Ukraine had had its ups and downs in recent years. It has, for example, dramatically improved its ease of doing business (EOBB), and it has made some progress reducing the relative size and influence of its shadow economy (Shadow). But, the Russian invasion of 2014 (Conflict) forced it to take a few developmental steps backwards. In this paper, we consider the effect of these factors, positive and negative, on the number of mergers and acquisitions, involving Ukrainian firms. We construct a sample of 4030 acquisitions in the period 1 January 2000–31 December 2020. Our results suggest that while the number of acquisitions by domestic firms increases in efficiency (+EOBB), transparency (−Shadow) and peace (−Conflict), the number of foreign acquisitions increases in bureaucracy (−EOBB), in informality (+Shadow), and unrest (+Conflict). From an academic perspective, our findings fit with some recent work, while providing new insights too. From a policy perspective, our findings that the number of foreign acquisitions is negatively affected by Ukraine’s attempts to modernize and improve its economy and is positively affected by the ongoing conflict with Russia, makes us wonders what type of ‘false friends’ make such investments.

The authors propose an integral indicator of the economic security of a country, based on a study of economic, social, political and environmental indicators of security of 28 European Union countries. The study used panel regression methods, correlation analysis, nonlinear approximation, graphical methods. The research results make it possible to explain up to 58% of the variations in the studied indicators. The calculated values of the integral indicator of economic security correspond to empirical data. The indicator proposed by authors comprehensively characterizes the current state of the country’s economic security in the economic, social, political and environmental spheres. This indicator makes it possible to determine the level and disproportions of the country’s development and can become the basis for the formation of directions for ensuring its economic security.

Economic security of the EU energy is an urgent problem for all countries. The energy policy of the EU aims to diversify energy resources and achieve energy independence. However, after 2022, this issue has become more pressing. The paper also examines the dynamics of energy consumption by various countries and sectors of the economy and evaluates the impact of changes in the energy sector structure on the economic security of enterprises. The paper offers suggestions for improving the EU energy policy to ensure enterprise economic security. The paper also considers the dynamics of energy consumption by various sectors of the economy and assesses the impact of changes in the energy sector structure on the economic security of enterprises.

Methods. The results were obtained through the application of the following methods: typology – when forming the components of the assessment of the personnel potential of the enterprise; classifications – when separating ways and methods of assessing personnel potential; classification – when describing separate methodological evaluation algorithms, graphic – when creating a system for researching the personnel potential of the enterprise. Results. The main groups of methods and measures for evaluating the personnel potential of the enterprise are highlighted. The method of calculating economic and statistical indicators, which are fundamental in the system of personnel potential research, is revealed in detail. The evaluation toolkit is summarized and the essence of each of the methods used in it is explained in detail. The theoretical and practical foundations of personnel audit have been revealed and the algorithm of its conduct has been improved to a great extent. Novelty. In the course of the research, the authors created a single and universal system for researching the personnel potential of the enterprise, which contains the necessary stages of its assessment, tools that are basic in the process of analyzing the personnel potential, as well as a separate block with the calculation method of each tool. The essence, advantages, and disadvantages of the most common and commonly used methods of assessing personnel potential are revealed. During the study of the «personnel audit» category, the mechanism for conducting it was improved to a large extent. A general scheme of the components necessary to create the characteristics of each employee of the enterprise as a qualified specialist was developed. Practical value. Due to the lack of a unified approach to the assessment of personnel potential, an author's system of its research was created, which includes different variations of methods and tools that can be used by employees of personnel services and agencies. The authors improved the mechanism for conducting an organization's personnel audit, which will allow its use at any enterprise or when conducting an independent assessment.

Debate persists over whether classical econometric or modern machine learning (ML) approaches provide superior forecasts for volatile monthly price series. Despite extensive research, no systematic cross-domain comparison exists to guide model selection across diverse asset types. In this study, we compare traditional econometric models with classical ML baselines and hybrid approaches across financial assets, futures, commodities, and market index domains. Universal Python-based forecasting tools include month-end preprocessing, automated ARIMA order selection, Fourier terms for seasonality, circular terms, and ML frameworks for forecasting and residual corrections. Performance is assessed via anchored rolling-origin backtests with expanding windows and a fixed 12-month horizon. MAPE comparisons show that ARIMA-based models provide stable, transparent benchmarks but often fail to capture the nonlinear structure of high-volatility series. ML tools can enhance accuracy in these cases, but they are susceptible to stability and overfitting on monthly histories. The most accurate and reliable forecasts come from models that combine ARIMA-based methods with Fourier transformation and a slight enhancement using machine learning residual correction. ARIMA-based approaches achieve about 30% lower forecast errors than pure ML (18.5% vs. 26.2% average MAPE and 11.6% vs. 16.8% median MAPE), with hybrid models offering only marginal gains (0.1 pp median improvement) at significantly higher computational cost. This work demonstrates the domain-specific nature of model performance, clarifying when hybridization is effective and providing reproducible Python pipelines suited for economic security applications.

"The article proves that information security is one of the most critical aspects of the economic security of an enterprise, and it is necessary to emphasize that reducing the problem of financial security of an enterprise to the protection of trade secrets is an overly simplified solution this problem. Such a narrow understanding of economic security only considers part of the spectrum of environmental impact as the main source of danger to the enterprise’s activities. According to this view, the economic security of an enterprise is conditioned by the influence of the external environment, which in a market economy is constantly changing, never remaining stable or unchanged. The cluster systemic approach and modeling methodology outlined in the article, as well as the tools for analyzing and diagnosing the enterprise’s condition, allow for a sufficiently complete study of the complex factors threatening the economic security of an enterprise and for a meaningful and purposeful organization and implementation of the necessary indicator monitoring, which will allow for systematic research and analysis of the dynamically changing socio-economic and conduct a feasibility study of management decisions. The study develops and implements a modern concept of enterprise security in the digital economy. The development of a set of organizational tools that ensure the transformation of economic security of enterprises in the process of digital transformation is presented. The modeling of the economic security system of an enterprise in the digital economy is proposed. The study develops and implements a modern concept of enterprise security in the digital economy. The development of a set of organizational tools that ensure the transformation of economic security of enterprises in the process of digital transformation is presented. The modeling of the economic security system of an enterprise in the digital economy is proposed. The European Social Fund funded this research under the No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-23-0211 “Transformation of the economic security system of enterprises in the process of digitalization” measure."