SLOVENIA

Salaries in Slovenia higher in 2019

Average monthly take-home pay in Slovenia increased last year by 3.7% in nominal terms and by 2.1% in real terms to EUR 1,133.50, fresh data from the Statistics Office show. (STA)

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Stocks close little changed, but post a gain for the week; Europe markets close mixed as traders weigh earnings, coronavirus; RBS falls 7%

Stocks were little changed on Friday, but notched a gain for the week, as Wall Street digested the latest batch of consumer data and earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 25.23 points, or about 0.1%, to close at 29,398.08. Earlier in the day, the Dow fell more than 100 points. The S&P 500 gained just 0.2% to close at 3,380.16, but eked out a record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite also advanced 0.2% to 9,731.18 and hit an all-time closing high.Core retail sales, which exclude autos, gas, building materials and food services, were unchanged last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. The department added clothing-store sales had their biggest one-month decline since 2009. The data outweighed the release of strong corporate earnings releases from companies such as Nvidia and Expedia. Nvidia shares rose 7% after its quarterly results beat analyst expectations. Expedia got an 11% boost from its earnings while Newell Brands climbed 3%. European markets closed mixed Friday as investors monitored China’s coronavirus epidemic and a slew of corporate earnings. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index closed provisionally slightly lower with major bourses and sectors pointing in different directions. On the data front, euro zone economic growth slowed as expected in the last quarter of 2019 with a figure of 0.1%. A figure for Germany earlier in the session showed its economy stagnated during the fourth quarter of last year. Meanwhile, earnings were a major focus for European investors. Renault shares fell slightly after reporting a surprise 2019 loss. AstraZeneca shares were down 4% after it said its 2020 sales growth would take a hit from the coronavirus. And RBS shares sank 7% after it scaled back its returns target and slashed its investment back. (CNBC)

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