SERBIA:

Foreign trade of Serbia amounts to EUR 34.4bn in 2017 – Deficit higher by 20.2% compared to previous year
The total foreign trade of Serbia from January till December 2017 jumped by 13% compared to the previous year to EUR 34.4bn, with exports higher by 12% and imports by 13.8%, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia reported. In the said period, goods worth EUR 15.0bn were exported, whereas the imports amounted to EUR 19.4bn, bringing the deficit up to EUR 4.3bn, up 20.2% compared to 2016. The export-import coverage ratio dropped from 78.8% in 2016 to 77.4%.
Source: Ekapija

Serbia and Slovenia sign four new agreements – Joint session of two governments held
Representatives of the governments of Serbia and Slovenia signed four agreements on cooperation today, following the 4th joint session of the two countries' governments, headed by prime ministers Ana Brnabic and Miro Cerar, held in the Brdo Castle near Kranj, the website of the Government of Serbia announces. Serbian Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy Zoran Djordjevic and Slovenian Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Anja Kopac Mrak signed the Agreement on Employment of Serbian Citizens in Slovenia and the Memorandum on Cooperation in Workplace Safety and Protection.
Source: Ekapija

Number of tourists in Serbia increases by 12% in 2017
In 2017, a total of 3.08 million tourists visited Serbia, an increase by 12% compared to the January-December period of 2016, as shown by the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. As announced by the Tourism Organization of Serbia, there were 1.59 million local tourists (+8%), amounting to 51% of the total number of guests, and 1.49 million (+17%) foreign ones, amounting to 49%. As added, there were 8.3 million overnight stays in 2017 (an increase by 11% compared to 2016), with local tourists making 5.1 million overnight stays (+7%), comprising 62% of the total number of overnight stays, whereas foreign tourists made 3.2 million overnight stays (+16%), or 38% of the total number.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

SBITOP Index gains 0.57 percent on Thursday
SBITOP Index closed at 836.42 points on Thursday and gained 0.57 percent. Stocks gaining the most during the trading day were KD Group (+10.27%), Pozavarovalnica SavaRe (+5.42%) and Union hoteli (+4.38%). Terme Čatež lost the most (-5.61%), Mercator lost 2.76%, while blue-chip Intereuropa lost 1.94%.
Source: Ilirika

INO:

US stocks close lower in choppy session as higher rates snuff out rally, European stocks close lower on corporate earnings
U.S. equities pulled back on Thursday as investors worried about rising interest rates. The S&P 500 declined 0.1 percent after rising as much as 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4 percent. Earlier, the tech heavy index traded 0.4 percent higher as Facebook shares hit an all-time high. Facebook reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue on Wednesday.
Stocks were under pressure earlier after the release of weaker-than-expected productivity numbers. The U.S. government said in a preliminary report that fourth-quarter productivity fell 0.1 percent. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 1 percent.
Alphabet reported its Q4 earnings after the market close, missing Wall Street expectations on earnings but beating on revenue estimates. Earnings per share is reported at $9.70 vs $9.98 expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate, while revenues arrived at $32.32 billion vs $31.86 billion expected.
European stocks closed provisionally lower Thursday, as investors reacted to a flurry of corporate earnings and monitored losses from Wall Street. Telecommunications stocks were among the worst performers, dragged down by Danish telecoms operator TDC. Shares of TDC slumped toward the bottom of the pan-European benchmark on Thursday after reports it had reached a deal to buy Swedish Modern Times Group's broadcasting and entertainment's business. The firm's stock fell 8 percent. Vodafone reported its latest figures Thursday. The world's second-largest mobile operator reported a 1.1 percent rise in organice revenue for its third quarter, citing intense competition in Spain and Italy. Its shares were down more than 4 percent.
Royal Dutch Shell more than doubled its profit last year mainly due to rising oil and gas prices. Exploration and production lifted profit, while refining and trading fell short of analyst expectations. BBVA, Spanish second-largest bank, reported a 90 percent fall in its profit for the last quarter of 2017 compared to the year before. The bank took a hit of around 1.1 billion euros because of the writedown on its Telefonica stake.
According to UBS, the Bank of England could raise interest rates already in May, sooner than most analysts expected. However, rate hike could happen only if the UK strikes a deal with the EU over the transition period after March 2019. UBS expects interest rate to rise by 25 basis points to 0.75 percent. BoE first raised interest rates last November and said that further very gradual increases are linked to the success of Brexit negotiations. UBS upgraded its forecast for UK economic growth following better-than-expected quarter growth.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika