SERBIA:

Fiat to pause production in Kragujevac until September 3
The production at the Kragujevac plant of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Serbia was paused yesterday, and the workers will be on a paid leave until Monday, September 3, the Autonomous Trade Union of the factory told Beta. The recent three-week vacation of FCA workers was preceded by a week of a paid leave. After they returned from their vacation, FCA workers spent only five days at work. They will end August with a five-day paid leave.
Source: Ekapija

Negotiations on minimal wage for 2019 started
The working group of the Serbian Social-Economic Council started negotiations today on minimal wage for next year. Trade unions announced they would ask for the minimum wage at RSD 209 per working hour and for minimum monthly wage to be increased by RSD 11,000. On the other hand, employers offer a 6-7% raise. The president of the Nezavisnost Trade Union Confederation, Zoran Stojiljkovic said for Beta news agency that "it would be quite normal to ask that nobody accepts to work for less that EUR 300 per month which is around RSD 36,000.
Source: SeeNews

ENHL: Chinese CMEC planning to hire design engineers from Serbia – New unit at TPP Kostolac by end-2020
Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic has met with the president of China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), Zhang Chun, and the ambassador of China to Serbia, Li Manchang, on the occasion of the company’s engagement in one of the most valuable energy projects in Serbia – the construction of the new unit B3 at the Thermal Power Plant Kostolac. The value of the project exceeds USD 700 million. The minister thanked CMEC for understanding the need of the Serbian side to have the project of the construction of the new unit develop in the best way possible, since this is the biggest project in the past 30 years, where the power of the new B3 unit will amount to as much as 350 MW.
Source: N1

REGION:

Regional Economic Area key to Western Balkans economic integration
The Regional Economic Area (REA) is the key to the goal of economic integration of the Western Balkans, commissioner Johannes Hahn said on Monday. Intra-regional trade is up for the first time in years: an increase of more than 13% in intra-CEFTA trade in 2017 compared to 2016, Hahn said in a press release, after attending an informal meeting of the Western Balkans prime ministers in the Albanian port city of Durres. Hahn noted that EU membership requires more than the rule of law reforms, adding that a boost for growth, jobs and prosperity for the region along the path to membership is needed.
Source: SeeNews, Seebiz

INO:

S&P 500, Nasdaq jump to record highs as US and Mexico strike trade deal, European stocks close higher
Stocks jumped on Monday as the United States and Mexico closed a new trade deal, potentially removing a source of uncertainty that had been plaguing investors for months. The S&P 500 gained 0.8 percent to close at 2,896.74 — a record high — with materials and financials as the best-performing sectors. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.9 percent to an all-time high, breaking above 8,000 points for the first time, as Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet rose. Tech's gains led the Nasdaq to close at 8,017.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 259.29 points to 26,049.64 as Caterpillar outperformed. Monday also marked the first time since Feb. 1 that the Dow closed above 26,000.
From the corporate side, we have news on Tesla, which dropped 1.1 percent after CEO Elon Musk gave up efforts to take the company private.
European markets closed in positive territory on Monday as investors reacted to comments from the head of the Federal Reserve on the U.S. central bank's policy-tightening path. The pan-European provisionally Stoxx 600 index closed 0.5 percent higher, with all sectors in positive territory. In the U.K., markets are closed due to a bank holiday.
Looking across the benchmark, Germany's Metro Group was the top performer, after Ceconomy said it was in talks to sell most of its 10 percent stake in the German wholesale retailer. Shares of Metro Group closed 12 percent higher.
Source: CNBC