Deposits of Bulgariaʼs non-government sector increased by an annual 8.7% to BGN 90.5 billion (EUR 46.3 billion) at the end of October, after growing by 9% in the prior month, the countryʼs central bank said on Tuesday.

Third-quarter after-tax profit of MKB Bank fell 29% year-on-year to HUF 15.5 billion, an earnings report released Thursday shows, state news wire MTI reports.

The deposits of the non-governmental sector in Romanian banks grew 15.4% year-on-year to RON 404.1 billion (EUR 83 billion) in October, compared to an annual increase of 14.7% in September, the National Bank of Romania said.

The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has approved the majority ownership of AutoWallis in Iniciál Autóház Kft., a significant company of the Western Hungarian region with a revenue of HUF 19.3 billion, involved in the sales and after-sales services of seven vehicle brands, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal. 

Sales of holiday sweets could fall 10% to HUF 9 billion-9.5 bln this year, the head of the Hungarian Sweets Manufacturers Association told state news wire MTI.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, builders in Poland completed 6.1% more homes in the first 10 months of this year than in the same period in 2019, the countryʼs Central Statistical Office (GUS) has reported.

In sectors where a much higher proportion of young people traditionally work, such as tourism, hospitality, trade, and construction, youth employment has declined, writes novekedes.hu. 

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) is drafting recommendations on environmental governance for banks, deputy governor Csaba Kandrács said at an online conference on Wednesday, state news wire MTI reports.

The Budapest bike share scheme MOL Bubi will be scaled back to match a decline in usage, a spokesman for the Budapest Public Transport Center (BKK), which runs the operation with support from Hungarian oil and gas company MOL, said in business daily Világgazdaság.

The Czech Republicʼs economic confidence decreased to a five-month low in November, survey results from the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) showed on Tuesday.

Kosovoʼs trade deficit decreased by 5.5% year-on-year to EUR 267 million (USD 317 million) in October, as exports increased more than imports, the countryʼs statistical office said.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will meet with his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki in Budapest on Thursday, the PMʼs press chief confirmed on Wednesday, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Polandʼs retail sales fell 2.3% year-on-year in October, after a 4.6% growth in the same month last year, figures from the Warsaw-based Central Statistical Office (GUS) show.

Főtaxi has won Budapest Airportʼs passenger transport tender so it will be the official taxi company of the airport operator for another five years from December, state news wire MTI reports.

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has signed a management agreement with Gránit Pólus Group for a property in Budapest to be re-branded to Crowne Plaza Budapest in 2021, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.

Lithuaniaʼs industrial production rose a working-day adjusted 1.6% year-on-year in October, figures from Statistics Lithuania (LS) showed on Monday. 

The U.K. government has written to 365,000 U.K. nationals living in Europe (including 1,085 letters to nationals in Hungary) with advice on the actions they need to take to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, the British Embassy in Budapest tells the Budapest Business Journal.

The Government Debt Management Agency (ÁKK) sold a combined HUF 45 billion of securities at auction on Wednesday, HUF 10 bln more than planned, according to a report by Hungarian news agency MTI.

Total foreign remittances to Serbia decreased by 15.5% year-on-year to EUR 2.494 billion (USD 2.963 billion) in the first nine months of 2020, central bank data shows.

The Office of Education has introduced a national career guidance survey this year, which they now want to conduct annually for eighth-graders, writes hrportal.hu.