Forecast of changes in discount rate of National bank of Ukraine, %
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
Consumer priorities of Ukrainians have changed, since the beginning of the full-scale war, 47% of respondents have reduced spending on the main categories of consumption, according to the press service of Gradus.
At the same time, 85% noted that they try to maintain a mental balance, allowing themselves occasions for joy and pleasure. This trend is most pronounced in the 25-34 age group, while people 45-55 and 55+ years old are more inclined to save money.
Regarding methods of reducing spending, 82% avoid unnecessary things but do not deny themselves things that bring pleasure, 77% try to buy fewer things but better quality, 76% invest in health, 59% are willing to spend on things that improve emotional well-being and 52% direct funds to development and experience (study, travel).
Ukrainians consider health and medical services to be the most important item of expenditure that should not be saved on (70%).
As for expectations from fashion & beauty-brands – Ukrainians now put quality and durability of things in the first place (39%), and prestige – in the last place (11%).
As for luxury goods, the opinions of respondents are divided. Restraint in buying such things was reported by 32% of respondents. The answer options “it is an excess, which is out of time now” and “are not interested in luxury goods at all” were chosen by 22% and 18% respectively. At the same time, 19% of respondents called luxury goods “a component of normal life, which allows you not to lose yourself”.
In general, women are less inclined to reduce spending on most categories. The reluctance to save money on things that are important to themselves was reported by 61% of women and 47% of men, while goods that improve emotional well-being continue to be purchased by 70% of women and 50% of men.
The research “Consumer pragmatism: how the war has changed our consumption” was conducted by research company Gradus in partnership with Vogue Ukraine specially for the Forces Of Fashion 2025 conference, by self-completion of the questionnaire in the Gradus mobile application. Target audience: men and women aged 18-60 with an above average income, living in Ukrainian cities with a population of more than 50 thousand people, excluding temporarily occupied territories and zones of active hostilities. The field stage lasted from August 25-27, 2025. Sample size: 600 respondents.
IC “BBS Insurance” (former IC ‘Brokbusiness’, Kiev) has collected UAH 660,03 m of gross premiums in January-September 2025, that is by 64,70% more than in the same period of 2024, RA “Expert Rating” informed in the information on confirmation of IC financial strength rating at the level “uaAA” according to the national scale.
According to RA data, the share of insurance premiums owned by reinsurers has grown by 44,6%, and their share in the structure of gross premiums of the company has decreased by 0,23 p.p. and has amounted to 1,63%.
In the first nine months of 2025, the company made 77.75% more insurance payments and indemnities than in the first nine months of 2024, and the level of payments increased by 2.62 p.p. to 35.67%. – up to 35,67%.
During the reporting period shareholders’ equity of IC “BBS Insurance” has grown by 21,21% – up to UAH 196,84 mln, and its gross liabilities have increased by 61,05% and have amounted to UAH 388,29 mln. As a result of high rates of liabilities growth there has been a decrease in the level of shareholders’ equity coverage of insurer liabilities in the analyzed period: by 16,67 p.p. to 50,69%. – to 50,69%.
The volume of cash and cash equivalents has grown by 58,62% and has amounted to UAH 382,28 mln, and the ratio between cash and liabilities of the insurer has decreased by 1,51 p.p. to 98,45%. – to 98,45%. Thus, as of the beginning of Q4 2025, highly liquid assets have covered company liabilities by 98,45%.
RA also notes that in the analyzed period the activity of the company was profitable, so compared to the same period of 2024 the operating profit grew by 38,51% and amounted to UAH 49,05 mln, and net profit increased by 27,13% to UAH 47,63 mln.
IC “BBS Insurance” has been working in the Ukrainian insurance market for more than 30 years and is represented in all regions of the country. It has a license for insurance activity in 18 classes.
Copper prices have again updated the historical maximum on the London Metal Exchange (LME) amid fears of shortages of the metal.
Quotes of futures for copper on the LME on Friday growing by 1.8% to $ 11.65 thousand per ton. Earlier during trading prices rose to $ 11.662 thousand per ton, which is a new record.
Stocks of metal in warehouses monitored by the LME fell to their lowest since July due to strong demand for copper in the U.S. on fears of imposition of duties on imports of non-ferrous metals in 2026. Rising U.S. demand could lead to copper averaging $13,000 a ton in the second quarter of next year, Citi analysts believe.
“We are confident in copper’s upside potential through 2026 due to a range of bullish factors, including increasingly positive fundamentals and macroeconomic indicators,” Citi said in a statement.
Since the beginning of the year, copper in London has risen by more than 30%.
Earlier, information and analytical center Experts Club released a video dedicated to global copper production and leading producing countries – https://youtube.com/shorts/_h8iU50z8C0?si=a-XkgGEfeUxseQNa.
Dynamics of changes in discount rate of NBU – from 2014 to 2025
Source: Open4Business.com.ua
19 Ukrainian sites have been added to UNESCO’s International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection, bringing the total number of Ukrainian sites on the list to 46, according to Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tatyana Berezhnaya.
“The UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict has just supported Ukraine’s initiative and adopted a corresponding decision. This is an important international victory and recognition of how responsibly Ukraine complies with international humanitarian law even during a full-scale war,” Berezhna wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
According to her, the total number of Ukrainian sites on the list has increased to 46. “This makes Ukraine one of the countries with the largest list of cultural heritage sites under the highest international legal protection in the field of humanitarian law,” the minister emphasized.
Berezhna noted that enhanced protection is the highest level of international legal protection provided for by the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention. Sites that receive this status must meet three key requirements: be of exceptional importance to humanity; be protected at the national level; and not be used for military purposes.
“In the context of full-scale Russian aggression, Ukraine has become the first country in the world to apply the mechanism of enhanced protection on a large scale during wartime, setting a new precedent in international practice,” the Minister of Culture emphasized.
According to her, it was also on Ukraine’s initiative that a discussion began last year on international legal responsibility for violating the immunity of objects under enhanced protection. The results of the study, conducted by a group of international experts, were presented during the 20th Session of the Second Protocol Committee.
The following sites were added to the Enhanced Protection List: Akkerman Fortress, Belgorod-Dnestrovsky, Odessa Region; Uspensky Cathedral, Kharkiv; Borisoglebsky Cathedral, Chernihiv; Kharkiv Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater named after Taras Shevchenko, Kharkiv; Church Building (St. Paul’s Church), Odessa; L.E. Kenig’s Estate: Palace (Main House), Trostyanets, Sumy Region; Molchansky Monastery, Putivl, Sumy Region; Pokrovskaya Church, Kharkiv; Primorsky Staircase, Odessa; Voskresenskaya Church, Sumy; Kirillovskaya Church, Kiev; Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, Sumy; Troitsky Cathedral, Sumy; The site of the chronicle city of Iskorosten, Korosten village, Zhytomyr region; The archaeological complex “Ostrov Baida,” Zaporizhia; Odessa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, Odessa; Odessa National Art Museum, Odessa; Odessa National Scientific Library, Odessa; Museum of Carpathian Art, Ivano-Frankivsk.
“Violating the ‘immunity’ of such sites is a serious international crime and entails double responsibility – both for the state and for individuals,” Berezhnaya noted.
Berezhna expressed her gratitude to UNESCO for its support of Ukraine, to Deputy Minister of Culture Anastasia Bondar, as well as to Lina Doroshenko and the entire team for their work. “I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine / MFA of Ukraine for their coordinated work,” she added.
