As suggested by ISET’s most recent Consumer Confidence report, Georgian consumers are in no mood for shopping. And, yet, Tbilisi is abuzz with excitement about the recent lavish opening of East Point – a giant new shopping and entertainment center, the largest of its kind in the country. Thus, while consumer confidence is hitting new lows, the supply of retail space and world-class shopping malls continues to hit its highs.

ISET Policy Institute is seeking to hire a Professor/Head of Center for Energy and Environmental Economics Research. ISET-PI offers an intellectually stimulating, collaborative working environment, excellent possibility for professional advancement, competitive salary, and benefits.

The International School of Economics at TSU (ISET) invites applications for the 2015/16 program “Finance for Professionals”, aiming at executives, managers, and administrative personnel who want to upgrade their competency in finance. Managed by Paul Henri Forestier (former director for Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)), the program will be delivered from November 2015 to June 2016.

The average price of cooking one Imeretian Khachapuri currently stands at 3.46 GEL, which is 0.9% lower month-on-month, and 3.2% higher year-to-year. While the Index is primarily affected by the price of Imeretian cheese (the most expensive Khachapuri ingredient), during much of 2015 some moderating influence on the Index has been exerted by flour.

Silk production, or sericulture, has deep Georgian roots, going all the way back to King Vakhtang Gorgasali, who not only founded Tbilisi in the 5th century A.D. but also introduced Georgia to silk (and silkworms), which he brought from India.