SERBIA:

NBS: Key policy rate kept on hold
At yesterday’s meeting, the NBS Executive Board voted to keep the key policy rate on hold, at 3.0%. In making such a decision, the NBS Executive Board was primarily guided by the expected movement in inflation and its underlying factors going forward, and the effects of past monetary policy easing. According to the May projection, the Executive Board expects y-o-y inflation to gradually approach the target, after reaching this year’s low in April.
Source: NBS

IMF Mission recommends improving the planning and realization of public investments in Serbia
IMF mission in Serbia ascertained yesterday in conversation with the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic that the reconstruction of Serbian Railways is carried out with success and recommend an upgrade in the public investment planning and realization process. James Roaf, Head of the IMF mission for Serbia, said that the department led by Mihajlovic significantly contributed to the successful ending of the previous IMF arrangement.
Source: Ekapija

MAT: Production declined in March
In March this year, manufacturing industry’s production was at the same level as in March last year and which causes concern regarding the GDP growth in the remaining quarters – said the editor of the renowned Macroeconomic Analysis and Trends (MAT) magazine, Ivan Nikolic . At the presentation of the new issue of MAT, he added that the stagnation in the manufacturing industry was compensated by the 21.6 percent growth of the production of the electric power industry, which is why industrial production continued to grow by 4.1 percent in March compared to the same period last year.
Source: Serbiamonitor

REGION:

China's Hisense bids 12 euros/share for Slovenia's Gorenje
Chinese household appliances maker Hisense Electric has offered the best bid of 12 euros ($14.22) per share for Gorenje, the Slovenian appliances producer said. It added in a statement on Wednesday that Hisense will announce a takeover bid for Gorenje within 15 days. The price was offered on condition that Hisense acquires at least 50 percent of Gorenje’s shares. The bid values Gorenje at about 293 million euros.
Source: Reuters

INO:

Dow rallies nearly 200 points, notches 6-day winning streak, European markets close mainly lower after BOE rate decision
The Dow Jones industrial average rose sharply on Thursday, posting its sixth straight day of gains, following the release of weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data. The index gained 0.8%, while S&P 500 was up 0.9 percent to 2,723.07, with utilities and telecom both rising more than 1 percent. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.9 percent.
In corporate news, Booking Holdings dropped more than 4.5 percent after giving weaker-than-expected quarterly guidance. The company reported better-than-forecast earnings and revenue for the previous quarter, however.
The Labor Department said before the open its consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in April, with economists polled by Reuters expecting a 0.3 percent bump. The lighter-than-forecast number eased concerns about the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy at a faster rate than the market is expecting.
European stock markets endured mixed fortunes Thursday, as investors reacted to a monetary policy meeting by the U.K.'s central bank. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended provisionally 0.12 percent lower than its previous closing price, with major bourses and sectors pointing in opposite directions.
Europe's telecoms stocks were among those to lead the losses, down 0.94 percent amid earnings news. BT posted weaker-than-anticipated figures over the first three months of the year and announced plans to cut 13,000 managerial and back-office jobs. Shares of the company were 7.5 percent lower for the day.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika