Macroeconomics

ARANDJELOVAC - The Serbian economy is likely to hit recession this year, but economic growth could be expected as early as in the first quarter of 2016 if next year is well used for spending cuts, Serbian Minister of Economy Zeljko Sertic said in Arandjelovac on Friday.

‘Disappearing Things', as the 55th annual October Salon is titled, focuses on the contemporary overproduction of photographs and on our way of understanding and remembering them.

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The European Central Bank has moved towards a «quantitative easing philosophy» but should not automatically use its remaining policy tools right away, Governing Council member Jens Weidmann said.

BELGRADE - Serbia has entered a recession, according to estimates, and the only question is whether it is for a short term or if it is a negative trend, economist Stojan Stamenkovic said at the start of the presentation of the latest Makroekonomske analize i trendovi (MAT) bulletin on Tuesday.

BELGRADE - Public enterprises are sinking Serbia's public finance and unless the solution to this problem is sought simultaneously with fiscal consolidation and salary and pension cuts, it would turn out to be a pointless sacrifice, economic expert Vladimir Vuckovic warned on Tuesday.

Greece plans to lower its 2015 primary surplus target of 3 percent only marginally, sticking "close to" the number in its budget on Monday, a finance ministry official said on Friday.

The official was responding to reports of a bigger cut to accommodate tax relief measures.

BELGRADE - Serbia adopted a new methodology of national accounts ESA 2010, based on which the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 increased by 2.6 percent in real terms and by 8.2 percent in nominal terms compared to the year before, the Serbian statistical office released on Friday.

The European Central Bank is ready to use further unconventional policy tools if needed to stave off the risk of inflation remaining too low for too long, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

Both business and trade unions in Bulgaria want the draft budget update to be withdrawn, said the head of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Vasil Velev, quoted by Darik radio.

Representing a common position, Velev defined the proposed update, which includes a deficit of 4% and a new state debt of BGN 4.5 B, as "radical".

Greek factory activity contracted at the fastest rate in almost a year in September as output and new orders declined, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Markit's purchasing managers' index for manufacturing, which makes up about 10 percent of Greece's economy, fell to 48.4 in September from 50.1 in August, sliding back below the 50 mark that denotes growth.