SERBIA:

NBS: Annual inlfation in July at 2.4%
According to the data of the Serbian Statistical Office, consumer prices fell by 0.3% in July. The monthly fall was prompted primarily by the seasonal decline in prices of fruit and vegetables, clothes and footwear. Working in the opposite direction was the seasonal movement in prices of travel packages and a cigarette price hike. Y-o-y inflation touched 2.4% in July, with core inflation (CPI excluding the prices of food, energy, alcohol and cigarettes) broadly unchanged compared to the several past months and measuring 0.9% y-o-y in July. More information about inflation factors and NBS expectations will be provided at the Inflation Report presentation on 15 August 2018.
Source: NBS

Salary and pension raises possible even without budget rebalance
Serbian Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali has stated that an exact calculation regarding pension and salary raises in the public sector will be made soon and added that, at the moment, the budget rebalance is not being considered, as pensions and salary raises can be realized within the current budget. He said that, in the first six months alone, the GDP had grown by 4.5%, the highest half-year growth rate in the past decade. The budget surplus amounted to RSD 49.1 billion, that is, around EUR 410 million, at the end of July, whereas a deficit of RSD 16.7 billion had been planned.
Source: Ekapija

Construction of highway towards Pristina to start in 2019
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has stated that the construction of the so-called Peace Highway (Nis-Pristina-Tirana-Durres) will finally start in 2019 and that the first phase will pertain to the Nis-Plocnik section. She said that, once the first phase is over, it will be much easier to reach Prokuplje and Kurumlija as well by highway, and that it will also be easier to attract investors, while small and medium enterprises will be able to expand and connect with the entire Serbia and to export more easily.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

Croatia's Konzum posts 1H EBITDA above plan
Croatian retailer Konzum, a member of ailing concern Agrokor, reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 103.5 million kuna ($15.9 million/13.9 million euro) in the six months through June, above the 40.2 million kuna plan, Agrokor said on Monday. Konzum's first-half EBITDA margin was 2.5%, while revenues totalled 4.108 billion kuna, Agrokor said in an interim financial statement quoting preliminary figures.
Source: SeeNews

INO:

Dow drops more than 100 points, posts 4-day losing streak as Turkey crisis continues to rattle investors, Europe closes under pressure as Turkey's deepening economic crisis sparks contagion fears, Bayer tanks 10.3%
Stocks slipped on Monday as a financial crisis in Turkey that sent its currency tumbling last week worsened, dampening investor sentiment around the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 125.44 points to close at 25,187.70. The S&P 500 declined 0.4 percent to 2,821.93 as materials and energy lagged, posting its first four-day losing streak since March. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.25 percent to 7,819.71, but gains in Amazon and Apple rose 1 percent kept losses in check.
Tesla shares rose 0.3 percent after CEO Elon Musk said a Saudi fund wants to take the company private. The stock rose nearly 2 percent after the announcement, but quickly pared those gains.
European stocks failed to shrug off jitters by Monday's close, as Turkey's worsening economic crisis prompted investors to offload riskier equities and flee to safe-haven assets. The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished the session down 0.25 percent provisionally, off its session lows.
The maker of Roundup, U.S. seed and chemicals group Monsanto, was deemed to have failed to warn the groundskeeper of the cancer risks posed by its weedkiller. Monsanto recently bought by Germany's Bayer and consequently the latter's shares tanked more than 13 percent during the morning session — hitting a near two-year low. Shares closed 10.3 percent down.
Another sector that saw red was travel and leisure, with Air France KLM leading the sectoral losses amid risks of further strikes. The airline's biggest pilots union said over the weekend that there were risks of further strikes if pay talks with management did not resume. Shares dropped 4.1 percent.
Source: CNBC