Since the beginning of the year, no money has been transferred to Bulgaria‘s Silver Fund, set up to anchor the public pension system, shows its balance sheet, published online by the finance ministry.

Under local legislation the money in the Silver Fund comes from privatization deals, concessions, and budget surpluses (if any).

The money the Bulgarian state got from the sale of its dominant tobacco companyBulgartabac last year has also gone up in smoke, the check shows.

Bulgaria‘s sale body, the Privatization agency, told Dnevnik daily that the price of EUR 100.1 M has been paid by the buyer and transferred immediately to the account of the state budget in the central bank.

Under local legislation them money should next be transferred to the Silver fund, but this does not feature in its end of April report.

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov has explained that the transfer will be made by the end of May, admitting that by then the money can be invested or stacked up in a deposit account. The returns however will not be channeled into the Silver Fund, he pointed out.

The Silver Fund, a state retirement fund set up in 2008 in order to cover future pension system deficits caused by Bulgaria‘s aging population, is currently worth BGN 1.78 B.

The Bulgarian government wants to allow its Silver Fund to also invest in bonds issued by national and local administrations. At the moment, only foreign securities with an adequate credit rating may be purchased.

The proposal was criticized by the European Central Bank, which says the fact that Bulgarian securities would not require a rating could place the Bulgariangovernment in “a privileged position compared to other issuers.”

Such “indirect discrimination” could lead to “unjustified restrictions on the free movement of capital,” thus violating European Union rules.

Another concern is that provisions allowing the Silver Fund to channel up to 70 per cent of its portfolio on Bulgarian bonds by 2016 could lead to skewed yields not driven purely by the markets.

Finance Minister Simeon Djankov responded in a letter by stressing that any Bulgarian bond issues purchased by the fund would have interest rates based on market benchmarks.

Bulgaria‘s economic growth is expected to slow-down to 1.2% in 2012 in the wake of the continued crisis in the eurozone and stagnant domestic demand, according to Citigroup analysts.

GDP growth next year is forecast at 2.5%.

Interestingly the financial institution warns that the next general elections, due in the middle of 2013, may undermine the implementation of key structural reforms in the coutry.

Earlier this month Bulgarian analysts and institutions unanimously cut their growthforecast for 2012 to just below 1.5% instead of the previously forecast 2-3%, citing slumping exports and stagnant domestic demand.

The central bank BNB estimated Bulgaria‘s economic growth to slow-down to 0.7% in 2012, citing the sovereign-debt crisis in the euro area.

Bulgaria‘s government and the European Commission recently revised downwards their forecast for the economy of the Balkan country, estimating it is to grow 1.4% this year due to worsening growth prospects in key trading partners across Europe and stagnant domestic demand.

Meanwhile a Sofia-based think-tank warned that Bulgaria‘s economy hovers on the brink of its second recession in three years in the wake of the slump in the eurozone.

Bulgaria‘s economy is expected to shrink in the first quarter of 2012, to be followed by a few more quarters of falling output, entering a technical, recession, the Institute for Market Economics (IME) has forecast.

This would be the second recession in Bulgaria in just three years.

Tumbling levels of exports and industrial production show that Bulgaria‘s economy is already feeling the chill from the euro zone, according to the experts.

This has left domestic demand as the major driving factor behind the economy, but expectations are that it will remain subdued due to a rising unemployment rate and a drop in investments.

Economists say the most troubling indicator is that in the period January -February2012, the total value of the exported goods reached almost BGN 5.7 B, down by 6.1% on an annual basis.

Bulgarian exports to third countries also decreased, marking a 2.6%  fall compared to the corresponding period of the previous year and amounted to BGN 2.3 B.

Exports, which used to be the driver behind Bulgaria‘s recovery, are slumping and in the best possible scenario can record a negligible growth or remain flattish, according to analysts’ forecasts.

A mix of global slow-down, restricted financing and withdrawing investors have brought Bulgaria‘s construction sector to a stalemate and according to the analysts it has been sliding ever more firmly into negative territory for the fourth year in a row with little hope for revival in the short term.

Bulgaria‘s retail market continues to be on a downward trend, despite the retail concentration within malls, which have taken the role of new urban shopping, and leisure centers over the last couple of years.

Data on the visits of foreign tourists in February did not bring the expected joy either. The number of foreign travelers here was down by about 3% on an annual basis after a year and a half of healthy growth. The figures dampened the sector’s hopes that the excellent conditions for skiing in February will attract many foreign tourists.

Bulgaria‘s economy expanded by 1.7% in 2011.

Growth slowed down to 1.6% in the fourth quarter of last year, curbed by slumpingexports, according to data of the statistics institute.

The European Union newcomer entered recession for the first time in the first quarter of 2009 with its economy shrinking 5% from January to March 2009 and contracting 1.6% in the fourth quarter 2008 on a quarterly basis.

In the first quarter of 2009 Bulgaria‘s GDP marked a 3,5%  drop on an annual basis for the first time since the financial and economic crisis in 1997 and the slump was much sharper than macroeconomists’ forecasts.

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Bulgaria‘s jobless rate in will continue to increase in 2012 as the economy hovers on the brink of its second recession in three years in the wake of the slump in theeuro zone, analysts have warned.

The unemployment rate stood at 11.5% last month with the total number of people who are unemployed towering to 376 171, up by 10,000 over the previous month, data of the Employment Agency shows.

The threshold of 10% is considered by employers and economists to be a sign of an upcoming deterioration in the purchasing power and labor market.

The majority of the people, who were laid off, worked in the industry, trade or construction sectors.

Sofia city remains the location with the lowest unemployment rate. The cities where finding a job is very difficult are Smolyan, Targovishte, Montana and Shumen.

Bulgaria‘s economy is expected to shrink in the first quarter of 2012, to be followed by a few more quarters of falling output, entering a technical, recession, the Institute for Market Economics (IME) has forecast.

This would be the second recession in Bulgaria in just three years.

Tumbling levels of exports and industrial production show that Bulgaria‘s economy is already feeling the chill from the euro zone, according to the experts.

This has left domestic demand as the major driving factor behind the economy, but expectations are that it will remain subdued due to a rising unemployment rate and a drop in investments.

Bulgaria‘s government and the European Commission recently revised downwards their forecast for the economy of the Balkan country, estimating it is to grow 1.4% this year due to worsening growth prospects in key trading partners across Europe and stagnant domestic demand.

Bulgaria‘s economy expanded by 1.7% in 2011.

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Bulgarian consumers‘ sentiments continue to trend downwards as prices of staple foods hit record highs, a survey shows.

There was no hope for higher incomes among Bulgarians in the first quarter of 2012, while fuel prices remained the main factor for inflation, according to a poll, conducted by market research institute GfK.

Consumers are afraid that the prices of electricity and transport services will also rise and will contribute to increasing inflation.

Bulgarians are also very much concerned about a looming rise in unemploymentrate, which currently stands at about 11%, but is expected to hit 19% by the end of the year.

The survey was conducted in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, France and the Czech Republic. The 12 countries represent about 80% of the total population in the 27 member states.

The survey comes on the heel of warnings that Bulgaria‘s economy may shrink drastically by 5% in the first three months of the year.

“Given the looming decline in GDP for the first quarter of 2012, we expect thebudget deficit to be significantly higher than envisaged in the budget, putting at risk public investments and the payment of pensions,” according to the BulgarianIndustrial Chamber.

It points out a number of factors, drawing the economy into negative territory, including a sharp decline in domestic consumption, industrial production,investments and increasingly negative trade balance.

The gloomy forecast comes shortly after a Sofia-based think-tank warned thatBulgaria‘s economy hovers on the brink of its second recession in three years in the wake of the slump in the euro zone.

Bulgaria‘s economy is expected to shrink in the first quarter of 2012, to be followed by a few more quarters of falling output, entering a technical, recession, the Institute for Market Economics (IME) forecast at the beginning of this week.

This would be the second recession in Bulgaria in just three years.

Tumbling levels of exports and industrial production show that Bulgaria‘s economy is already feeling the chill from the euro zone, according to the experts.

This has left domestic demand as the major driving factor behind the economy, but expectations are that it will remain subdued due to a rising unemployment rate and a drop in investments.

Economists say the most troubling indicator is that in the period January -February2012, the total value of the exported goods reached almost BGN 5.7 B, down by 6.1% on an annual basis.

Bulgarian exports to third countries also decreased, marking a 2.6%  fall compared to the corresponding period of the previous year and amounted to BGN 2.3 B.

Exports, which used to be the driver behind Bulgaria‘s recovery, are slumping and in the best possible scenario can record a negligible growth or remain flattish, according to analysts’ forecasts.

A mix of global slow-down, restricted financing and withdrawing investors have brought Bulgaria‘s construction sector to a stalemate and according to the analysts it has been sliding ever more firmly into negative territory for the fourth year in a row with little hope for revival in the short term.

Bulgaria‘s retail market continues to be on a downward trend, despite the retail concentration within malls, which have taken the role of new urban shopping, and leisure centers over the last couple of years.

Data on the visits of foreign tourists in February did not bring the expected joy either. The number of foreign travelers here was down by about 3% on an annual basis after a year and a half of healthy growth. The figures dampened the sector’s hopes that the excellent conditions for skiing in February will attract many foreign tourists.

Earlier this month Bulgarian analysts and institutions unanimously cut their growth forecast for 2012 to just below 1.5% instead of the previously forecast 2-3%, citing slumping exports and stagnant domestic demand.

The central bank BNB estimated Bulgaria‘s economic growth to slow-down to 0.7% in 2012, citing the sovereign-debt crisis in the euro area.

Bulgaria‘s government and the European Commission recently revised downwards their forecast for the economy of the Balkan country, estimating it is to grow 1.4% this year due to worsening growth prospects in key trading partners across Europe and stagnant domestic demand.

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