BGN 6689 will be paid by each taxpayer for the state expenditures in 2020. The state will collect an average of BGN 6689 in 2020 by each taxpayer in the form of taxes, social security contributions and fees, which will then be spent on official salaries and pensions, subsidies, highways and sewerage networks, child allowances, police, army, schools, hospitals, etc. About BGN 47 billion will be spent by the state in 2020, the draft state budget bill, which is currently being discussed in the National Assembly, reads. The amount is BGN 3 billion higher than 2019, which is why the average bill served by the government of each taxpayer will be nearly BGN 400 higher. The expenditure note shows a breakdown of the state's expenditures by function, distributing the funds equally to all Bulgarian citizens. Of these BGN 6689 per person, the highest burden for the next year are the expenses for pensions - BGN 1518.

In the third quarter of 2019 there were 125.4 thousand unemployed persons, of whom 70.9 thousand (56.5%) men and 54.5 thousand (43.5%) women. The unemployment rate was 3.7% and went down by 1.3 percentage points from the third quarter of 2018. The unemployment rate was 3.8% for men and 3.4% for women. Among all unemployed persons, 14.8% had attained tertiary education, 44.7% had completed upper secondary education and 40.5% had at most lower secondary education. The unemployment rate by level of educational attainment was as follows: 1.8% for higher education, 2.9% for upper secondary and 10.8% for education lower than upper secondary. In the third quarter of 2019 there were 78.4 thousand long-term unemployed persons (unemployed for one or more years), representing 62.5% of all unemployed persons.

Bulgarian leasing companies' claims under financial and operational leases have increased by an annual 8.2% to BGN 4.27 billion at the end of September, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said. Compared to the end of June, claims were 1.3% higher at the end of September. Financial lease claims totalled BGN 4.06 billion at the end of September, up by an annual 8.9% and 1.9% higher compared to the end of the second quarter. Operational lease claims fell by an annual 3.6% to BGN 212.5 million at the end of September, and were 8.5% lower compared to the end of the previous quarter. The assets of the companies operating in Bulgaria's leasing sector totalled BGN 5.16 billion at the end of September, up from BGN 4.74 billion a year earlier.

A Stara Zagora-based Food and Beverage company is the first investor to have officially announced its intention to buy a plot of land in the new Industrial Zone Zagore in the city. The proposal for the sale of the land was approved by the municipal councilors. The local investor has stated his desire to buy 12 decares of land, intending to build a logistical base with administrative and commercial areas needed to grow the business. The planned investment of the Stara Zagora company is over BGN 1.5 million, with plans to initially hire 45 people. Several foreign companies have also shown interest in the new Stara Zagora industrial zone, one of which is exploring the possibility to buy 80% of the total area. Industrial Zone Zagore was created at the initiative of Stara Zagora Municipality and local businesses in partnership with the state, represented by National Company Industrial Zones, holding 50 percent of the project.

Bulgaria's competition authority has rejected a complaint over alleged product imitation filed by Danish toys and games manufacturer Lego System, part of LEGO Group, against local toys retailer OMI-2004. The anti-trust body has found no evidence of unlawful competition practices as the two companies are operating on separate markets - Lego System is a manufacturer, while Sofia-based OMI-2004 is a distributor, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said in a statement. According to the claimant, OMI-2004's construction toys of the brands BELA, LY, LEPIN, KSZ and Tenma are an imitation of its LEGO construction toys and thus the defendant violates the copyrights held by Denmark-based LEGO Juris, another subsidiary of LEGO Group. OMI-2004's operations on the Bulgarian market may have a harmful impact on the demand for LEGO toys on that market, as the prices of OMI-2004 products are half those of the original toys. OMI-2004 argues that its construction toys can not be mistaken by the customers for LEGO products as they do not carry the familiar logo of the Danish manufacturer. The company adds that it has no competition relations with the claimant as LEGO System is not currently directly shipping its products to Bulgaria but distributes them in the country through the local toy chains Hippoland and Comsed.

Bulgarian printing and advertising company Billboard said that its consolidated net profit after minority interest fell slightly to BGN 406,000 in the first nine months of the year from BGN 496,000 in the same period of 2018. Billboard's revenue edged down to BGN 26.5 million in the January-September period of 2019 from BGN 26.7 million in the comparable period of last year. Operating expenses also decreased by a slim BGN 100,000, to BGN 25.9 million. A BGN 1.2 million drop in expenses for hired services, which was offset by higher expenses for materials and personnel costs. Billboard, established in 2001, offers wide format digital printing, offset printing and branding of vehicles.

Eurobank Bulgaria, which operates under the Postbank brand, has successfully completed the operational merger with its unit Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. This is the final stage of a deal which is of great importance for Eurobank Group and is part of its strategy to expand its operations on the markets where it holds a leading position. Following the completion of the last stage of the deal, Eurobank Bulgaria now has a market share of over 10% in assets, credits and deposits thus strengthening its position on the local banking market. The legal merger of the two lenders was completed on November 12 - Eurobank Bulgaria took on all assets and liabilities of Piraeus Bank Bulgaria, but did not increase its capital as a result of the process. Last month, Eurobank Bulgaria received approval from the central bank to absorb Piraeus Bank Bulgaria. Eurobank acquired Piraeus Bank Bulgaria from Greece's Piraeus Bank in June. The two lenders hold a combined market share of 11.5% in terms of retail banking, and 9% regarding wholesale banking, making them the fourth largest player on both segments.

Small Greek carrier Astra Airlines said it had grounded all scheduled flights to work on a financial restructuring. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) suspended the airline, freezing its transactions and stopping any ticketing through IATA accredited travel agents. “Passengers will be definitely notified within the next seven days at the latest about the settlement of financial-related claims,” the airline said in a statement on its website. Astra, with a fleet of four aircraft, three of which are ATR turboprop planes, launched operations in 2008, starting with flights from Thessaloniki to Rhodes. It later expanded its network to more island destinations. It also flew government subsidised routes.

The Trump administration is set to issue a 90-day extension of a license allowing U.S. companies to continue doing business with China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, two sources familiar with the deliberations said. Reuters reported Friday that an initial extension of around two weeks was expected and a longer extension was in the works, but had not yet been finalized due to regulatory hurdles. Over the weekend, the Trump administration’s plans changed and it now plans to renew the temporary extension for the same 90-day period as it did in August, the sources said. After adding Huawei to an economic blacklist in May citing national security concerns, the U.S. Commerce Department has allowed it to purchase some American-made goods in a move aimed at minimizing disruption for its customers, many of which operate networks in rural America. The extension will be announced Monday, when the earlier reprieve is set to expire.

Saudi Arabia’s central bank doubled leverage limits for retail investors looking to buy shares in oil giant Saudi Aramco, according to people familiar with the matter, part of an effort to boost local demand for what could be the world’s largest initial public offering. Banks will be permitted to give leverage to retail customers at a ratio of 2 to 1 for every riyal they put toward buying Aramco shares, up from the normal limit of 1 to 1. Lenders will be allowed to give corporate and institutional customers higher leverage ratios based on each customers creditworthiness, the people said. Samba Financial Group will offer retail investors 2-to-1 leverage to invest in Aramco shares, Chief Executive Officer Rania Nashar said. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, as the kingdom’s central bank is known, didn’t respond to requests to comment. Saudi banks are seeking to cash in on the IPO after years of falling loan growth and a decline in the pace of economic expansion.