SERBIA:

KMBN: Lazard selected as a new privatization consultant for Komercijalna
Danas learns unofficially from well-informed sources, the new privatization consultant of the largest state owned bank, Komercijalna, will be the French consulting firm Lazard, which has already adopted a number of important jobs in Serbia. Lazard advises the state on the concession Nikola Tesla airport received by the French Vansi erports. Although Vansi had to be paid in September to take over the management of the airport (and to pay a fixed part of the concession fee of 501 million euros), this was only done at the end of last week. Lazard also advised Telekom Srbija in the event of a failed privatization in 2015, when the bids did not meet the government of Serbia.
Source: Danas, navva.org

Highway through Vrsac to Timisoara, high speed railway to Macedonia – Join projects for regional connectedness considered
Several concrete projects for better infrastructural and energy connecting of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia were agreed at the talks the Serbian president had with the prime ministers of the other three countries. As President Aleksandar Vucic said after the meeting, when it comes to energy, there were talks about the power network from Resita, Romania, to Pancevo and about gas supply in Serbia, since the gas supply situation in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania is much simpler. He pointed out that it was also important for Serbia to soon complete the eastern and the southern branches of Corridor 10 and added that the country would be ready to “reach” the borders of Macedonia and Bulgaria after several weeks or months, which is important for both Greece and Bulgaria. He said that they had considered the construction of the highway through Vrsac to Timisoara and added that he was satisfied that Romania had recently initiated the preparation of a feasibility study for the project..
Source: Ekapija

Construction of new Sava bridge in Belgrade to begin in 2019 – Designing of Ada Huja bridge planned as well
The president of the City Assembly of Belgrade, Nikola Nikodijevic, stated that the construction of the Sava bridge, near Belgrade Waterfront, would begin in 2019. The bridge, which should have four traffic lanes and tram tracks, is to be built in the location of the Old Sava Bridge. Talking about the 2019 Belgrade budget proposal, Nikodijevic said on TV Prva that the designing and the beginning of the construction of the bridge on the Sava near Belgrade Waterfront, as well as the beginning of the designing of the Ada Huja bridge, was planned for 2019.
Source: Ekapija

REGION:

Postponement of works on Belgrade-Budapest railway in Hungary not to impact construction of section in Serbia, ministry claims
Although the Government of Hungary has recently decided to open a new tendering procedure for the modernization of the Hungarian section of the Budapest-Belgrade railway due to increased expenditures, the competent ministry in Serbia says that it will not impact the project of the reconstruction of the railway in Serbia. Hungarian media write that, due to the government's decision, the works will only start in 2020, a year later than initially planned.
Source: Ekapija

INO:

Dow dives 600 points to below 22,000, S&P 500 enters bear market - worst Christmas Eve ever, European stocks close lower in shortened session, French CAC drops 1.5%
U.S. stocks plunged on Monday in their worst day of Christmas Eve trading ever, as the S&P 500 entered a bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 653 points Monday in volatile trading, falling below 22,000. The Dow sank more than 2 percent, then recovered nearly all of the day's losses, before again falling more than 2 percent. The S&P 500 fell 2.7 percent, slipping into a bear market as it fell 20.06 percent from recent highs. Wall Street traditionally considers a drop of 20 percent or more from recent highs to be a bear market. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 2.2 percent.
Markets responded to turmoil in Washington. Multiple reports said President Donald Trump is discussing how to remove Jerome Powell from his position as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
European shares closed lower Monday following a session of heavy selling stateside last week. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.6 percent during a shortened session before the Christmas holidays, while the French CAC 40 slipped 1.5 percent. Germany's DAX and the Italian FTSE MIB were not open on Monday.
In corporate news, BMW was hit by the South Korean government with a 11.2 billion won ($9.96 million) fine on Monday, and faces a complaint over allegedly delaying recalls and concealing defects that resulted in engine fires in the country.
Source: CNBC