Zelenskiy's election promises run aground amid lack of progress on Normandy Four and IMF deals

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is struggling to deliver on two of his leading election promises.

European Commission praises Bulgarian progress on rule of law, criticises backsliding in Romania

Bulgaria close to having CVM monitoring lifted, while backtracking in Romania is a “source of concern” despite recent reset in relations.

Serbia, Croatia join race for VW plant but carmaker ‘not actively looking for alternative to Turkey’ as things stand

German auto giant, fearing reputational damage by association following Turkish invasion of Syria, is taking stock of situation.

EBRD opposes naming of Halkbank executive convicted in US as Istanbul stock exchange boss

“We were not consulted and we do not support it,” says spokesman for development bank that owns 10% of Borsa Istanbul. Appointment widely seen as political rebuttal to New York indictment brought against state lender.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announces cooperation with richest Pole on small modular reactor for Synthos

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has signed an agreement with Poland’s chemical giant Synthos, owned by the richest Pole Michal Solowow, on the potential construction of a small modular reactor.

Russia's Ozon online retailer launches express delivery

Russian e-commerce major Ozon launched a new express delivery “Supermarket” service that will deliver food and grocery in under 40-60 minutes in some Moscow districts, Vedomosti daily reported on October 17 citing the representatives of the company.

Extreme Digital, eMAG merger cleared

Hungary's competition watchdog cleared the merger of Hungarian online electronics retailer Extreme Digital with eMAG, a unit of South Africa's Naspers group on October 17, creating one of the largest online retail networks in CEE

Gaming software company Digitain to launch startup hub in Yerevan

Samsung announces €1.2bn expansion of Hungarian EV battery plant

Ambitious expansion plans for the plant near Budapest will make it one of the largest in the world, as Hungary becomes a centre of EV battery production for Europe's growing electric car industry.

Russian taxi market seen growing 6% to $11bn in 2019

Expansion ahead, but the sharp growth phase that was provoked by the entry of taxi aggregators through lower prices and more passengers is waning, says a study from the Analytic Centre.

CAPITAL ECONOMICS: Russian retail sales set for a tepid recovery

The weakness in Russian retail sales looks close to bottoming out, but any turnaround will be modest. This is one reason to think that the overall recovery in GDP growth will be weak and that the central bank’s easing cycle is likely to be deeper tha

Erdogan officials bring in more irregular measures to defend Turkish markets after US presses Iran sanctions-busting Halkbank charges

From out of nowhere oil revenues laundering case is back to haunt Turkey’s strongman. Officials act to stop shorting of lira and banking shares.

VIENNEAST COMPASS: How many straws to break a camel’s back? How do illiberal economies attract so much FDI

On October 13, on either side of the Tatras mountains, “illiberal democrats” faced their latest litmus tests. The ruling parties of PiS and Fidesz retain their grip on power, but in both countries foreign investors don't seem to care

TURKEY’S SYRIA OFFENSIVE: A dizzying media bombardment but Erdogan’s Kurdish bloodbath plans are running like clockwork

It’s not clear at all that Donald Trump is serious about bringing forward sanctions with teeth. Turkish markets are gradually taking a hit, but there is some way to go before the government might lose its grip on the situation.

TASHKENT BLOG: Uzbekistan reforms are real, can they sustain them?

Uzbekistan has been on the radar of frontier market investors since President Shavkat Mirziyoyev began a large scale economic reform program nearly three years ago. But the easy stuff has already been done. It gets harder from here on in.

Romania’s “solid” M&A market to remain active says Deloitte

Number of deals remained steady in Q3 though volume down after unusually high M&A activity in the same quarter last year. Deloitte points to strong pipeline of deals set to close in the coming months.

Russia's Watcom shopping index extends gains over the summer, but only because people are feeling poor

The mild recovery in foot traffic in Moscow’s leading shopping malls extended gains that began at the start of summer, as retail turnover results for all of Russia also picked up in the third quarter of this year.

Polish retail sales ease growth slightly in September

Slowdown mainly related to sales of non-durable goods, while continued expansion, albeit at a slower pace, is generally in line with Poles’ robust consumer spending driven by low unemployment and growing wages.

Slovakia's unemployment rate up to 5.04% in September

The unemployment rate in Slovakia was 5.04% in September, up by 0.07 percentage points (pp) month on month, according to the data from the Labour, Social Affairs and Family Centre (UPSVR) published on October 18.

Polish industrial production returns to growth in September

Reading indicates 4.1% y/y GDP growth in third quarter, mainly on private consumption, while weaker construction performance suggests diminished contribution from investments, ING says.

SYRIA OFFENSIVE: ‘Fake sanctions’, ‘Sanctions lite’… Don’t kid yourself that Trump’s hit Turkey with meaningful measures

Lira market raises Erdogan’s middle finger to the world with some currency strengthening.

Samolet residential real estate business is flying

Russia’s residential real estate market is recovering as the economy emerges from several years of crisis. Incomes have been stagnant for six years, but as interest rates fall housing is becoming more affordable.

Pashinian allies lament slow pace of change in the new Armenia

The new government has an overwhelming mandate for change. But the prime minister’s fear of unpopularity has hamstrung his ambitious agenda.

CONFERENCE CALL: Decline of the West and rise of the rest

It was 30 years ago that the Berlin Wall came down, ushering in hopes of a united, peaceful and prosperous world. Today the world is unpredictable and moving towards a new division between East and West. How did we get here?

Romania’s City Insurance aims to be largest local player in Central, Southeast Europe

Romania’s largest insurance firm City Insurance has long-range ambitions to become the largest regional player, but first it sees huge potential in its home market amid the emergence of Romania’s middle class.

ISTANBUL BLOG: How far could some Kurd killing go to saving Erdogan’s skin?

Turkey’s president and Donald Trump have put on a real pals’ act in recent months. The US president came through on Syria for the Turkish strongman in a big way, but with the tanks massing and Republicans fuming, threw in some complications.

BALKAN BLOG: Balkan peace processes a victim of divisions between Europe and US

The discord between the US and the European Union since the election of Donald Trump as US president is holding back efforts to keep the peace and normalise relations within the former Yugoslavia.

ISTANBUL BLOG: Erdogan wants 5% growth out of his cheap money mount but is he flogging a dead horse?

With Turkish corporate sector debt having doubled to 70% of GDP since 2008, the Turkish strongman may struggle to pump through enough credit.

KYIV BLOG: What’s to be done about those who are to blame in Ukraine?

Attention has been dramatically refocused from the high hopes from Zelenskiy’s radically anti-corruption and reformist legislative agenda to a single question: what is his relationship with his oligarchic backer Ihor Kolomoisky?

KYIV BLOG: Zelenskiy's honeymoon with foreign investors is over as NBU ex-governor Gontareva's dacha burns

The arson attack is the latest in a string of attacks on the former central banker, her family and the bank she nationalised, PrivatBank.