Economy

FTSE Russell announced late on Tuesday it has included the Athens Stock Exchange in the shortlist for upgrading, with the aim of returning it to the category of developed markets

Greece will be added to the Watch List for a possible upgrade from "Advanced Emerging" to "Developed Market" status.

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.0298 dinars for one euro on Wednesday, which is a slight change from Tuesday, the National Bank of Serbia said.

The dinar is steady against the euro m-o-m, up by 0.1 pct y-o-y and up by 0.1 pct relative to the beginning of the year.

Türkiye's annual inflation rate is expected to decrease to 55.2 percent in August, down from 61.78 percent in July, according to an Anadolu Agency poll of economists.

The survey found that the monthly inflation rate is projected to be 2.64 percent for August, a decrease from 3.23 percent in July.

The economists' forecast for year-end annual inflation is 42.84 percent.

Faced with a sharp decline in mergers and acquisitions, the government is providing more generous tax incentives to encourage them. It also wants to reward companies that invest heavily in research and development.

Credit card spending increased by 94 percent in July compared with the same month last year to hit 1.2 trillion Turkish Liras ($35.5 billion), according to data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

The annual increase in card spending slowed from 105 percent in June and 111 percent in May.

Food companies, especially food exporting firms, are hoping that they can benefit from a recent regulation that paves the way for the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry to lease out agricultural lands that are not cultivated for two consecutive years.

The Economist ranked Greece at the top of the list for the second time in a row of 35 countries with the best economic performance for 2023 on Monday.

Greece secured the top position for the first time in The Economist 2022 analysis of 34 prosperous nations.

The fact that six out of 10 Greek businesses don't have a single employee underscores the fundamental shortcomings of the local economy. 

The environment needed to liberate creative potential from the culture of the "mom-and-pop store," which frequently fosters informal economic activity and under-the-table labor, is still lacking.

Markets are expecting Greece to regain investment grade soon after Sunday's general election, provided that a strong government comes out of the process. When Greek bonds emerge from the "junk status" they have been at for more than 12 years, they will not be the only ones to benefit.

The planning of the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) for the next few months provides for the closure of tens of thousands of pending issues.

Retroactive refunds to tens of thousands of insured persons, the cancellation of debts that have not been sought for 10 years, as well as "rebates" for payment of contributions are to be dealt with by this fall.