Romanian President Nicușor Dan stated that he would not propose a candidate for prime minister without a pre-agreed parliamentary majority, following the dismissal of Ilie Bolojan’s government via a vote of no confidence.
According to Digi24, Dan intends to invite parliamentary parties for consultations on Thursday or next Monday. He emphasized that he does not want to “experiment” with appointing a prime minister who would then be unable to secure a majority in parliament.
The president also did not rule out the option of a technocratic government, which could be led by an independent expert. At the same time, he said, there are “relatively few” options capable of securing a stable majority, as the parties’ positions remain rigid following the fall of Bolojan’s cabinet.
The political crisis in Romania began after parliament passed a no-confidence vote against the Bolojan government on May 5. A total of 281 deputies voted for the cabinet’s resignation, significantly exceeding the required minimum of 233 votes. The motion was supported by the Social Democratic Party and the right-wing nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians.
After the vote, Bolojan’s National Liberal Party announced its move to the opposition and its refusal to form a new coalition with the Social Democrats. This sharply narrows the scope for the rapid formation of a government, as it will be difficult to secure a stable majority without the PSD or a portion of its votes.
Among the scenarios being discussed are Bolojan’s return to the post of prime minister, the formation of a technocratic cabinet, a new agreement between pro-European parties, or a more complex configuration involving the PSD. UDMR leader Hunor Kelemen stated that the option of a technocratic prime minister could be acceptable if the ministers remain political appointees of the parties that secure the majority.
For Romania, a prolonged crisis carries economic risks. The country needs to continue fiscal consolidation and meet the conditions for receiving EU funds, whereas a caretaker government has limited powers. Bolojan previously warned that the absence of a full-fledged cabinet could complicate access to European funding.
Romania remains one of the key countries on the eastern flank of the EU and NATO, as well as an important logistical partner for Ukraine on the Danube and the Black Sea.
Indonesia intends to transform Bali from a primarily tourist destination into an international financial hub capable of competing for capital with Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, and London.
The Kura Kura Bali SEZ is set to become the project’s key hub. Indonesian authorities view it as a future financial cluster where investment firms, family offices, funds, and technology and service companies focused on international capital can be based.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, stated that the development of a financial center in Bali demonstrates the country’s transition to an economy with higher value-added. According to him, global competition today is not only in the sphere of raw material exports but also for the role of a regional center for finance, innovation, and investment.
The project is linked to Indonesia’s broader goal of reducing the economy’s dependence on commodity cycles, tourism, and traditional industries. The authorities want Bali to become not only a resort but also a hub for capital management, international business, technology projects, and investment structures.
For the real estate market, this could become a new driver of demand. If the project is implemented, interest in office, residential, and hotel real estate in Bali could grow, as well as in mixed-use properties targeting expats, entrepreneurs, financial professionals, and investors. This could be particularly noticeable in areas connected to Kura Kura Bali and the infrastructure of the future business cluster.
However, experts point out that Bali’s path to becoming a full-fledged financial center will be challenging. The island will have to compete with established hubs that already have developed financial regulation, a judicial system, banking infrastructure, international talent, and the trust of institutional investors. The South China Morning Post notes that the project faces systemic and infrastructure constraints, despite its ambitious agenda.
In the “Medium- and Long-Term Market” section of the UEB, trading continued for May and June 2026 contracts. In total, eight companies placed offers to buy or sell natural gas: VK Ukrnaftoburinnya, GTS Operator of Ukraine, Ukrtransinvest, and others. During the week, 2,600,000 cubic meters of natural gas were sold in the section. Positions by the Ukrainian GTS Operator were successful. Additionally, heat-generating enterprises, namely Cherkasyteplokomunenergo and the “City Heating Networks” Concern, purchased natural gas on the exchange for the first time to generate electricity. Selling prices ranged from 22,050 to 22,700 UAH/thousand cubic meters excluding VAT, with a downward trend.
On the UEB short-term natural gas market, participants placed bids on the intraday market and the “day-ahead” market. A total of 39 deals were concluded, with a total volume of 2,227 thousand cubic meters.
Last week, European gas prices were affected by conflicting news from the Middle East, while in some markets, M+1 gas contracts experienced significant volatility—reaching 3-week highs and 2-week lows over several consecutive days. Geopolitical turmoil, uncertainty over winter supplies, and growing structural demand mean that conditions could change rapidly.
On Thursday, gas prices fell significantly for most 2026 contracts following news of a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the conflict and ensure the free flow of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz: Following the successful passage of the Liberian-flagged LNG carrier Mubaraz through the strait, it appears that other loaded LNG carriers have also passed through.
On Friday morning, DA gas prices continued this trend. This decline reflects sentiment regarding comments from various news outlets confirming Iran’s readiness to negotiate regarding its nuclear program—the main source of disagreement between the parties—which increases the likelihood of resolving the conflict. This breaking news was partially offset by reduced flows from Oseberg in Norway two days before the scheduled start of a maintenance period, which strengthened the gas system on May 9.
Short-term prices demonstrated their ability to react quickly to weather conditions and system imbalances. Even outside of peak winter periods, volatility remains a defining feature of the market. A colder May forecast is driving additional demand, while wind power generation in Europe is running below average. The decline in renewable energy production is tightening the power system and forcing greater reliance on gas-fired power plants.
Hedge funds have increased their net long positions in the European gas market, according to the latest Commitments of Traders report. With little change in short positions, the funds added another 26 TWh of long positions, bringing the total net long position to 288 TWh.
EU gas storage is at 34% capacity, but gas is being injected at a rapid pace—approximately 10% per month. This has calmed the market in the short term and helped shore up prices, despite broader risks.
Natural gas imports from Europe stood at 0.11 (+0.3) million cubic meters per day. Imports came from Poland and Hungary. There were no exports from the customs warehouse. Ukraine’s storage facilities held 10.33 (+1.48%) billion cubic meters of natural gas. There were no withdrawals from UGS facilities; instead, injections were observed—about 31 million cubic meters per day.
According to Sebsky Economist, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina have agreed to liberalize international freight transport: starting January 1, 2027, bilateral and transit road transport between the countries will be carried out without permits.
The agreement was reached during the first meeting of the Joint Commission on International Road Transport in Sarajevo, the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine reported.
Prior to the launch of full “transport visa-free travel,” the parties agreed to increase the quota of permits for freight transport until the end of 2026. This should provide carriers with more opportunities already during the transition period and reduce the risk of permit shortages for businesses.
For Ukrainian and Bosnian carriers, the abolition of permits means a reduction in administrative burdens, more predictable route planning, and simplified transit.
For the Western Balkans region, this agreement also has practical significance. Bosnia and Herzegovina becomes yet another country through which Ukraine will be able to develop more flexible transport links with Balkan markets, the Adriatic, and neighboring countries in the region. This could be important for the export of Ukrainian agricultural products, industrial goods, construction materials, and processed goods.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will become the 36th country with which Ukraine has liberalized freight transport conditions. This regime has already become one of the tools for integrating Ukrainian logistics into the European transport space, as it allows carriers to operate without constant dependence on bilateral quotas and permitting procedures.
For the “Serbian Economist,” the key takeaway is that Ukraine continues to gradually integrate into the transport network of Southeast Europe. Following the conclusion of agreements with the EU and a number of European countries, the extension of “transport visa-free travel” to Bosnia and Herzegovina strengthens Ukraine’s logistical ties with the Balkans and creates new opportunities for trade in a region where routes, border procedures, and market access are becoming no less important than tariffs themselves.
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings expects consolidation in the global life insurance sector to continue, although the pace and structure of transactions will vary by region, according to the Reinsurance News website
Fitch Ratings explains that the flow of deals is driven by insurers’ ongoing efforts to strengthen balance sheets, improve operational efficiency, and allocate capital to acquisitions that can enhance long-term value.
“Although geopolitical tensions, fluctuations in economic conditions, financing constraints, and heightened regulatory oversight in certain markets may affect pricing and transaction timelines, Fitch Ratings does not expect these factors to significantly disrupt the broad trend toward consolidation,” the report notes.
It is also noted that, according to Fitch, consolidation structures vary significantly across different jurisdictions. In Germany, activity is primarily focused on the acquisition of closed or legacy portfolios, with a small number of specialized run-off platforms actively operating, and approximately €25 billion in portfolios expected to become available for transfer in 2026.
In the UK, the market is increasingly shifting toward pension risk transfer (PRT), where defined-benefit pension plan liabilities and related assets are transferred to insurers. Fitch expects the volume of PRTs in the UK to grow to £45–50 billion in 2026, up from £38 billion in 2025, driven by sustained demand from pension schemes seeking to reduce risks, and insurers’ interest in scaling up these operations.
A similar picture is observed in the Netherlands, where approximately €10 billion in pension liabilities is expected to be transferred in 2026. In contrast, in markets such as France and several other European jurisdictions, PRT activity is limited due to structural differences in pension systems.
In the U.S., consolidation is characterized by a combination of reinsurance with intensive asset utilization and active mergers and acquisitions, including block transfers and full-scale company sales, whereas in the Asia-Pacific region, consolidation tends to be more selective, and Japan lacks a national PRT system.
Fitch notes that its assessment of insurers involved in consolidation takes into account how they manage growth while controlling the impact of investment, counterparty, regulatory, management, and operational risks.
“Nova Poshta,” Ukraine’s leading express delivery service and a member of the NOVA Group, announced the opening of two new warehouses at its branches in Vinnytsia and Poltava, which will enable the company to expand its service across Ukraine and speed up delivery by four times.
According to the company’s press release on Tuesday, the investment in launching the mini-hubs, which cover 20 and 30 square meters, exceeded 240,000 UAH.
It is noted that the warehouses began operations at the end of April, with Well Books becoming the first client.
“We are consistently expanding our fulfillment operations in the regions so that businesses can receive a full range of turnkey logistics services: from receiving goods to picking and packing them and shipping them to the final recipient,” the press release quotes Oleksiy Grishin, director of Nova Poshta’s contract logistics department.
According to him, the company’s fulfillment volume grew by more than 50% in 2025. In 2026, Nova Poshta plans to triple these volumes.
Grishin clarified that the company’s goal is to reach over 50 million orders per year by 2030 and build one of the most powerful fulfillment networks in Ukraine.
Nova Poshta noted that it currently operates a total of nine fulfillment centers: three in Kyiv, one each in Lviv, Odesa, and Dnipro, and facilities based at branches in Ivano-Frankivsk, Vinnytsia, and Poltava.
Over the course of the year, the company plans to open 11 more small fulfillment hubs in regional centers based at cargo branches, specifically in Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Uzhhorod, Rivne, Lutsk, Zaporizhzhia, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Kropyvnytskyi, and Chernivtsi.
As reported, in the first quarter of 2026, Nova Poshta increased its revenue by 26.9% compared to the same period in 2025—to UAH 14.98 billion—and its net profit by 4.4 times, to UAH 1.28 billion.
In 2025, the company increased revenue by 21.6%—to UAH 54.2 billion—and net profit by 4.4%, to UAH 2.6 billion.
