SERBIA:
World Bank: Strong reforms might lead to 5% growth of Serbia’s GDP
By selling off major state-owned firms and removing regional trade barriers, Serbia could double the size of its economy over the next two decades, Stephen Ndegwa, the World Bank country manager for Serbia, believes. If there are bold reforms in the coming 12-18 months you can begin to get to four or five percent (growth) within two years – Stephen Ndegwa told Reuters on Friday, February 2, 2018. According to him, if Serbia sustains five percent growth over the next 15 years, it can double the size of the economy. Serbia's economy grew around two percent last year and is expected to grow 3.5 percent this year, Reuters reports.
Source: Ekapija
Serbia not to be left without gas
Serbia will not be left without gas even if Russia firmly decides to stop the delivery through Ukraine in 2019, stated General Manager of the PE Srbijagas, Dusan Bajatovic. Our country has already signed long-term contracts on supply with Russia's Gazprom and on transit through Hungary – Bajatovic told Politika. According to him, with the expansion of the capacities of the existing gas storage in Banatski Dvor, 10 million cubic meters of gas will be produced daily, which is enough to cover the daily needs of Serbia during the coldest days.
Source: Ekapija
Russians to increase ownership in South Stream Serbia AG?
The Board of Directors of the Russian giant Gazprom will deliberate on the purchase of an additional share in the company South Stream Serbia AG on February 13, the Russian company announced. Let us remind that a joint project company of Serbia and Russia, South Stream Serbia AG, 51% of which is owned by Gazprom and 49% of which is owned by Serbia, was founded in Switzerland for the purpose of the construction of the South Stream Pipeline along the bottom of the Black Sea. The project was supposed to diversify the supply of Russian gas to Europe.
Source: Ekapija
REGION:
SBITOP index lost 0,15 percent on Monday
SBITOP index lost 0.15 percent on Monday, ending the trading day at 825.06 points. The stocks that gained the most were the stocks of Gorenje (+3.92%), Telekom Slovenije (+0.69%) and the stocks of SavaRe (+0.64%).
Gorenje selling Surovina and Gorenje Tiki
According to STA Gorenje is planing to sell companies Surovina and Gorenje Tiki. Surovina, which deals with acquiring secondary raw materials from waste, to be sold by the start of June. Also this year Gorenje is planing to sell Gorenje Tiki which deals with heaters.
Source: STA
Slovenia continues to be a net exporter in 2016
In 2016 Slovenia exported goods worth of EUR 25 billion and imported goods in the amount of EUR 24.1 billion. The trade balance, that is the ratio between the value of exports and imports, was therefore positive (EUR 859 million). Slovenia exported almost 4% more goods than it imported.
Source: Ilirika
INO:
Dow plunges more than 1,100 points in wild trading session, S&P 500 goes negative for 2018, Erope extended losses as well
U.S. stocks fell sharply in volatile trading Monday, extending a steep sell-off from the previous session. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 1,178 points and briefly declined more than 1,500 points. The Dow also broke below 25,000 and erased its 2018 gains. The S&P 500 pulled back 4.1 percent to break below 2,694. The broad index had traded positive earlier on Monday as the tech sector briefly rose.Equities benefited from strong economic data and solid corporate earnings growth at the start of the year. However, increasing inflation concerns have sent interest rates higher recently, rattling Wall Street.
Energy was the worst performer the session falling more than 2% after oil prices extended their slid from last week, settling 2% lower at $64.15. Shares of Wells Fargo closed more than 8% lower after the Fed, late Friday, said that it cap Wells Fargo’s assets prohibiting the bank from growing any larger than its total assets as of the end of 2017.
European stocks extended losses Monday, as traders worried inflation might kick in faster-than-expected. pan-European Stoxx 600 closed the Monday session provisionally lower by 1.5 percent with every sector trading in negative territory. Financial services stocks were some of the most affected sector by the global sentiment and fell 2 percent on the day.
Looking across the European benchmark, there were only a few stocks moving up on Monday, with Capita at the top of the index up by 6.5 percent. The shares of the British company were recovering some gains after the stock plunged to a 20-year low last week following a profit warning.
Vodafone found itself under pressure. This on concerns that the telecom firm will need to raise money if it wants to buy assets from U.S. cable company Liberty Global. Shares ended Monday more than 4 percent lower.
Earnings, new data and politics were also affecting sentiment in European trading. In earnings news Monday, Ryanair posted a 12 percent increase in profits during the last quarter, but the stock closed down by more than 2 percent. The airline said that it would face down what it described as "laughable demands" by pilots for conditions traditionally offered by high-cost rivals, Reuters reported.
From the macro side, in December 2017, industrial producer prices rose by 0.2% m/m in the euro area (EA19) and by 0.1% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In November 2017, prices increased by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU28.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika, Eurostat