SERBIA:

Next meeting of Serbian delegation with IMF to take place in Washington from April 20 through 22
The next meeting with the IMF will be held from April 20 through 22 in Washington, and the Serbian delegation will be headed by Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic and NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced. They will then arrive to Belgrade once again in mid-May, so that we would attend the IMF board in July and, I hope, sign a two or three-year arrangement. I'm more in favor of a three-year arrangement, but we will agree about this in mid-May – stated the prime minister. Talking about the previous meeting with the IMF delegation and the new arrangement, Brnabic said that it entailed recommendations primarily, and not so much the control.
Source: Ekapija

More money for financing small and medium enterprises – CEB approves loan of EUR 50 million for two banks in Serbia
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved eight new loans to institutions in member states of the Council of Europe, including Serbia, whereby two banks operating in the territory of Serbia will get loans of a total of EUR 50 million. The two loans, approved at the meeting of the CEB Administrative Council on Friday, March 16, 2018, in Paris, will be directed at the facilitation of the operations of micro, small and medium companies in Serbia, the Council of Europe announced on Monday, March 19.
Source: Ekapija

French EDF interested in hydroenergy projects in Serbia
Representatives of the French energy company EDF are interested in developing bigger projects with Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), especially in the field of hydroenergy, Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic said following a meeting with the delegation of EDF. Aleksandar Antic told the press that there was great interest of the Serbian side in having projects agreed with EDF which are related to the upgrade of the transfer and distribution network.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

The Salus Group increased revenues and profits last year
Last year, the Salus Group generated net sales of € 232.7 million, which represents a 5.7 percent yearly increase. Net profit increased by 14.3 percent to EUR 3.9 million. The Management Board assesses the operations as successful and proposes a dividend of EUR 35 per share for the General Meeting of Salus, to be held on April 20.
Source: Ilirika

Slovenia Consumer Confidence dropped slightly
The Slovenia consumer confidence dropped to -1 in March 2018 from 0 in the previous month. It is the weakest confidence since September of 2017 as expectations deteriorated for the general economic situation in the country over the next 12 months (7 from 8 in February), unemployment (-8 from -10) and savings propensity (-17 from -16). Also, the household financial situation (-2, the same as in February) and intentions to make major purchases (-21 from -24) remained subdued. On the other hand, inflation expectations eased (31 from 32). Consumer Confidence in Slovenia averaged -19.55 Index Points from 1996 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of 2 Index Points in January of 2018 and a record low of -45 Index Points in September of 2012.
Source: STA

INO:

Dow closes 116 points higher as Fed meeting kicks off, European equities close higher ahead of Fed meeting
U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve started a two-day monetary policy meeting, with most market participants expecting a rate hike. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 116.36 points to close at 24,727.27, with Boeing as the best-performing stock. The S&P 500 gained 0.2 percent, while Nasdaq composite advanced 0.3 percent to 7,364.30.
In corporate news, shares of Roku rose as much as 4.9 percent after analysts at Oppenheimer upgraded them to perform from underperform, citing catalysts like accelerated cord-cutting trends.
Oracle Corp. slumped over 9% after forecasting slowing sales growth in cloud-related products, fueling concern that the company is struggling in efforts to shift away from traditional software and become a powerhouse in programs delivered over the internet. Sales of cloud products will rise 19 percent to 23 percent in the current quarter, compared with 32 percent in the period that ended Feb. 28. Adding to concerns, demand for new software licenses in the recent quarter declined 1.8 percent to $1.39 billion from a year earlier.
European markets closed higher Tuesday afternoon as investors focused on earnings ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.6 percent higher with most sectors and all major bourses trading in positive territory. The German DAX rallied the most, closing up 0.8 percent.
Looking at individual stocks, Bellway was among the top gainers across Europe after a 17 percent increase in profit in the first half of its fiscal year. The U.K. property developer closed 3.5 percent higher. Bic dropped to near the bottom of the index after UBS initiated coverage of the stock with a "sell" rating. The French pen-maker was 5.9 percent lower by mid-afternoon.
Source: CNBC, Ilirka