Data
Russia's May Day holiday fails to lift the Watcom Shopping index
There was not much change in the Watcom Shopping index over the May holidays as the index has continued to underperform every year for the last six years.
IMF advises Russia not to spend its National Welfare Fund
The IMF said the Russian government should invest the money in its National Welfare Fund into “secure foreign assets” instead of spending it.
Albania hikes electricity imports as hydropower production plunges
Albania relies mostly on hydropower production and favourable weather conditions are essential. When electricity imports outweigh exports, this has serious negative consequences for the economy as a whole.
Import tariffs fail to stop Kosovo's trade gap widening
Trade deficit increased by 8.1% y/y in 4M19, as slump in imports from Bosnia and Serbia is offset by hikes in imports from Greece, Germany, Turkey and Kosovo’s near neighbours Albania and Macedonia.
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Ukraine's industrial output jumped 5.2% y/y in April
Ukraine's industrial output jumped 5.2% y/y in April, advancing from 2.1% y/y in March, due to accelerated growth in manufacturing and mining, the State Statistics Service reported on May 23.
Turkish central bank yanks $4.2bn from market by hiking FX reserve requirement ratios
Turkish central bank yanks $4.2bn from market by hiking FX reserve requirement ratios
Russian consumers still under pressure in April as retail turnover, incomes fall again
Russia's retail sales growth has been slowing for five months in a row and fell again in April to 1.2% y/y versus 1.6% a month earlier.
Trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin falls to a historic low of 31.7% in May
In 2016 trust in Putin was 71%, but it has tumbled since then on the back of conflicts with the west and stagnating income levels to just to 31.7% in May, according to state owned pollster VTsIOM.