SERBIA:

Serbian budget features EUR 450 million more than planned
The IMF's confirmation of the new arrangement with Serbia is very important news and a confirmation of the country's remarkable economic results, as well as proof that the public finances are consolidated, Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali stated. He told RTS that the arrangement with the IMF was advisory in character, which means that it doesn't entail any monetary funds, which Serbia doesn't need at the moment anyway. In the first six months, we have a budget surplus of RSD 30.9 billion, which amounts to 1.4% of our GDP, and the plan was to have over 20 billion, which means that we have EUR 450 million more than planned. Let me remind that, in 2013, the budget deficit amounted to 6.6% – Mali said.
Source: Ekapija

Changes in FCA not to influence operations in Serbia? – Kragujevac union claims there's no reason to worry
The president of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Serbia, Zoran Markovic, does not expect the personal changes in the management of FCA to bring about the basic principles of operation, Politika writes. It has been announced that Fiat Chrysler will stay in Serbia, which means that a new contract will be signed and that there's no reason to worry – Markovic said, concerning Mike Manley's succeeding Sergio Marchionne as Fiat CEO.
Source: Ekapija

FDI inflow in Serbia in first five months of 2018 higher by 15.8%
Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali stated that, in the first five months of the current year, the inflow of foreign direct investments in Serbia increased by as much as 15.8% compared to the same period last year, also a record year with as much as EUR 2.6 billion. Discussing the country's good results on RTS' morning program, Mali reminded of the Eurostat report on the state of the economies of EU states and candidates, published on July 20.
Source: Ekapija. Ilirika

REGION:

Reconstruction of Bar railway to begin in 2019 – Realistic completion deadline 2021
The reconstruction of the Belgrade-Bar railway will begin next year, and the most realistic completion deadline is 2021, Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic said yesterday. After a meeting with Montenegrin Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs Osman Nurkovic in Podgorica, she also signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation on the Implementation of Infrastructural Projects between the two countries. Mihajlovic and Nurkovic emphasized the importance of further regional connecting through the existing projects, but also new ones.
Source: SeeNews

INO:

Dow jumps nearly 200 points as Google-parent Alphabet leads wave of strong earnings, European stocks higher on earnings, Peugeot soars 13%
Stocks traded higher Tuesday after strong financial results from Google-parent Alphabet led a wave of upbeat corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150 points with Goldman Sachs and United Technologies leading the blue-chip names with gains of 1.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. The S&P 500 added 0.5 percent thanks to gain in materials, telecommunications and energy stocks. The Nasdaq Composite originally rose more than 1 percent to an all-time high, but later retreated into negative territory. At the latest reading, the index was down 0.3 percent.
Shares of agricultural and construction company Deere rose more than 3 percent Tuesday after CNBC reported that the Trump administration plans to offer billions of dollars in aid to farmers hit by tariffs on their goods.
European markets traded higher on Tuesday, bouncing back from the weak sentiment seen in the previous session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up by 0.98 percent with almost every sector in the black. The benchmark reached a five-week intraday high at 388.74 points.
Earnings were the biggest driver on Tuesday. PSA Peugeot saw its shares touching its highest level since around the summer of 2008, after reporting its latest results. The company announced an increase in profit that beat expectations. The stocks was up 13.17 percent.
UBS shares also rose about 3.79 percent on Tuesday after reporting a 9 percent increase in net profit during the second quarter, to 1.28 billion Swiss francs ($1.29 billion), up from a year ago.
Source: CNBC