SERBIA:

Serbia to sign agreement on final section of Belgrade-Budapest railway at Sofia Summit – Works worth around EUR 1 billion to start in 2019
At the upcoming summit of the prime ministers of China and 16 CEE countries in Bulgaria, a commercial contract on the final section of the high-speed railway Belgrade-Budapest, from Novi Sad to Subotica, worth around a billion euros, will be signed. The works on this section should start next year – Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic told Tanjug.
Source: Ekapija

KMBN: Russian bank VTB to sell Serbian unit for 10 mln euro
Russian bank VTB plans to sell its Serbian subsidiary VTB Banka a.d. Beograd to an investor from Central Europe for 10 million euro ($11.7 million), Russian media reported. VTB has found a buyer for VTB Banka and the buyer is from Central Europe, as the amount of the deal is 10 million euro, Russian news agency TASS quoted on Wednesday the president of the lender, Andrey Kostin, as saying. The price represents PB of 0.72x and this can be an example for what investors can expect in case of privatization of Komercijalna Banka (KMBN), which is no traded at PB of 0.53x, even though being much bigger and better positioned bank vs. Serbian VTB.
Source: SeeNews

AERO: Direct Belgrade-Riyadh air service to be launched – First flights in August
Flights between the capital of Saudi Arabia and Belgrade will be introduced in the coming period, marking the first time the two countries have been linked with a nonstop air service, EX-YU Aviation News reports. Talks between a Saudi Arabian tour operator, which will have exclusive rights to sell tickets on the route, and airline operators are currently under way with a decision to be made in mid-July.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

Unemployment in Slovenia keeps declining
Total number of unemployed people in Slovenia amounted to 75ths, state statistical office reported. The first half of 2018 saw 14% lower amount of officially rated as unemployed. This is all seen as a consequence of high GDP growth rates over the last several years and improved conditions at labor market.
Source: Seebiz, Ilirika

INO:

Dow jumps 200 points ahead of US tariffs on China, tech rises, European markets close higher as auto stocks jump 3.4%, investors monitor U.S.-China tariff deadline
Stocks closed higher on Thursday as technology shares rose, but investors remained on edge as the U.S. prepared to slap tariffs on goods imported from China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 181.92 points to 24,356.74, with Intel and Walgreens Boots Alliance outperforming. The S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent to close at 2,736.61 as tech climbed 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite advanced 1.1 percent to 7,586.43 as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet all rose.
Tech shares jumped on Thursday, as Micron climbed 2.6 percent. The company confirmed China is blocking some chip sales, but noted the situation will only have a minor impact on its revenue.
From the macro side, data from ADP and Moody's Analytics showed jobs grew by 177,000 in June, missing expectations. Jobs growth for May was revised higher, however.
European stocks closed higher Thursday afternoon as hopes over a softening in U.S. trade rhetoric boosted auto-related stocks. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.4 percent, although it had traded higher earlier in the day.
Autos stocks led the gains, closing up 3.4 percent amid news that German carmakers were now prepared to support an elimination of EU tariffs on cars imported from the U.S. The U.S. ambassador to Germany reportedly told German car executives that President Donald Trump would suspend threats of charges on autos imported from the EU if the bloc also annulled tariffs on U.S. cars. Shares of Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen — whose bosses were all reported to have met with Ambassador Richard Grenell on Wednesday — all closed around 4 percent higher on Thursday afternoon.
Source: CNBC