EU industrial production fell by 0.4 percent in October after a 0.1 percent increase in September, according to seasonally adjusted Eurostat data. In the euro area, the index fell by 0.5 percent compared to September, when it fell by 0.1 percent. The industrial production in Bulgaria in October increased by 1 percent on a monthly basis after an increase of 0.7 percent in September, and on an annual basis the increase was 1.7 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. In October 2019, compared to a year earlier, industrial production in the EU increased by 1.7 percent and in the euro area by 2.2 percent. The largest decline in industrial production on a monthly basis was reported in Denmark and Greece (-2.6 percent) and in Lithuania and Latvia (-2.3 percent each). The largest increase was in Portugal (3.1 percent), Slovenia (2 percent) and Poland (1.1 percent). On an annual basis, industrial production declined most in Germany (-6.3 percent), Estonia, Romania and Slovakia (-3.9 percent each). The highest increases were recorded in Hungary ( 6.5 percent), Ireland (5.9 percent) and Poland (3.4 percent).

By the end of November 2019, the funds accumulated in the State Fund for Guaranteeing the Sustainability of the State Pension System, known as the Silver Fund, amounted to BGN 3.125 billion. Of these, BGN 3.067 billion was formed in annual deposits in BNB with decisions of the Management Board of the Fund. For comparison, the money in the Fund in October amounted to BGN 3.120 billion. The funds transferred to the guarantee fund from the pensions fund in the State Social Insurance in November amounted to BGN 5.09 million compared to BGN 3.41 million in October. The amount for the first quarter of the year is BGN 17.67 million and for the second quarter - BGN 141.45 million. For the third quarter of 2019 the amount is BGN 35.82 million. A total of BGN 136.54 million was transferred in 2018. According to the adopted long-term investment policy and the medium-term strategy for investing the money in the Fund for 2019-2021, the accumulated amounts will remain on deposit with the BNB until at least 2021, and most probably until 2040. The reserve money for pensions, which must guarantee the stability of the pension system, will be managed as conservatively as now.

Construction company Cordeel Bulgaria, the local unit of Belgium-based Cordeel Group, has started the construction of a BGN 52 million office and logistics complex in Sofia. The project of the type "Build to Suit and Lease" will be implemented in line with the requirements of the future tenant - Bulgarian consumer goods distribution and logistics company Orbico Bulgaria, part of Croatia's Orbico Group. The facility will spread on 57,000 sq m, including 32,000 sq m of storage space, 4,500 sq m of office space and the respective infrastructure. The office and logistics centre will create 500 jobs. The storage and office spaces will be built within a period of 18 months. This is the biggest logistics centre of Orbico Group in Bulgaria and it holds great importance for the business of Orbico's local unit. The new management of Cordeel Bulgaria is planning the implementation of projects of similar scope in the future. Cordeel Group has been present in Bulgaria for 20 years to date. The group's portfolio in Bulgaria consists of 85 successfully implemented projects, including The Mall and Infinity Tower, both located in Sofia.

More than BGN 5 million has been invested in Gorubso-Madan this year, the company CEO Sergei Atanasov informed. According to his forecasts, the company will finish within 2 years with the process of implementing a completely new mining model, which relies mainly on modern machinery for mechanization and automation of mining. About BGN 100 million has been invested in GORUBSO-Madan since 2012, most of which is specifically about changing the mining model. If the planned quantities of ore for the three mines are met in December, the company will end 2019 with the best production since 1990. The estimates are for over 25,000 tonnes of concentrate or over 370,000 tonnes of ore production. The company is investing in the delivery of front loaders, underground mining trucks and coal mines, which make mine workers more like operators of modern machinery. More than BGN 10 million is planned as investments for 2020, which will continue the transition to the new mining model.

Bulgarian do-it-yourself (DIY) retailer Praktiker has started the construction of a new store in the town of Pazardzhik, which is expected to become operational in the spring of 2020. The building will have a total area of some 8,400 sq m, with an adjacent parking lot with 123 parking places. Construction works will be carried out by local Miks Construction. The new store will be located next to an existing Technopolis store. Both Praktiker and Technopolis are part of local group Videolux Holding. Praktiker currently has 11 stores located in 10 cities across the country.

The Bulgarian unit of Danish bedding and furniture retailer JYSK has opened its ninth store in Sofia - its 30th in the country. The new store, located in Sky City shopping centre, will create ten jobs. The company plans to open four stores in Sofia within a very short term. The company's strategy envisages having an average of five stores in Bulgaria's largest cities. JYSK Bulgaria's profit before taxes fell by an annual 11% to BGN 4 million in the fiscal year 2019 ended August 31, while turnover rose by an annual 27.5% to a record BGN 59 million. The drop in the company's profit can be attributed mainly to increased capital expenditure, it said. JYSK opened six new stores in Bulgaria in its fiscal year 2019 - in the cities of Vidin, Ruse, Montana, Dimitrovgrad, Gabrovo, and Sofia. JYSK entered the Bulgarian market in 2005 and currently operates stores in 18 cities in the country, employing about 500 people.

Bulgaria's Agroenergy Invest REIT is seeking the approval of its shareholders to take out a ten-year EUR 5.115 million loan from ProCredit Bank Bulgaria. The loan will carry an annual interest rate of 6m EURIBOR plus 1.8 basis points, but not less than 1.8%. Agroenergy Invest REIT shareholders will vote on the proposal on January 14, 2020. The company's shares last traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange at a price of BGN 1.01 apiece, translating into a market capitalisation of BGN 28.2 million.

The European Central Bank (ECB) kept its rates unchanged on Thursday following new President Christine Lagarde’s first monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt. The Governing Council voted to keep the main deposit rate at the historic low of -0.5%, in line with market expectations, while the marginal lending facility remained at 0.25%. The ECB’s statement reiterated that rates will stay at the current level or lower until the central bank has seen the inflation outlook “robustly converge” to that level on a consistent basis. It also confirmed that net asset purchases had started at a monthly rate of 20 billion euros ($22.3 billion) and that this will continue to run “as long as necessary” to reinforce the accommodative policy stance. Market reaction was somewhat muted, with the euro trading roughly flat against the dollar at $1.1132 following the announcement and equity markets turning slightly negative after marginal early gains. In September, Lagarde’s predecessor Mario Draghi launched a massive stimulus package which entailed a cut to the central bank’s main deposit rate a second round of quantitative easing in a bid to stimulate the sluggish euro zone economy.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady and signaled borrowing costs will not change anytime soon, with moderate economic growth and historically low unemployment expected to persist through the 2020 presidential election. In its final policy meeting of a tumultuous year, when it was spurred to cut interest rates three times to forestall a slowdown fueled largely by President Donald Trump’s trade war, the U.S. central bank struck a remarkably sanguine tone, confident the actions it had taken so far are working. “Our economic outlook remains a favorable one, despite global developments and ongoing risks,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a news conference shortly after the release of the latest policy statement and new quarterly economic projections. “As the year progressed we adjusted the stance of monetary policy to cushion the economy and provide some insurance ... This shift has helped support the economy and has kept the outlook on track,” he said.

Shares of Saudi Aramco surged on their second day of public trading, pushing the kingdom’s record IPO to a gargantuan $2 trillion valuation and briefly touching Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s long-held target for the company. Share rose 10% to 38.7 riyals apiece ($10.32) but slipped back to 37 riyals within minutes of the market open. The figure, nearly $1 trillion higher than the world’s next-largest public companies Microsoft and Apple, was long ridiculed and regarded with disbelief by much of the international financial community. Riyadh on Wednesday made history by listing 1.5% of its state-run oil giant on its local stock exchange, the Saudi Tadawul, in what was the largest IPO on record. Shares went limit up, rising 10% in price as trading started, giving the company a valuation of $1.88 trillion on its first day of trading. While the massive valuation will be seen as a win for the Saudi crown prince, it lacked the international interest the kingdom had hoped for, relying instead on local investors after the company canceled overseas roadshows in London and New York.