Transportation Minister Radu Berceanu yesterday announced that he had completed negotiations with Bechtel and that the U.S.-based contractor would receive 440 million EUR in 2009 to continue construction works on Transylvania Highway.

The number of housing units finished in Bucharest last year is close to 3,000 according to Alexandru Petrescu, the Managing Director of the real estate agency Esop.

Shareholders in the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) have decided by electronic vote to reduce the trading fees for both BSE and RASDAQ by 10%. BSE CEO Anca Dumitru stated: "BSE"s initiative to set a number of correlated criteria and...

The Romanian construction industry concluded last year with some 400,000 employees. However, the financial crisis and the subsequent drop in construction projects have caused a wave of job cuts in most construction companies. Laurentiu Plosceanu,...

The Bucharest City Hall will have to pay some 30 million EUR in penalties to Astaldi (Italy) & FCC (Spain), the contractor for the Basarab Bridge construction project, according to Deputy Mayor of Bucharest Mircea Raicu.

Representatives of the central banks of Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland organized simultaneous press conferences yesterday on the topic of foreign exchange markets in Central and Eastern Europe reacting upon the depreciation of...

Construction works on Romanian highways are advancing at snail speed, judging by the information recently made available by the Romanian National Highway and National Road Company (CNADNR).

A possible loan from the IMF would be used to protect the foreign currency reserves, not to fund the economy, NBR governor Mugur Isărescu, announced yesterday.

The Swedish Government is not prepared to consider issuing loan guarantees to local carmaker Saab, a unit of the U.S.-based General Motors Corp. unless the company finds a private investor to support their business plan. Swedish Industry Minister...

New member states of the European Union should focus on cutting public spending, as they can"t afford fiscal stimulus packages, Erika Jorgensen, an economist with the World Bank, said, while presenting a recent report on the last ten...

National Liberal Party (PNL) President Calin Popescu Tariceanu yesterday announced at the end of the Central Political Bureau meeting that the party would not file any contestation with the Constitutional Court against the State Budget Law...

The Ministry of Economy is planning to privatize or concede the national network for the transportation of oil by-products (gasoline, diesel or light liquid fuel) if any company appears interested in taking over 1,850 kilometres of pipes, which...

Alpha Bank România is launching a campaign targeted at homeowner associations, by offering a package which includes a current account with deposit-like interest rate and other ancillary facilities, according to a press release issued by the bank.

Staer International launched its second store in Braşov in the Cometex commercial complex.

14 mayoralties, the Timi County Council şi and the Mayoralty of Timişoara have signed an agreement to create the Association for Intercommunity Development - Timişoara Growth Pole, by which the Authorities are looking to attract European funding.

Bank Leumi Romania is launching the ,,Zefir" deposit, which offers a fixed yearly interest rate of 15% for lei and 6% for Euros for two-month deposits, according to a press release by the bank.

Gabriela Anghelache, chairman of the Romanian equity market regulator, was kind enough to provide us with a few answers on the status of the Rasdaq market and on the issues some listed companies are facing.

One of the most significant achievements of the Unirea Medical Centre Co. (CMU) was the opening of the Regina Maria Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital at the end of 2008.

The Government has decided to reduce the car pollution tax by one third.

Future candidates to the EuroZone could face more thorough supervision than their forerunners, according to Valentin Lazea, Chief Economist of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), who addressed a seminar on the planned adoption of the euro.

Tension within the National Liberal Party (PNL) is mounting with each day that brings the party closer to the internal presidential elections, scheduled for the second half of March.

The government sector can borrow this year more than it needs to relieve the pressure generated by the funding gap at the non-governmental sector level, seeing as he expects capital inflows to be significantly lower than outflows, Mugur Isărescu,...

Trade unions representing social workers, including those specialized in children protection, yesterday announced that they were preparing to stage major protests to express their profound grief with the existing salary scheme.

Afraid of not being able to find solvent tenants as fast as possible, office building owners have significantly reduced their rents and have become much more flexible about lease terms.

EU monetary affairs commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, yesterday expressed his concern on the situation of banks in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, pointing to Romania as well as Ukraine, Croatia and Serbia.

Bank shares plunged almost 15% yesterday, dropping for the second day in a row, following the latest report by rating agency "Moody"s", who announced it might cut ratings for Eastern European subsidiaries of the big Western banking...

The Bucharest Court of Appeal rejected yesterday the appeal lodged by the General General Council of the City of Bucharest (CGMB) on the April 2008 ruling, by which the Court of Bucharest repealed the previous ruling which declared the Basarab...

Approximately 90% of the bankruptcies among small- and medium-sized enterprises were caused by State-ordered distraints, according to Constantin Nita, Minister for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Trade and Business, who told the information...

After a troubled year 2008, the BREI - the real estate index calculated by Colliers International for Bucharest residential property - has shyly stepped into the year 2009.

Prime Minister Emil Boc has signed the appointment of Ioan Nani, the former CEO of Antibiotice - Iasi, as Vice President of the State Assets Recovery Authority (AVAS).

The cheap oil era is undoubtedly coming to an end as easily accessible and affordable resources are depleting, according to Erste Group analysts. In their opinion, the high dependency on State-controlled oil groups and the currently low quota of...

Businessman Adrian Secelean, owner of Intercom Sfântu-Gheorghe, said in a statement issued for "Bursa", that he has not yet reached a decision on the future of "Toptherm" Ghimbav, which was acquired at the end of November 2008,...

Ordinance 65 disappeared from the category "Penalty Ordinances" of the CNVM website and was filed as "NEWS."

Prime Minister Emil Boc told an economic debate organized by the Romanian Academic Society (SAR) yesterday that the Government was making efforts to keep the budget deficit around 2% amid the ongoing domestic and foreign constraints.

The lending agreements with the European Commission (CE) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are vital for improving our country"s image with foreign investors and foreign lenders, claims financial consultant Bogdan Baltazar.

Romanian foreign affairs minister, Cristian Diaconescu, pleaded yesterday in Paris for the French to maintain their investments in Romania, where Romanian carmaker Dacia is part of the Renault group, says press agency Newsin, quoting AFP.

General councilmen of the city of Bucharest will reevaluate, in a meeting to be held on Thursday, several decision drafts proposing massive expropriations for accomplishing some big infrastructure projects, that former mayor Adriean Videanu was...

The emergency ordinance drafted by the new team leading the Ministry of Development aiming to improve the national thermal remodeling program will only be up for public debate until February 23rd.

Romania"s overall natural gas consumption in February has been estimated at 17.39 million MWh equivalent by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE). Of this amount, 7.9 million MWh is the demand on the captive market, while 8 million...

Rovinari Energy (Complexul Energetic Rovinari) has launched a new set of auctions to sell energy on the Centralized Market for Bilateral Contracts (PCCB) managed by OPCOM, following the cancellation of the auctions scheduled for Friday because of...

PSD National Council Chairman Adrian Nastase claims that President Traian Basescu, too, is involved in the controversial Sterling Affair.

To start with, let us first clarify the confusion that CNVM was so careful to create around the punitive nature of their decision.

Romania currently has five golf courses which aim to meet the requirements of savvy golfers: one in the Diplomat"s Club in Bucharest (6 cups), one in the county of Alba (9 holes, 75 hectares), one in Breaza and one in Recaş (34 hectares),...

The network of people involved in this deposits affair spans two continents and five countries, but the players are the same, a few exceptions aside