SERBIA:

Agricultural exports from Serbia to EU triple in past nine years
The export of agricultural products from Serbia to the EU has tripled in the past nine years, Sem Fabrizi, the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, stated today and added that, in 2018 alone, the export of agricultural products to EU states had amounted to EUR 1.3 billion. At the opening of the conference “The Future of Food – The Future of Healthy Serbia”, Fabrizi said that the joint agricultural policy was the most complex and successful EU policy, which enables the Union to be the best global market for the production, consumption and export of agricultural products.
Source: Ekapija

Volkswagen hasn't given up on Serbia
Regarding the news published by the German agency DPA that Volkswagen has narrowed down the choice of countries to Bulgaria and Turkey, Leslie Bothge, the spokesperson for production and procurement at Volkswagen, still stands by her earlier statement that the German giant has not yet decided whether to build a car plant in Southeast Europe and where. She told Politika that there were no news regarding the choice of the location for the construction of the factory. She has confirmed, the daily writes, that her statement from two weeks ago is still current. She said at the time that they were still defining special requests and looking into potential locations in Eastern Europe.
Source: Ekapija

WB: Economic situation in Serbia good, reforms crucial
The economic situation in Serbia in terms of economic growth in the past years is good, budget revenues are rising and the employment figures are good, says World Bank Country Manager for Serbia Stephen Ndegwa. "Last year, the number of the employed rose by 38,000, inflation is low, there is a budget surplus. That is a much better result than five years ago, when there was a budget deficit, low employment and low budget revenues. The question is whether this is good enough for Serbia," Ndegwa told Politika in an interview. To the World Bank, it is crucial that Serbia conducts reforms as they will help boost economic growth and make the country more resilient to risks, Ndegwa said.
Source: Tanjug

INO:

Dow rises as earnings season continues, Boeing gains on FAA software update, European stocks close higher as US earnings raise confidence
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Tuesday as investors as the corporate earnings season kicked into full gear, while also getting a boost from Boeing shares. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3% while the S&P 500 eked out its 12th gain in 14 sessions as the financials sector outperformed. While the S&P 500 only gained 0.05%, it did inch closer to 2,940, a record high set in late September.
Johnson & Johnson climbed 1.8% on stronger-than-forecast quarterly results. More than half of its revenue came from prescription drug sales, which increased by more than 4%. BlackRock and Bank of America also rose on stronger-than-expected earnings.
UnitedHealth Group reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue. The company also raised its earnings guidance for the full year. Shares of UnitedHealth rose about 3% before closing 4.1% lower on worries over proposals pushed by Democratic lawmakers.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm and Apple settled a lawsuit regarding a royalty dispute. The news sent Qualcomm shares surging more than 15%, while Apple traded 0.5% higher.
European stocks closed higher on Tuesday, as investors monitored a fresh batch of corporate earnings and supportive economic data. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed provisionally almost 0.4% higher, with most major bourses and sectors in positive territory.
Looking at individual stocks, shares of German online retailer Zalando rose to the top of the European benchmark, gaining nearly 11% after the firm said it expected to post an operating profit for the first quarter.
Equities also got a boost from the latest economic data. German research institute ZEW said Tuesday that its investor sentiment index for the country improved to 3.1 in April, up from -3.6 in March, and better than an expected reading of 0.8.
Source: CNBC