Economic policy

Outgoing US President Barack Obama is expected to visit Athens on November 14 and 15, according to reports on Tuesday, in what will be his first visit to Greece, just two months before he steps down from the White House.

Turkey has dropped four places to 55th from among 138 countries in the World Bank's latest Global Competitiveness Index.

Greece has forecast 2.7 percent economic growth next year, its first rebound after seven years of crippling recession, as investment picks up and tourism surges, a government official familiar with the draft budget said on Thursday.

Investors at last week's Greek bourse roadshow in London said they wouldn't invest in Greece until the country returns to growth, the bailout agreement is implemented in full and Greece is included in the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program, according to sources.

Serbia has not solved the key question of splitting tasks in gas companies, Beta agency has quoted an Energy Community annual report.

For this reason, the Energy Community's Ministerial Council will rule on sanctions against Serbia in October, the agency said.

State school teachers are on Friday to hold the latest in a series of protests against the government's ongoing austerity drive and education policy.

Leading personalities visited Greece last week for the Athens Democracy Forum. Many knew nothing about this country beyond what they'd read in the international press. Others are frequent visitors and love Greece and its people. They all asked the same question: "We don't understand why you are stuck in this black hole. You have a gorgeous country and a great way of living.

The government's financial team is examining state spending cuts in a bid to come up with an estimated 720 million euros needed to fund its Social Solidarity Income (SSI) program for 2017 for Greeks hardest hit by austerity.

Greek bonds and stocks have been in international isolation since June, when the first 7.5 billion euros of the tranche of 10.3 billion got disbursed. Foreign investors are ignoring Greek securities due to the persisting uncertainty over the prospects of the country's economy.

BELGRADE - The total 2016 budget deficit could be half of the planned level - around 2 pct of GDP, Serbia's Fiscal Council said Monday, noting that fiscal trends in the first seven months of the year had been excellent.