Economy Ministry

To the delight of both liquor lovers and producers, Macedonian stores shelves lined with bottles of beer, wines and spirits will no longer be off limits during the evening and night hours.

The Economy Ministry appears to have agreed with the country's creditors on the inclusion in the extrajudicial debt settlement mechanism of individuals who are partners of enterprises in trouble.

Turkey will take measures against the U.S. over its decision to impose tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports, sources from the Economy Ministry have said.

The Economy Ministry and the country's creditors have agreed on the full lifting of bank confidentiality concerning debtors benefiting from the law protecting borrowers, known as the Katseli Law after the minister who introduced it earlier this decade.

Turkey attracted $10.83 billion in net international direct investment last year, $7.44 billion of which was equity investment inflow, the Economy Ministry announced on Feb. 23.

The government is now promising to acquire the nonperforming loans of public sector employees, with Economy Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou saying it is possible that a legal amendment might be introduced to that effect soon.

Turkey received nearly $4.5 billion equity investment from the European Union between January and November last year, marking a 64.3 percent rise year-on-year, the Economy Ministry said on Jan. 23.

Russia's economy shrank surprisingly in November 2017, mainly as a result of declining industrial production, BNR reported. National radio refers to the ministry of economy, quoted by Reuters.

Gross domestic product declined by 0.3% in November compared to a year earlier, thus defeating forecasts by economists and analysts for growth of 1.5 percent.

The 2017 Public Investment Program is expected to end the year with a shortfall of some 500 million euros, due to delays in the execution of projects co-funded by the Partnership Agreement for the Development Framework (ESPA in Greek).

The government is in search of cash injections so it can implement plans supported by the investment incentives legislation.