SERBIA:

The year 2025 is just an indicative date for Serbia’s full EU membership
Jean-Claude Juncker says that 2025 is not the year when Serbia and Montenegro "would have to" join the EU - but rather "an indicative date, an encouragement." Juncker said it was wrong to represent him and the European Commission as having said that Serbia and Montenegro must be in the EU by 2025. That is an indicative date, an encouragement so that the parties concerned work hard to follow that path," he said, the EC president said in Strasbourg before the unveiling of the EU's enlargement strategy. He also said that Serbia and Montenegro, as countries that advanced most, received "a new date that should speed things up."
Source: b92

Sale of Telenor Bank falls through – Bulgarian River Styxx Capital fails to obtain permission from NBS
The Bulgarian fund River Styxx Capital will not become the owner of Telenor Bank, Novosti reports, saying that it has been confirmed for the daily by the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) that the fund did not get a permission for the acquisition of a majority share package of the bank owned by the telecommunications operator. The NBS did not give permission to the said fund to take over a majority share package in Telenor Bank, that is, it didn't issue consent for acquiring an ownership in the bank, because it had determined from the submitted request and documentation that the company didn't meet the conditions defined by the regulations of the Republic of Serbia – the NBS said.
Source: Ekapija

Another EUR 30 million of support to small and medium enterprises in Serbia – Banca Intesa and EIB sign new loan agreement
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banca Intesa have signed an agreement on a loan worth EUR 30 million for support to small and medium enterprises. The agreement was signed by EIB Vice President Dario Scannapieco and the chairwoman of the Executive Board of Banca Intesa, Draginja Djuric, who reminded that the bank had a great cooperation with the EIB. Scannapieco reminded that, in 2018, the EIB had signed agreements on two credit lines with Erste Bank and the company S Leasing, worth EUR 60 million, and with Societe Generale, worth EUR 50 million, as well as two agreements on investment grants of EUR 73 million.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

SBITOP index lotst 2,08 percent
Slovenian stock index SBITOP lost 2,08 percent in a second day of correction in Ljubljana exchange. The shares that lost the most in in their market value were the stocks of Intereuropa (-3,00%), Telekom Slovenije (-2,96%), SavaRe (-2,94%) in Krka (-2,41%).
Izvor: Ilirika

INO:

Dow closes 567 points higher after crazy market swings, European stocks close sharply lower amid continued global sell-off
After two huge sell-offs in a row, U.S. stocks were all over the map on Tuesday. Investors blamed the wild moves on a combination of interest-rate fears, computer-driven trading and the obscure volatility funds that use leverage. Also adding to positive sentiment on equities were reports that president Donald Trump is poised to unveil his infrastructure plan on Monday which aims to generate at least $1.5 trillion in investments.
From the corporate side, we have that General Motors reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations on Tuesday, driven by sales of crossovers, and strong pricing and cost controls. The largest U.S. automaker said it expects 2018 to be a strong year in North America and around the world.
European stocks reduced some of their earlier losses in afternoon trade Tuesday after tumbling 3 percent in the early hours of the session. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisonally 2.41 percent lower with every sector in the red. Banks and insurance stocks were among the most impacted by the sell-off, down by more than 2.7 percent for the day.
Austria Microsystems was a rare bright spot, rising 13 percent on the day. The Apple supplier said that an investment partner agreed to fund 25 percent of its planned $600 million spending this year, Reuters reported.
BNP Paribas reported a worse than expected net profit for its fourth quarter of 2017, falling 1.1 percent to 1.43 billion euros ($1.77 billion) and missing market expectations. The stock fell 3.26 percent across the session. Meanwhile, Intensa Sanpaolo announced an increase in both fourth-quarter and full-year net profits, beating analysts expectations. The company's shares finished up by 0.66 percent on the day. Swedish lender Swedbank reported a higher-than-expected increase in fourth-quarter operating profits, thanks to higher commissions and interest income, Reuters reported. At the same time, BP posted earnings above expectations on a surge in refining and trading during the final three months of 2017. Shares ended off by 1.2 percent.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika, Investing.com