SERBIA:

Negotiations about minimum wage to start soon – Unions requesting increase by RSD 5,000
The unions will request for the minimum monthly wage to be increased by RSD 5,000 and expect the state to agree to an increase by RSD 2,500 in the negotiations which are to start in 10 days, Blic reports. Employers, however, are offering less. The minimum wage is currently RSD 24,882 and is paid to 350,000 workers in Serbia.
Source: Ekapija

Serbia to auction 11.5 bln dinars (97.5 mln euro) of 10-yr T-notes on Aug 7
Serbia's finance ministry said it will offer 11.5 billion dinars ($113.2 million/97.5 million euro) of ten-year Treasury notes at an auction on August 7 in a reopening of the issue. The T-notes carry a coupon of 5.875% paid annually and will mature on February 8, 2028, the finance ministry said in a statement. The government securities were last auctioned on July 6, when the finance ministry raised 6.8 billion dinars, below its target of 18.3 billion dinars, at an average weighted yield of 4,85%.
Source: SeeNews

Construction and agriculture biggest driving forces behind Serbian economy
In the first six months of this year, Serbian GDP grew by 4.5% and with the construction and agriculture being the main driving forces behind the country’s economic growth – economic analysts say. Economist Mladjen Kovacevic agrees that the two sectors contributed most to the economic growth. The first half of the year was exceptionally favourable for agriculture with the total production being considerably higher than in 2017. Also, it is also extremely favourable for the development construction. Climatic conditions went hand-in-hand, especially in February and March, which meant more work was done and more investments have been made”, Kovacevic underlines.
Source: Serbiamonitor

REGION:

Croatia to postpone cut in general VAT rate until 2020
Croatia's government said it would wait until 2020 to cut the general value added tax (VAT) rate from its current level of 25%, one of the highest in the EU. Instead, the government will slash to 13% the VAT rate on certain items such as fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and diapers, the government said in a statement on Thursday. The Croatian government had earlier planned to cut the VAT rate to 24% from January 1, 2019.
Source: SeeNews

INO:

Dow rises more than 100 points as Apple adds to its $1 trillion market cap, European stocks close higher on earnings
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Friday, led by gains in Apple and IBM, as investors pored through newly proposed tariffs on U.S. goods by China and fresh jobs data.
The 30-stock index gained 136.42 points to close at 25,462.58 as Apple rose 0.3 percent, adding to its market cap of more than $1 trillion. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 2,840.35 as consumer staples outperformed. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1 percent to 7,812.01.
China said Friday it will slap tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods, with charges ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent. Many of the goods are agricultural-related, with others on various metals and chemicals. The action would be in response to increasingly protectionist policies taken by the U.S. on trade.
The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 190,000.
Stocks in Europe moved higher Friday as investors digested further corporate earnings and news that Apple's valuation had hit $1 trillion. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was provisionally higher by 0.67 percent with almost every sector rising supported by solid corporate results.
Royal Bank of Scotland rose 2.9 percent after reporting its latest results. The bank said it was on track to deliver its first dividend in 10 years. French lender Credit Agricole also saw shares jumping in early trade after reporting a 6.4 percent rise in net profit. Shares in the bank rose 2.55 percent.
Euro zone retail sales grew for a second consecutive month in June, despite a pick-up in energy prices. The Eurostat said Friday that retail sales rose 0.3 percent in June from May and 1.2 percent higher on the year.
Source: CNBC