Financial markets

The rally in Greek bond prices that followed last week's issue of a five-year note came to an end on Monday.

Analysts note that while the strong demand for the issue has led the government to start planning for its next market foray, the current favorable climate will be hard to sustain, as Greece remains "a special case."

Spokesman of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) Dan Suciu turned critical on Darius Valcov, economic advisor to the Prime Minister, saying that the latter's suggestion that the formula used to calculate the interbank offered rate ROBOR should be changed or that the benchmark rate should be removed all together proves he is in serious confusion about the money market and its role in the

Latest survey data from the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and IHS Markit have pointed to ongoing challenges for Turkish manufacturing firms at the start of 2019.

The markets appear particularly keen on the new Greek bond issued last Tuesday, as its yield has shown a significant improvement since then, partly thanks to the support from the favorable atmosphere internationally after the Fed's decision to be patient on its rate policy.

Long-dated Greek government bond yields fell to their lowest in almost six months on Tuesday, outpacing euro zone peers, as demand for a new Greek five-year bond topped 10 billion euros.

The mandatory private pension funds had assets worth 47.6 billion lei on 31 December 2018, increasing 19.7 percent from the level in the similar month of the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).

Compared to the level of the assets in the previous month, of 48.18 billion lei, in December 2018 there is a decline of 1.2 percent.

Foreign analysts discern a window of opportunity for Greece's return to the international bond markets immediately after Parliament votes on the Prespes name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as the bond issue is seen serving as a useful tool for the ruling party's election narrative.

The mandatory private pension funds had assets worth 48.19 billion lei on 30 November 2018, up 23.51 percent from the level registered in the similar month of the previous year, according to the data of the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF).

The bond issue program for 2019 by the Public Debt Management Agency, which is to be announced on Monday, will be quite vague and features three alternative scenarios, as the prevailing view is for the state to maintain the advantage of initiative. This is because Greek bond yields remain high, and any new market foray would be a fairly risky affair.

Consumer basket prices for the holidays show a decrease of BGN 2 compared to last year, State Commission on Commodity Markets Chairman Vladimir Ivanov told Focus Radio. The basket includes 28 basic food products, the combined price of which is BGN 68.