SERBIA:

Putin to bring investor for Russian counterpart to Belgrade Waterfront – Investment fund Marera Properties looking to build business center in Block 18
The Russian investment fund Marera Properties is interested in building a business center in Block 18 in New Belgrade, on the left bank of the Sava, Politika writes. We own half a hectare in this block in New Belgrade and are very interested in developing that area. That should be a new section of the capital of Serbia, with over 350,000 square meters, which would feature the center for business events in this part of Europe – Marera Properties told Politika. The daily writes that the investment of capital in the Belgrade coastal area will be discussed when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to Serbia.
Source: Ekapija

Transactions in rubles between Serbia and Russia on the rise
The CEO of Sberbank Serbia, Mariana Vasilescu, says that there is a noticeable trend of an increased use of rubles in business transactions between Serbian and Russian companies. In her interview with Tanjug ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Belgrade, Vasilescu said that transactions in rubles realized through the bank amounted to around 12% in 2017 and that a similar percentage was expected for 2018.
Source: Ekapija

Russian companies interested in Petrohemija
Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said today that Russian companies were interested in the purchase of Petrohemija Pancevo, but that there were potential purchasers from other countries as well. He said on RTS that the government was trying to find a strategic partner for Petrohemija through a tendering procedure. Commenting on the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Serbia, Mali said that the foreign trade between Russia and Serbia grew year after year.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

Serbia has world's highest crude steel production increase
In 2018, Serbia posted the world's highest increase in crude steel output with a 38.9 percent growth of production. This is according to figures released by the World Steel Association cited by Tanjug. In the first 11 months of 2018, Serbia produced 1.8 million t of crude steel compared to 1.3 million t in the same period of the previous year, which is a 38.9 pct increase, said a report published on the association's website. Vietnam is second in the list with a 35.9 pct increase to 12.8 million in the observed period.
Source: b92

INO:

Dow gains more than 100 points as Goldman posts best day in 10 years, European markets close higher after May’s Brexit vote defeat, Deutsche Bank up 8%
Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors cheered strong quarterly earnings from major banks like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 141.57 points to 24,207.16 as Goldman Sachs outperformed. The S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent to close at 2,616.10, led by a 2.2 percent gain in financials. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.15 percent to 7,034.69.
Goldman Sachs posted blowout quarterly earnings, sending the stock up 9.54 percent, its biggest one-day gain since 2009. Bank of America also rose 7.16 percent after reporting a record quarterly profit. The reports follow the releases of fourth-quarter results from Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo earlier this week. Morgan Stanley, another major bank, is scheduled to report on Thursday.
European stocks closed higher on Wednesday, as market participants awaited a no-confidence vote in the U.K. government led by Theresa May. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up almost half a percent at the closing bell, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
Europe’s banking index led the gains, rising 2.4 percent as some of Italy’s notoriously fragile lenders pared some of their recent losses. It comes after a prominent Italian lawmaker reportedly said mergers among some of the country’s struggling lenders could help make Rome’s banking system more solid. Italy’s Unicredit and FinecoBank both gained almost 6 percent on the news.
Meanwhile, shares in Germany’s Deutsche Bank rose by 8.4 percent after Bloomberg reported that watchdogs would prefer the bank to merge with a European competitor instead of German rival Commerzbank.
Source: CNBC