Bulgaria is among the countries with a very high level of human development. Bulgaria ranks 52nd with a score of 0.812 in the list of 189 countries on the Human Development Index. This is stated in the Human Development Report for 2019 prepared by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which characterizes human development in the world on the basis of the 2018 indicators. By this indicator Bulgaria is among the leading Balkan countries. Only Slovenia (24th), Cyprus (31st), Greece (32nd) and Croatia (46th) are ahead of Bulgaria. Montenegro, and Romania rank immediately after Bulgaria and Turkey is 59th. These three countries are also in the group with a very high level of human development. Serbia leads the group in the second category of human development countries. It is 63rd with a score of 0.799. The Human Development Report is an independent report of the United Nations Development Program prepared by leading global scientists and experts in the field of development and cooperation.

In 2018, EU households spent more than EUR 1047 trillion or 6.6% of the community’s GDP on food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to Eurostat. This represents 12.1% of their total consumption expenditure and ranks as the third largest item after "housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels" - 24 percent, as well as "transport" - 13.2 percent. According to Eurostat, households in Bulgaria have used 19.1% of their money, or EUR 6.7431 billion, equivalent to 12% of GDP for food. After Bulgaria come Estonia, Lithuania and Romania with 19.6%, 20.9% and 27.8% respectively. 10 years ago Bulgarians used spent 20.4% of household money on food or 14.0% of their GDP.

The trading platform of Gas Hub Balkan was successfully put into commercial operation as part of the first tender for the 2020 Gas Release Program, Bulgartransgaz said in a statement., Nearly 55 million cubic meters of gas were successfully traded. More than 15 participants had the right to participate in the auction, which were offered one annual and twelve monthly products. As a result of the transactions, e-commerce was realized for the first time on the Bulgarian gas market, with 550,000 MWh (~ 55 million m³) successfully traded, or 25 percent of the total amount released, according to Gas Hub Balkan. The second auction of the program will be held on December 16, 2019.

About BGN 150 million are the estimated investments in Trakia Economic Zone for 2019. Approximately the same amount as last year. However, the news from Plovdiv is not so much in the millions that the companies poured into production, rather than the smart factories that have emerged, which are largely robotised and automated. One was launched by Ataro Climate and the other - by Schneider Electric. Kaufland already holds the largest logistics center in the country - in the village of Stryama, in the Rakovski Industrial Zone. The investment in the new extension is over BGN 64 million and the employees are close to 100, some of which are newly appointed. In 2019, the Bulgarian company ВА Glаѕѕ announced a mega-investment of BGN 57 million, and it was flown only in the production base in Plovdiv. ВА Glаѕѕ entered Bulgaria in 2017, acquiring Druzhba Glassworks with sites in Sofia and Plovdiv. A new plant, with planned investment of EUR 40 million in next years, opened next to the town of Plovdiv in October, again on the territory of Trakia Economic Zone. The investment is from the German giant оdеlо GmbН, which in 2011 was acquired by the Turkish Вауrаktаrlаr Ноldіng А.Ѕ.

Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition said that France Air Management is seeking approval to acquire the operations of British-based SIG, which is active on the Bulgarian market. SIG operates in Bulgaria through its wholly-owned subsidiary SIG Air Handling Bulgaria. Interested parties have until December 16 to submit their statements regarding the transaction. According to its most recent available financial statement, SIG Air Handling Bulgaria generated revenue of some BGN 46 million in 2017.

Bulgaria's Chernomorski Holding is seeking anti-trust approval to acquire local Varna Traks. The acquisition is expected to affect competition on the local road freight transportation market segment. Varna Traks generated revenue of BGN 3.1 million in 2018, and closed the year with a slim profit of just BGN 1,000. Chernomorski Holding reported consolidated revenue of BGN 1 million and a net profit of BGN 346,000 in the first nine months of 2019. There are no shareholders owning over 5% interest in the holding company.

Bulgaria's Gradus-98 has received the approval of its shareholders to distribute an additional BGN 2 million as dividend for 2018, its parent company - poultry producer Gradus. Gradus will receive BGN 1,998,680 from the total. Gradus-98 shareholders approved the proposal at a meeting held on December 5. Earlier this year, Gradus-98 distributed BGN 2.5 million as dividend for 2018. Gradus-98's net profit more than halved to BGN 4.1 million in 2018 from BGN 8.8 million in the same period of 2017. At the end of September, Gradus-98 was 99.94%-owned by Gradus.

EU regulators will review two-decade old rules that determine if companies have the market power to throttle rivals or control prices to take into account globalization and digitalization, Europe’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said. Her announcement came amidst criticism by lawyers and academics that the European Union’s antitrust laws have failed to keep up with the times as regulators examine mergers and anti-competitive practices involving global online companies. How regulators define markets can help them measure a company’s pricing power in a merger or its power to shut out rivals in an antitrust case and the concessions they extract from these companies. The current rules date back to 1997. “Changes like globalization and digitization mean that many markets work rather differently from the way they did, 22 years ago,” Vestager told a Chillin Competition conference. “So the time has come to review the Market Definition Notice. We want to be sure that the guidance it gives is accurate and up to date, and sets out a clear and consistent approach to both antitrust and merger cases across different industries, in a way that’s easily accessible,” she said, calling for feedback from interested parties.

France’s Sanofi agreed to buy California-headquartered biotechnology firm Synthorx in a cash deal worth about $2.5 billion as it steps up a push in the lucrative field of cancer drugs under its new chief executive. Sanofi has offered to buy all the outstanding shares of Synthorx common stock for $68 per share in cash, or a 172% premium to Synthorx’s closing price on Dec. 6, 2019. “This acquisition fits perfectly with our strategy to build a portfolio of high-quality assets and to lead with innovation, as you will hear at our Capital Markets Day tomorrow, December 10,” Sanofi Chief Executive Paul Hudson said in a statement. “Additionally it is aligned with our goal to build our oncology franchise with potentially practice-changing medicines and novel combinations.” Synthorx, which posted a 2018 net loss of $56.6 million, is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on therapies for people with cancer and auto-immune disorders. Sanofi expects to complete the acquisition in the first quarter of 2020. Sanofi is conducting a broad strategy review under Hudson, who took over as CEO on Sept. 1.

China has ordered that all foreign computer equipment and software be removed from government offices and public institutions within three years. The government directive is likely to be a blow to US multinational companies like HP, Dell and Microsoft and mirrors attempts by Washington to limit the use of Chinese technology, as the trade war between the countries turns into a tech cold war. The Trump administration banned US companies from doing business with Chinese Chinese telecommunications company Huawei earlier this year and in May, Google, Intel and Qualcomm announced they would freeze cooperation with Huawei. By excluding China from western know-how, the Trump administration has made it clear that the real battle is about which of the two economic superpowers has the technological edge for the next two decades. This is the first known public directive from Beijing setting specific targets limiting China’s use of foreign technology, though it is part a wider move within China to increase its reliance on domestic technology.