SERBIA:

DINNPB: Price increase for several types of cigarettes from February 12 approved
The price of cigarettes produced by Imperial Tobacco will increase by 10 dinars from February 12, Blic reports. The reason for the price correction is an increase of the specific excise tax from the New Year, by a dinar and a half per pack, which changes twice a year according to the excise tax calendar. The state will now be collecting RSD 67 per pack from producers. Furthermore, a proportional excise tax of 33% is calculated on the price of cigarettes and the VAT is added to the entire amount. In other words, the increase of this tax leads to an increase of other charges, which is why the prices are raised by an amount considerably higher than the increase defined based on the specific excise tax.
Source: Blic, Ekapija

Tigar Pirot contracts export of 50,000 pairs of footwear to Scandinavia
Tigar Pirot announced on January 24th that it had contracted export of around 50,000 pairs of footwear worth EUR 1.2 million with the company Ilse Jacobsen, the leader in the production of designer clothes and footwear in Scandinavia. As said, there's a possibility for the export of Tigar to that market to increase to 15 to 20% in 2019 and 2020. Tigar should start a test run of rubber sneakers based on the negotiations with the Swedish company Wise Shoes in August 2018, and the product should become available in the fall/winter season in 2018. The Swedish company Shepherd plans to sell rubber sneakers in the amount of up to EUR 2 million in 2018, in which Tigar products should have a considerable share.
Source: Ekapija

Average net salary in December at RSD 54,344 or EUR 460
Average net salary in Serbia for December amounted to RSD 54,344 or EUR 460, Serbian Statistical Office reported. The amount is up 14.2% versus November, in both real and nominal terms. This increase is typical for December given the fact that this month delivers additional payments, bonuses, 13th salary and similar compensations. When comparing with December 2016, the average net salary is higher by 1.7% in nominal terms but lower by 1.3% in real terms.
Source: Beta, Ilirika
Izvor: Beta

REGION:

SBITOP gains 0.51 percent
SBITOP Index closed at 834.67 points on Thursday, gaining 0.51 percent. Best performers were SavaRe (+1.79%), Zavarovalnica Triglav (+0.97%) and Intereuropa (+0.95%), while Mercator and Gorenje lost -2.76% and -0.79% respectively during the trading day.
Izvor: Ilirka

Econmic sentiment in Slovenia remaisn high
In January economic sentiment in Slovenia remained high. It was 6.2 percentage points higher annually and 0.3 percentage points higher than in December 2017. The sentiment indicator is the weighted average of several confidence indicators, namely, manufacturing, services, consumer confidence, retail trade and construction. Rising confidence in retail trade, manufacturing and consumer confidence had the biggest impact on the recent increase in economic sentiment.
Source: Ilirika

INO:

Dow pops 140 points, closes at record after Caterpillar and 3M earnings, European stocks close lower as earnings, ECB decision take center stage
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record on Thursday on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly results from Caterpillar and 3M. The 30-stock index gained 140.67 points to close at 26,392.79. The Dow rose as much as 206 points but came off its highs after President Donald Trump told CNBC the dollar will get "stronger and stronger" under his leadership.
Shares of Caterpillar rose as much as 2.8 percent before finishing 0.6 percent higher, while 3M gained 1.9 percent. Celgene and McCormick also reported better-than-forecast quarterly earnings and sales. Calendar fourth-quarter earnings and sales have mostly beat analyst expectations thus far. Of the companies that have reported quarterly results, 78 percent have beaten earnings expectations, while 82 percent have surpassed revenue estimates, according to Thomson Reuters
European markets closed lower on Thursday, as investors digested the latest comments from the European Central Bank, after it left interest rates unchanged. ECB will keep the interest rates on current levels at least until the end of September 2018. ECB will continue, as well, with its net assets purchase program at a pace of €30 billion. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed provisionally 0.55 percent lower, while major sectors and bourses were mostly lower.
U.K. lender Close Brothers Group issued a trading update Thursday, stating that performance was decent since the start of the financial year, with all three divisions beating expectations. Shares rose 8 percent. Daily Mail & General Trust also rose more than 6 percent after confirming its outlook, adding that it remained in line with market expectations.
Shares in Nordea slipped 4 percent after the group said that it was negatively impacted by a "very low activity level on capital markets" at the end of last year, adding that they weren't content with the profit development during 2017-end.
Source: CNBC