Bulgaria’s economy posted 0.7 per cent growth in the third quarter of the year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a flash estimate. In real terms, gross domestic product (GDP) in Bulgaria in July-September was BGN 31.5 billion, or EUR 16.1 billion. In annual terms, economic growth in the third quarter was 3.7 per cent. NSI is due to announce preliminary growth figures for the quarter on December 5. The flash estimate’s seasonally-adjusted data showed domestic consumption grow by 0.9 per cent during the third quarter (and was 4.9 per cent higher on an annual basis), while gross fixed capital formation rose by 0.8 (while also up by 2.2 per cent compared to the third quarter of 2018). Exports rose by 3.4 per cent during July-September (but were only 0.4 per cent higher compared to the same period of 2018), while imports were one per cent up compared to the previous quarter (and 1.7 per cent lower on an annual basis). The country recorded a trade surplus of BGN 4.2 billion during the quarter, NSI said. Bulgaria was one of 20 EU countries to record economic growth during the third quarter of the year, while eight others were yet to report third-quarter estimates – Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Sweden.

Bulgaria’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.7% in the third quarter of 2019 from 5.0% in the like period of last year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said. Youth unemployment (age bracket 15-29 years), eased to 6.1% in the July-September period of 2019 from 8.2% last year. Long-term unemployment rate, or people who have been without a job for more than a year, was 2.3%, or 78,400 people. The employment rate among people aged 15 to 64 rose by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year to 71.4% in the third quarter. The share of economically active people aged 15-64 grew by 1.7 pp to 74.2%. There were 1.15 million economically inactive people aged 15-64 in the third quarter, or 25.8% of the population in this age group. Of them, 61,400 were discouraged persons.

Bulgaria intends to relaunch the procedure for awarding a concession contract for the operation of the Plovdiv Airport by the end of the year. There is serious interest in the procedure. The initial procedure for awarding the concession was cancelled in October 2018, as the first-ranked consortium, comprising China's HNA Group and Dutch-registered Plovdiv Airport Invest, withdrew its offer. The transport ministry said at the time that the second-ranked offer, coming from a tie-up comprising Bulgaria's Trakia Economic Zone and local transport and logistics company PIMK, was significantly lower and it is in the country's best interest to relaunch the procedure and seek new offers. The HNA Group - Plovdiv Airport Invest tie-up had offered to invest EUR 79.1 million in the airport and pay an annual concession fee of BGN 600,000 plus 6% of all net income from the operation of Plovdiv Airport. The Trakia Economic Zone - PIMK tie-up had proposed to invest EUR 65.5 million and pay each year BGN 120,000 plus 6% of all net income generated from the airport's operation.

Sofia-based Cargotec Business Services, the global business service centre of Finland's cargo and load handling solutions provider Cargotec, will expand its operations opening a regional hub in Singapore. Cargotec Business Services will manage the new hub in Singapore, ensuring the quality of service and maintenance in line with the requirements in the region. Cargotec Business Services, opened by Cargotec Bulgaria at the beginning of 2018, offers services in the area of finance, HR and procurement for the different Cargotec units across the globe. The centre currently offers services to 17 countries.

Bulgaria's competition authority has decided to impose a BGN 65,000 fine on Agria Group Holding for failure to properly notify the regulator about the acquisition of local company Kehlibar in 2016. The fine is equal to 5% of Agria Group Holding's non-consolidated turnover in 2018. The acquisition did not competition of the local market significantly, which justifies the lower amount of the fine. However, the regulator had to be notified as the combined turnover of Agria Group Holding and Kehlibar exceeded the threshold which makes anti-trust clearance mandatory, according to data from the two companies' annual financial statements for 2015. Agria Group Holding's total consolidated turnover amounted to BGN 114.2 million in 2015, while Kehlibar posted a turnover of BGN 39.6 million. In August 2016, Agria Group Holding signed a deal to acquire 100% of Kehlibar from private individual. Kehlibar's share capital at the time totalled BGN 760,000, divided into 7,600 shares of BGN 100 in par value each.

Bulgarian poultry producer Gradus said that it will receive an additional dividend of BGN 3 million from its wholly-owned unit Millennium 2000. The BGN 3 million represent part of Millennium 2000's undistributed profit in 2018, Gradus said. Earlier this year, Millennium 2000 distributed BGN 1 million of its profit in 2018 as dividend to Gradus. Gradus controls six units - Gradus-1, Gradus-3, Gradus-98, Lora-2004, Millennium 2000 and Zhyuliv.

Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) said that its profit after taxes from operations in Bulgaria rose by an annual 16.6% to EUR 59 million in the first nine months of 2019. RBI's operating income in Bulgaria increased 11.4% year-on-year to EUR 135 million in the January-September period of 2019. Net interest income added 10.4% to EUR 84 million, while net fee and commission income grew 18.5% to EUR 42 million. The company's general administrative expenses in the country were 4.3% higher at EUR 69 million in the review period. RBI's assets in Bulgaria rose by an annual 12.6% to EUR 4.475 billion at the end of September, as loans to customers grew 16.7% to EUR 2.935 billion. The lending growth rate was outpaced by the rise in deposits, which increased 17.7% year-on-year to EUR 3.535 billion at the end of September. RBI's non-performing exposures (NPE) ratio in Bulgaria improved to 1.8% at the end of September from 2.4% a year earlier. The group had 2,641 employees at the end of September, up from 2,568 a year earlier, and operated 148 business outlets - one more compared to September 2018.

Germany is set to knock the U.K. off its perch as Europe’s most active property market, as yield-hungry investors bet the region’s traditional growth engine will bounce back from its current economic malaise. Investors poured 49.4 billion euros ($54.4 billion) into German commercial real estate in the 10 months through October, surpassing the 35.1 billion euros of deals in the U.K., according to broker Savills Plc. That puts Germany on course to best Britain this year for the first time in a decade. The German property market is booming despite its economy narrowly averting a recession in the third quarter. Buyers desperate for returns in a world of negative interest rates and feeble bond yields are increasingly willing to look past harrowing economic forecasts and snap up buildings with the potential for rising rental income.

The US budget deficit continued to swell at the start of the fiscal year, as government spending outpaced revenue despite solid economic growth. The gap between federal expenditures and receipts grew by 34% from a year earlier, to $134 billion in October, the Treasury Department said in its monthly budget statement on Wednesday. That brought the 12-month deficit above $1 trillion for the first time in more than six years. Receipts last month were down about 3% from the same month a year ago, to $246 billion, partly because of calendar quirks that affected the time of payments. Outlays rose by 8%, to $380 billion. In congressional testimony hours earlier, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that such a pace was unsustainable and would undermine the country's ability to fight a recession.

Morgan Stanley is one of the most bearish - and bullish - on Saudi Aramco’s valuation. In a presentation for investors, Morgan Stanley bankers ran through several valuation models that gave a spread of about $1 trillion between the most bearish and bullish scenarios. For example, based on a dividend discount model the spread ran from $1.06 trillion up to $2 trillion. The base case was $1.52 trillion, according to the presentation seen by Bloomberg. A spokesman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Morgan Stanley isn’t alone in struggling to pinpoint exactly how much Aramco is worth. Valuation has been a sticking point since the IPO was first touted in 2016. Aramco faces a delicate balance as it seeks to push its IPO valuation as close as possible to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s $2 trillion - a figure that’s been met with skepticism from many professional investors - while making sure it’s attractive to potential Saudi buyers.