Credit

Bulgaria's gross foreign debt totalled EUR 38.2B as of end-August, increasing 2.2% from a year earlier and 2.3% higher compared with end-2013, the central bank has said.

Gross foreign debt was equivalent to 94.3% of projected 2014 Gross Domestic Product as of end-August, the Bulgarian National Bank said in a statement on Thursday.

While old debts to the state have grown to 70.1 billion euros, after adding another billion in September, an eagerly anticipated regulation for the provision of new payment programs is being delayed due to reactions from the country’s creditors and the responsible ministers’ inability to agree on a proposal.

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

DryShips Inc, the shipper that has a $700 million convertible note due December 1, is negotiating with banks for a loan that would help repay the debt after it canceled a bond offering over the weekend, according to two people with knowledge of the company’s plans.

The decision to set up a payment plan for individuals and businesses with outstanding debts to the state can no longer be postponed as there are many people out there who cannot possibly meet their financial obligations the way things currently stand.

Turkish markets are breathing a sigh of relief, after international credit ratings agency Fitch affirmed Turkey’s investment-grade ratings despite previous worries over a downgrade.

Development Fund grants RSD 181.5 million

BELGRADE -- The Board of Directors of the Development Fund granted at Friday's session loans amounting to RSD 181.5 million based on the 2014 programme.

The loans are intended for entrepreneurs and legal persons and they could be used as investments, permanent working capital and start up loans.

In the second quarter of 2014, Macedonia owed a total of €5.741 billion to creditors outside the country.

...

Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday upgraded OTE telecom’s credit rating from BB- to BB and revised its outlook from negative to stable, arguing that even in the unlikely event of a Greek default, OTE will service its debts.

The lion’s share of Greece’s debt is held by European Union member states and the International Monetary Fund. A writedown of the European part of the debt would require the approval of the parliaments in the countries that contributed toward the bailout. Otherwise, Athens could take a unilateral decision to seek a write-off.