SERBIA:

Tender for RTB Bor opens
The Ministry of Economy has opened a public invitation for a strategic investor for RTB Bor, which envisages a mandatory monetary capital increase in the amount of USD 350 million. As said in the public invitation, eligible companies include local or foreign companies which have exploited or produced copper and other noble metals continuously in the past 10 years. The company must have operating revenues larger than USD 500 million, and the bid submission deadline is the noon of August 20. Potential investors must also provide a banking guarantee in the amount of USD 1 million.
Source: Ekapija

NBS: Profit of banks in Serbia amounts to RSD 68.7 billion at end-2017
The total EBITDA of all 29 banks in Serbia amounted to RSD 68.7 billion at the end of 2017, which is 47.39 billion more than at the end of the previous year, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) announced on July 17. The NBS report says that 22 banks realized a profit, whereas seven incurred losses. As the NBS estimates, the rising profits of commercial banks in Serbia are mostly down to the reduction of losses arising from bad loans (by RSD 33 billion), as well as the consolidation of the banking sector, that is, mergers and acquisitions of banks due to changes of ownership structures (RSD 12.5 billion of contribution to the net result).
Source: Ekapija

First half of 2018 sees 45,000 electronic building permits issued
A total of 200,100 building permits have been issued through the Central Register of Unified Procedures for the Issuing of Building Permits (CEOP) in two and a half years, and the total number of sent electronic requests has increased by 10.27%. These are the latest data published on the website of the Business Registers Agency. As said, around 45,000 permits were issued in the first half of the current year, which is 13.2% more than in the same period last year.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

SBITOP up 0.34%
Slovenian blue chip index SBITOP was up 0.34% Wednesday, with Luka Koper as a top gainer. The stock was up 2.3%, while most traded name was Krka, with EUR 343ths in volume. Daily looser was Intereuropa, since it lost 0.77%.
Source: LJSE, Ilirika

INO:

Stocks rise as Morgan Stanley and CSX surge on earnings, European stocks close higher as well
Stocks rose on Wednesday as Wall Street cheered strong quarterly results from Morgan Stanley and CSX. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.40 points to close at 25,199.29, with UnitedHealth and American Express outperforming. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent to 2,815.62 as financials rose 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed marginally lower at 7,854.44.
Morgan Stanley shares rose 1.8 percent after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the previous quarter, boosted by strong trading and investment banking revenue. Bank of America, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Chase all closed higher as well.
CSX also posted stronger-than-forecast profits and sales, sending its shares higher by 7.1 percent. Its gains propelled the industrials sector to a 1.1 percent rise and sent the Dow Transports up by 2.3 percent. United Continental also surged 8.8 percent on stronger-than-expected earnings.
European shares closed higher Wednesday, with investors maintaining their focus on corporate earnings. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally 0.54 higher with almost every sector in positive territory. Technology led the gains, up by 2.53 percent, on earnings. Ericsson rose 8.52 percent after reporting second-quarter results at the higher-end of its guidance.
On Wednesday, investors monitored Brussels and Alphabet shares. U.S. tech giant Google was hit with its biggest ever antitrust fine — a $5 billion levy — after the EU ruled that its Android mobile operating system had abused the mobile software's dominance in the industry. Google said it would appeal the decision. Alphabet's stock slipped slightly following the EU announcement.
Biopharmaceutical firm Swedish Orphan Biovitrum topped the European benchmark, up 13.89 percent after reporting a quarterly increase in earnings before interest, tax and amortization of 94 percent. Tele2 B was among the best performing stocks, up by 13.43 percent, on earnings. It reported results above forecasts and raised its guidance for 2018.
Source: CNBC