SERBIA:

JMBN: Serbia to sell 28.5% stake in Jubmes Banka in May - fin min
Serbia's government plans to sign an agreement for the sale of its 28.51% shareholding interest in Jubmes Banka [BEL:JMBN] next month, finance minister Sinisa Mali said on Wednesday. The government has received a single offer of about 5 million euro ($5.6 million) for its stake in the bank, Mali said in a video file published on the website of Tanjug news agency. "The transaction will be carried out shortly after May 1," Mali said without naming the potential buyer. In December, the finance ministry invited binding bids for the government's shareholding interest in Jubmes Banka. The deadline for submitting binding expired on April 9. The Serbian government plans to sell 82,225 ordinary shares of Jubmes Banka.
Source: SeeNews

IMF mission to visit Belgrade in early May
A new IMF mission will come to Belgrade in early May on a two-week visit, Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali announced Tuesday, noting that good financial results in Q1 2019 indicated a possible salary and pension increase and that a decision on this would be made in September. "In Q1 2019, we had a 15.8 bln dinar surplus, while we planned a deficit of around 19 bln, therefore, we had a result that was 35 bln better than planned. Does this mean a salary and pension increase? Not automatically. But... if we continue the good results, in September we will see if we have fiscal room for the increase," Mali told Tanjug. He said the results achieved in 2018 and all joint activities on structural reforms, as well as everything related to maintaining financial stability and economic growth, would be analysed with the IMF mission.
Source: Serbianmonitor

Chinese want in on Belgrade Subway project – Memorandum signed between Serbia, City of Belgrade and Chinese company
The Government of Serbia has adopted several decisions, among which is the decision on the adoption of the Memorandum of Understanding between Serbia, the City of Belgrade and the Power Construction Corporation of China regarding the realization of the Belgrade Subway project. As the Government of Serbia announced, the Memorandum of Understanding expresses the mutual intention to continue the successful cooperation to the end of realizing this priority infrastructural project. It is not clear whether this means that the Chinese company is now the favored company when it comes to the construction of the Belgrade Subway, although the French, whose feasibility study has been expected for years, have shown the most interest in this project, as have the Russians.
Source: Ekapija

INO:

S&P 500 slips from record close as Caterpillar and AT&T fall on earnings, European markets close lower amid corporate earnings, SAP shares jump 12%
Stocks slipped from record levels on Wednesday as Wall Street digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day down 0.2% at 8,102.01 after hitting an intraday record. The S&P 500 also dipped 0.2% to 2,927.25 as the energy and communication sectors underperformed.
Caterpillar shares fell nearly 3% despite the company posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The industrial giant’s CFO warned of a possible slowdown in its China business, overshadowing Caterpillar’s strong report.
AT&T, meanwhile, fell more than 4% after posting first-quarter revenue numbers that disappointed investors. The company’s revenue was dragged down by weak sales in its WarnerMedia division.
European stocks closed lower on Wednesday, dragged down by underwhelming corporate earnings and fall in crude oil prices. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session slightly below the flatline, with sectors and major bourses pointing in opposite directions.
Europe’s autos stocks were also sold off, down more than 1% after Nissan slashed its full-year profit forecast to a near-decade low. The Japanese automaker said Wednesday it now expects operating profit for the year ended March to drop 45% versus a year earlier to 318 billion yen ($2.84 billion) — that’s down from a previous forecast of 450 billion yen. Fiat Chrysler and Valeo slipped more than 1% on the news, while Renault was down almost 4%.
Meanwhile, technology stocks gained more than 3% after activist investor Elliott revealed a $1.3 billion stake in SAP, Europe’s largest software company. Elliott said it supported SAP’s performance improvement strategy after the company posted a first-quarter operating loss. Shares of the German firm were up 12.5% – marking their biggest daily gain since 2008.
Source: CNBC