SERBIA:

NBS: Key policy rate kept on hold
At yesterday’s meeting, the NBS Executive Board voted to keep the key policy rate on hold, at 3.0%. In making such a decision, the Executive Board was primarily guided by the expected movement in inflation and its underlying factors going forward, and the effects of past monetary policy easing. After reaching this year’s low in April, inflation returned within the target tolerance band and measured 2.3% y-o-y in June, consistent with expectations.
Source: NBS

Initial price for PKB at EUR 104.5 million – Tendering for privatization starts, bid submission deadline September 10
The Ministry of Economy has opened the tender for the sale of the property of PKB Korporacija at the initial price of EUR 104.5 million, and the bid submission deadline is September 10. The offer includes not just the property of PKB, but also the property of its subsidiaries – Ekolab, Institut PKB Agroekonomik and Veterinarska Stanica PKB. It also includes 16,785 hectares of land in Palilula, Surcin and Zrenjanin, office buildings, equipment, spare parts and cattle.
Source: Ekapija

TGAS: Serbian Messer Tehnogas acquires Messer Slovenia
Industrial gas manufacturer Messer Tehnogas (TGAS) announced this Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with Messer Belgium N.V. on the buyout of its stake of 91.24%, in Messer Slovenia, reports seebiz.eu. All three companies are members of the German Messer Group. Messer Tehnogas has effectively taken over control over 100% of the holding at Messer Slovenia, as the Slovenian company controls the remaining 8.76% stake, the Serbian company said in the document filed at the Belgrade Stock Exchange. The price has not been disclosed. Slovenian unit generated EUR 20m in revenues in 2017.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

Slovenia's H1 trade surplus expands
Slovenia's trade surplus grew to 417.5 million euro ($483.9 million) in the first half of 2018, from 338.8 million euro in the prior-year period, the country's statistical office said on Thursday. Exports in the January-June period rose to 15.5 billion euro, 11.2% higher than a year earlier, while imports increased 10.9% to 15.1 billion euro, the statistical office said in a statement. The European Union was Slovenia’s main trading partner in the first six months of 2018, absorbing 12.0 billion euro of the country's exports and providing 11.9 billion euro of its imports.
Source: SeeNews

INO:

Nasdaq posts longest winning streak since October as Amazon hits record high, European stocks close mixed as US-China trade row escalates, Adidas soars 9.4%
The Nasdaq Composite rose slightly on Thursday, lifted by gains in Amazon and Apple, to notch its longest winning streak in nearly a year. The tech-heavy index gained 0.04 percent to close at 7,891.78 as Amazon rose 0.6 percent to an all-time high while Apple jumped 0.8 percent. The Nasdaq also posted an eight-day winning streak, its longest since October.
Meanwhile, the broader market closed slightly lower as the S&P 500 failed to reach an all-time high. The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 2,853.58 as energy and financials lagged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 74.52 points to 25,509.23 with Procter & Gamble slipping 1.2 percent.
Booking Holdings and Norwegian Cruise Line both reported better-than-expected earnings on Thursday. Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line rose more than 4 percent, but Booking Holdings fell after issuing a weak third-quarter profit forecast.
The producer's price index remained unchanged in July, while economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 0.2 percent. The report comes as the latest reading of the consumer price index — a key metric for inflation — is set for release on Friday.
European stocks revealed a mixed picture at the market close on Thursday amid a deepening U.S.-China trade dispute and a flurry of corporate earnings. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.1 percent higher with sectors pointing in different directions.
Adidas outperformed following its earnings report. Shares in the sportswear company closed 9.4 percent to the upside after it posted a stronger-than-anticipated second-quarter net profit, despite taking an impairment charge on its struggling Reebok brand.
At the other end of the index, G4S foundered to close 7.8 percent in the red after reporting a fall in its first-half profit. The world's largest security group saw its latest figures take a hit from restructuring costs and weaker Middle East revenues.
Source: CNBC