SERBIA:

For the first time ever Fiat’s export drops to below half a billion
According to the data released by the Ministry of Finance, Fiat Automobili Srbija (FAS) has exported from Serbia vehicles worth EUR 471.4 million to Europe and North America in the first half of this year. Although, FAS remains the biggest exporter in Serbia for the sixth consecutive year, the export value has dropped relative to previous years.
Source: Serbiamonitor

Fiscal Council: Budget for 2019 should pay more attention on public investments
After execution of expected increase in pensions and salaries, for the end of this year, state administration should be more focused on plans for public investments, Fiscal Council chief, Pavle Petrovic said to local press. In his opinion, fiscal space should not be used for populism anymore, while large scale public investments should be a priority.
Source: Beta, Ilirika

Number of employed people in June up 6.5% m/m
June saw 26,300 newly employed people, which is up 6.5% vs. May, National Service for Employment reported. According to the statistic of this institution, currently, there are 597,000 unemployed people in Serbia, which is record low. However, seasonal effect needs to be considered since summer is traditionally period with huge number of temporary deployed workers.
Source: Ekapija. Ilirika

REGION:

Telekom Slovenije posted EUR 14.5m in 1H 2018 net profit, down 40% y/y
The Telekom Slovenije reported EUR 363.0 million in operating revenues during the first six months of this year, which was 1% more than planned. Net sales revenue was also 1% higher than planned and amounted to EUR 360.0 million. During the first half of this year, the company posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of EUR 100.9 million, which is at the planned level and equal to 28.0% of net sales revenue, but still down 6% y/y. Following the calculation of income tax (including deferred taxes), the Telekom Slovenije Group generated a net profit of EUR 14.5 million during the first half of this year, down 40% y/y, on lower sales and EBITDA.
Source: LJSE

INO:

Stocks close little changed as strong earnings offset Trump’s comments on trade, European stocks close lower
Stocks closed little changed on Friday as strong quarterly results from some of the largest U.S. companies, including Microsoft and Honeywell, counterbalanced threats made by President Donald Trump to increase tariffs on China. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 2,801.83, with real estate and utilities lagging. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell just 6.38 points to 25,058.12 as losses in IBM offset gains in Microsoft. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1 percent to close at 7,820.20.
Microsoft reported better-than-expected earnings Thursday after the close and issued strong revenue guidance. The company's stock rose 1.8 percent and hit a record. Honeywell shares also rose 3.8 percent on stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue.
General Electric also reported a stronger-than-expected profit, but it still represented a 30 percent drop year over year. The stock pulled back 4.4 percent.
So far, about 16.4 percent of S&P 500 companies have released their latest quarterly results, with 83 percent of them topping analyst expectations, according to FactSet. Wall Street has high expectations for this earnings season, with analysts expecting earnings growth of 20 percent, FactSet said.
Shares in Europe closed lower on average on Friday afternoon following remarks from President Donald Trump over imposing tariffs on $505 billion worth of goods. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended provisionally lower by 0.09 percent.
The share price of Orion rose 4.26 percent, after a ratings upgrade kicked in for the Finnish pharma. Luxury retailer Hermes ended 0.48 percent above the flat line after posting its second-quarter sales. These came in stronger than the numbers reported in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand in China.
In other corporate news, Fiat Chrysler has started the process to spin-off parts-maker Magneti Marelli, Reuters reported.
Source: CNBC