SLOVENIA
Gen-I issues EUR 20m worth of bonds
Energy group Gen-I has successfully concluded a simultaneous issue of a bond and a commercial paper. The issue of the bond secured the company EUR 20m, Gen-I said on the website of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange on Friday.
Source: STA
Hisense increases stake in Gorenje to 95% in takeover bid
The Chinese-owned Hisense Luxembourg Home Appliance Holding has acquired a 62.46% stake in household appliance maker Gorenje in a takeover bid between 29 May and 26 June. The holding now owns 95.42% in Gorenje, as it had acquired 32.96% of the company's shares before the bid was published.
Source: STA
US tariffs on European cars would indirectly affect Slovenia
The Economy Ministry said that tariffs on the imports of European cars, as announced by US President Donald Trump, would indirectly affect Slovenian producers of cars and car parts, as the Slovenian automotive industry is strongly export-oriented. Counter-measures would put an additional burden on the industry, it added.
Source: STA
Bakery Don Don opening new production facility in Montenegro
Baking group Don Don is opening a new production facility worth EUR 2m in Montenegro's Danilovgrad. Producing 30 tonnes of bread and pastry a day, Don Don will operate on the entire Montenegrin market, the company said in a press release on Thursday.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Dow drops more than 300 points as investors brace for further Trump trade actions against China; European markets close sharply lower on trade concerns
Harley-Davidson shares fell about 6 percent after the company announced it will shift production of motorcycles headed for Europe to factories outside the U.S. The company sold nearly 40,000 bikes to the European Union, second only to the U.S.
Shares of chipmakers Intel, Micron Technology and Nvidia all fell at least 3.4 percent. Boeing, Caterpillar and General Motors — all companies with significant exposure to China and major exporters — also fell by 2.3 percent, 2.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
European equities closed significantly lower Monday as investors worried about further tariffs in global trade and the effect of Brexit. By the end of trade Monday, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was provisionally 2.02 percent lower for the session with every sector in the red.
Autos were among the worst performing sectors, down by 2.34 percent, as a result of the rising tensions in trade. On Friday, President Donald Trump threatened to apply new duties on European carmakers. The European Union has said that it would respond with further U.S. tariffs if Trump fulfilled his threat.
Another stark Brexit warning to the U.K. government arrived from big business. Just days after Airbus announced it could reduce British operations, the German automaker BMW said Brexit could force U.K. plant closures. BMW employs around 7,000 people in the U.K.
Source: CNBC
SERBIA
Law on employment of seasonal workers adopted
The National Assembly of Serbia today adopted the Law on Employment of Seasonal Workers, which should improve the position of seasonal workers and simplify their registration through an electronic platform. The law defines the jobs on which seasonal workers can be employed in the sectors of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
Source: Ekapija
Public sector to see higher salaries in November
Public sector will see higher salaries since November this year, Nebojsa Stefanovic, minister of police stated. Pensions are also to be increased in November. He has not specified the percentage of increase.
Source: Beta
Record wheat yield this year in Serbia
This year, Serbia will reap about 3.3 million tons of wheat, and this season could be a record one, says the president of the Association Zito, Vukosav Sakovic. Sakovic adds that with the reserves from last year, Serbia will have over 3.5 million tons of wheat, at its disposal, with the Serbian market’s needs for wheat amounting to roughly 1.5 million tons. The country could export the rest of the wheat, about 1.7 million tons.
Source: Serbiamonitor
Quarterly monitor: Economic growth is not that impressive as it seems
Low inflation, fiscal surplus and interest rates at the historical minimum and are all undoubtedly good trends that Serbia has not had for many years, which also contribute to maintaining the macroeconomic stability, Professor Milojko Arsic said at the presentation of the Faculty of Economics’ publication, the Quarterly Monitor. However, when we scratch the surface, it turns out that the biggest part of the economy grew at a rate of 3 to 3.5 percent, which is below the CEE average. Namely, the high growth is a one-off occurrence and is the result of the recovery of several sectors that recorded unfavourable results in the first quarter of this year, such as agriculture, electricity and construction. The authors of the Quarterly Monitor say that the final growth estimate is up to 4 percent by the end of the year, which again is below the CEE average.
Source: Serbiamonitor