SLOVENIA

PM Šarec stepping down, calling for snap election

Prime Minister Marjan Šarec has announced he is stepping down in a bid to push for a snap election, saying he could not achieve what he set out to do with the current minority coalition.. (STA)

Most parties favour snap election

First reactions to Marjan Šarec's surprise announcement that he is stepping down to seek a snap election indicate most parties favour an early election, while Zdravko Počivalšek, the leader of the Modern Centre Party (SMC) which Šarec mentioned as a potential pre-election ally, does not see the need for a snap election. (STA)

PM's party enhances lead in POP TV poll

The Marjan Šarec List (LMŠ) remains in the lead in the latest poll commissioned by the private broadcaster POP TV, having increased its margin ahead of the opposition Democrats (SDS) to one percentage point. The voter approval rating for the government has also increased. (STA)

Business sentiment recovery continues

The business sentiment in Slovenia stood at 4.1 percentage points in January, which is up 1.1 percentage points on December but eight percentage points below the January 2019 level. (STA)

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Stocks fell on Friday after the second U.S. case of the deadly coronavirus was confirmed, stoking concerns over the sickness’ impact on the global economy

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 170.36 points, or 0.6%, at 28,989.73 after jumping more than 100 points earlier in the day. Friday also marked the Dow’s first close below 29,000 since Jan. 14.
The 30-stock average briefly fell more than 300 points before recovering some of those losses as Boeing shares turned around. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 3,295.47, for its worst loss of the young year. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day 0.9% lower at 9,314.91. 
American Express reported a quarterly profit and revenue that beat analyst expectations. Those results were driven in part by strong card fee revenues. The stock gained more than 2% and hit a record high.
Intel, meanwhile, climbed more than 8% after its fourth-quarter numbers topped estimates. The company also gave an optimistic outlook for the first quarter of 2020.
European stocks rebounded on Friday, breaking a four-day losing streak after the World Health Organization (WHO) said the deadly Chinese coronavirus was not a “global emergency” yet.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 jumped 0.85% by the closing bell, with industrials and technology stocks leading gains.
Earnings remain on the agenda, with Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson raising its full-year dividend before the bell on Friday but reporting fourth-quarter core earnings which fell short of analyst expectations, due to a slowdown in the U.S. business and higher costs. Ericsson shares were down 5.8% during afternoon trade.
Carrefour added 4.8% after the French retailer reported a rise in fourth-quarter sales. (CNBC)

SERBIA

Serbia on Index Watch Positive for JP Morgan bond index

JP Morgan on Friday officially announced that Serbia had been placed on Index Watch Positive for potential inclusion into the JP Morgan Government Bond Index -Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) series, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) said. The decision to include the Serbian bonds in this index will most likely be made in the second quarter (April-June 2020), but the very fact that Serbia has been placed on Index Watch Positive is a clear signal that it has met all the requirements to be in the renowned group of emerging countries deemed safe for investment by international investors," the NBS said. (Tanjug)

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