SLOVENIA
July average net wage at EUR 1,072, up 1.2% y/y in real terms
Average net pay in Slovenia in July amounted to EUR 1,071.76, which is 0.2% less nominally and 0.7% more in real terms compared to June, the Statistics Office reported on Monday. Year-on-year the pay increased 3.1% nominally and 1.2% in real terms.
Source: STA
NLB privatisation shifting into higher gear
With just months to go before an EU-imposed deadline, the privatisation of NLB, Slovenia's largest bank, is shifting into higher gear as the bank reaches out to potential investors.
Source: STA
Insurer Triglav completes takeover of major pension fund manager
Zavarovalnica Triglav, Slovenia's largest insurer, has completed the takeover of Skupna Pokojninska Družba, the biggest specialised provider of additional pension insurance in the country.
Source: STA
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
S&P 500 ekes out 5-day winning streak as chipmakers rise; European markets finish on an upbeat note as autos, miners climb
The S&P 500 posted a marginal gain on Friday to end the week as chipmaker stocks rose. Gains were capped, however, as reports said President Donald Trump wants to move forward with tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Financials also pushed the S&P 500 slightly higher, gaining 0.7 percent as the benchmark 10-year note yield hit 3 percent for the first time since Aug. 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 8.68 points higher at 26,154.67 while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1 percent to 8,010.04. European stocks ended Friday's session on a positive note, as a strong performance by markets overseas lifted sentiment. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed up 0.35 percent; however, on the week, it soared 1.09 percent. Ahold Delhaize, the Dutch operator of grocery chains in the United States and Europe, slumped to the bottom of the index, finishing down 4.4 percent, after UBS slashed its stock recommendation to ""sell"" from ""neutral."" Danske Bank closed in the red, after the Wall Street Journal reported, citing documents and a person familiar with the matter, that law enforcement agencies in the States were investigating the lender over allegations of money laundering flows from Russia
Source: CNBC
SERBIA
NBS, SORS: Annual inflation in August at 2.6%
According to data of the Serbian Statistical Office, inflation measured 0.3% in August. Consumer prices were led by seasonally higher prices of travel packages, fresh fruits and apartment rentals. Seasonally lower prices of clothes, footwear and fresh vegetables worked in the opposite direction. Annual inflation continued to move within the target tolerance band of 3±1.5%. It measured 2.6% in August. Relative to the same month a year before, core inflation (consumer price index excluding the prices of food, energy, alcohol and cigarettes) remained low at 1.1%.
Source: NBS
NBS: FX resrevs in Agust at EUR 11.3bn
NBS FX reserves stood at EUR 11.3bn at end-August, down by EUR 77.7 mn from end-July. The August reduction in FX reserves reflects the government’s effort to scale down the FX portion of public debt (thus changing the debt currency structure and reducing its overall size), with a view to mitigating the country’s exposure to FX risk. The outflows prompted by early and regular repayment of FX loans, maturing securities and other (EUR 340 mn net) were largely compensated for by the inflows from NBS interventions in the IFEM (purchases worth EUR 200 mn).
Source: NBS
Al Dahra officially the only bidder for PKB purchase – Financial bid to be opened subsequently
Al Dahra Agricultural Company from United Arab Emirates, with a field office in Serbia, submitted the offer to purchase PKB and all the documentation complied with tender conditions, the tender commission confirmed yesterday after opening the only received bid. The deadline for submitting bids for the purchase of PKB assets at the initial price of EUR 104,5 million expired on Monday, September 10.
Source: Ekapija