athracian. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. "Acquiring the talented and experienced team at Athracian further shows our commitment to serving clients all over the globe," Americaneagle.com CEO said in a statement. Athracian has ready-made solutions for upgrades, MVC migration, sites provisioning the cloud, CI/CD solution, including consulting even for the most complex and sophisticated projects.

The contract for the construction of the Nova Provadia and Rasovo compressor stations, part of the expansion of the gas transmission infrastructure in Bulgaria under the Balkan Stream project, will be signed in the presence of the Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova and the CEO of Bulgartransgaz SPJSC Vladimir Malinov. The signing with the selected contractor - DZZD Ferrostaal Balkangaz, will take place today, October 3, 2019. DZZD Ferrostaal Balkangaz is a union between Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen GmbH - Germany, Glavbolgarstroy JSC and Glavbolgarstroy International JSC. The contractor was selected in August 2019 after a public procurement procedure. The value of the contract is EUR 350.8 million, excluding VAT. The project for the extension of the gas transmission infrastructure from the Turkish-Bulgarian to the Bulgarian-Serbian border will provide the conditions for the implementation of the Balkan hub gas concept.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a final Brexit offer to the European Union on Wednesday and said that unless the bloc compromised, Britain would leave without a deal at the end of this month. In what supporters cast as a moment of truth after more than three years of crisis, Johnson stuck to his hard line on Brexit, giving some of the first, albeit vague, details of what he described as “constructive and reasonable proposals”. With the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline moving closer, Johnson’s aides cast the proposals to be delivered to Brussels as London’s final gambit to try to break the deadlock - principally over arrangements for the Irish border - and find a path to a smooth departure from the EU. “We are coming out of the EU on October 31, come what may,” Johnson told party members, after expressing “love” for Europe in a speech which focused mostly on domestic issues such as health, the economy and crime.

Technological efficiencies will result in the biggest reduction in headcount across the U.S. banking industry in its history, with an estimated 200,000 job cuts over the next decade, Wells Fargo & Co. said in a report. The $150 billion annually that the country’s finance firms are spending on tech -- more than any other industry -- will lead to lower costs, with employee compensation accounting for half of all bank expenses, said Mike Mayo, a senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities LLC. Back office, bank branch, call center and corporate employees are being cut by about a fifth to a third, with jobs related to tech, sales, advising and consulting less affected, according to the study. Wells Fargo’s Mayo joins bank executives, consulting firms and others in predicting huge cuts to the banking workforce amid the push toward automation. McKinsey & Co. said in May that it expects the headcount for front-office workers -- the bankers and traders historically seen as among finance firms’ most valuable assets -- to drop by almost a third with the rise of robots.

Tesla Inc’s China factory aims to start production this month but it is unclear when it will meet year-end production targets due to uncertainties around orders, labor and suppliers. The U.S. electric vehicle maker aims to produce at least 1,000 Model 3s a week from the new factory by the end of this year, the centerpiece of its ambitions to boost sales in the world’s biggest auto market and avoid higher import tariffs imposed on U.S. cars. The plant’s mass production schedule is crucial for Tesla’s hopes of reaching its total production rate at an annualized 500,000 vehicles by the end of this year. The $2 billion factory - Tesla’s first car manufacturing site overseas - gained key government approvals last month and is on schedule to start production in October. “We aim to start some production in October, but the actual production volume depends on many factors including car orders we received, performance of newly hired workers, supply chain and so on,” a Tesla source said.