Romanians" purchasing power dropped in February, as the 0.2% increase of the average net wage was lower than the inflation rate, after wages dropped significantly in January, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INS).

A survey by EuroMetropola reveals that 60% of those looking to buy a home these days are middle-class individuals aged between 30 and 40, while 20% are young individuals aged between 25 and 30.

Up to 53,497 EUR is what a family with a net average income of 4,000 RON can borrow to buy a three-room apartment priced at 70,000 EUR, according to a calculation made by mortgage loan broker CreditZone.

Petre Stroe, Managing Director of "EGL România" considers that the year 2009 will be tough for energy producers as well. The budgeted earnings and expenses have been built around certain numbers that will most likely be adjusted due to a...

Leasing companies are facing an increasing amount of repossessions, as more and more customers can"t afford to make their payments anymore, because of the depreciation of Romania"s national currency caused by the international economic...

Inland waterway traffic has been affected, too, by the global recession, but traffic growth was still achieved in the first quarter of the year, specifically by 5.63% above target and by 1.32% more than in the first quarter of 2008, according to...

ATEbank Romania"s business plan for 2009 estimates its net profit will increase by 190,77%, up to 12 million lei, on the back of total revenues increasing by 16.47% and of some expenses which will only increase 10%, according to information...

Labour Minister Marian Sarbu said in Brasov on Friday that he would analyze the possibility of extending the period for paying severance until the end of the year for those whose severance support period would expire in April and May.

The spectacular recovery of the car stolen from Gigi Becali on the night of 26/27 January diverted all the attention from the amazing fact that both the theft and the recovery took place in a window of only three hours.

The Administration of the Maritime Danube Gala i (APDM) decided to cut port fees by half after traffic in the ports of Galaţi, Brăila and Tulcea shrunk 50% below the numbers estimated for 2009.

International press see the G20 Summit as the last chance to coordinate economic policies in order to prevent a global depression. Could it be too late? If not, will the sides formed around the United States (i.e. the supporters of increased...

Army Base 02574 Bucharest has acquired 2519.96 tons of military grade Diesel oil and 120 tons of gas COR 95 unleaded gas, through the Romanian Commodities Exchange (BRM), during yesterday"s trading session.

Valica Gorea, the former President of the Nuclear Agency, stated that the most suitable location for Romania"s second nuclear plant was between Fagaras and Talmaciu, on the river Olt.

The Local Council of the City of Iaşi has approved the expenses and revenue budget for 2009, with the municipal officials expecting to have 996 million lei available for the good operation of the city, as well as developing and implementing the...

According to the suggestion of Nicolae Cinteză, head of the Monitoring division of the Romanian Central Bank (NBR), seven Romanian banks have to keep their solvency ratio above 10%, as their loan portfolio has deteriorated, despite the fact that...

Prime Minister Emil Boc stated, in the beginning of yesterday"s Government meeting, that he invited the chairman of the ANRE, Petru Lificiu, to participate, in order to discuss gas prices.

The National Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC) inspected some 1,300 cosmetic producers, importers, distributors and retailers across the country in March.

The Thermo-Electric Power Plant (CET) - Iasi has a new management team as Neculai Costica is the new CEO, replacing Didi Melinte, who resigned for health reasons.

Members of the Romanian Association of Construction Entrepreneurs (ARACO) convened at Romexpo yesterday for their annual national conference and came to the conclusion that the Government urgently needed to resume discussions on crisis...

Legislation concerning gas prices forbids lowering or freezing prices in for reasons of social protection or inflation prevention, as well as any policies that use pricing and tariffs as social protection instruments or to directly or indirectly...

National Bank (BNR) Governor Mugur Isarescu met with the joint Standing Bureaus of the two Chambers of Parliament yesterday and assured them that the provisions of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reflected the needs of...

President Traian Băsescu together with the Central Bank and the Government, endorse the 20 billion Euros loan agreement that Romania has concluded with the international financial institutions.

Former Agriculture Minister Dacian Ciolos has a very good chance to become E.U. Commissioner for Agriculture.

Throughout his term as President of Romania, Traian Basescu only defended two Romanian businessmen in public: Gabriel "Puiu" Popoviciu and Arpad Paszkany, both of whom are connected to important people around the President.

The listing of Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), the largest bank in Romania, on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) has become inopportune because of difficult conditions on the capital market and could be postponed.

The National Consumer Protection Authority (ANPC) inspected some 1,300 cosmetic producers, importers, distributors and retailers across the country in March.

Brokerage firm "Broker" Cluj (stock symbol:BRK) last year logged financial expenses worth 71,6 million lei, caused by the depreciation of its stock holdings, according to reports published on the company"s website.

A recent decision of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) to maintain the natural gas price unchanged in the second quarter of 2009 outraged the public opinion and stirred much controversy among politicians as the general expectation...

The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR) could decide today to reduce the mandatory minimum reserves to allow a much-coveted revival of commercial lending, banking analysts said.

Although some 400 metallurgical union members protested last week against Arcelor Mittal"s decision to send all of the 12,000 employees of the iron works in Galati in technical unemployment by rotation, the management maintained the decision.

Two weeks after the scandal concerning the Deva branch of "Broker" Cluj, where the head of the Branch is accused of having received money from the company"s customers using forged receipts, around 400 defrauded investors are still...

The new fixed taxes proposed by Finance Minister Pogea are an open admission of the tax office"s inability to collect taxes. The Minister"s proposals imply that right now the payment of taxes is mostly optional instead of mandatory.

Greek-based OTE Group on Friday released the financial results of Romanian subsidiaries Cosmote (mobile telephony) and Romtelecom (fixed telephony, Internet and TV) for 2008.

Foreign-owned banks having subsidiaries in Romania have decided that "the current good financial standing will be preserved throughout the period of market turbulences and economic slowdown" following discussions in Vienna among the...

The Minister of the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Security, on Friday made a reassuring statement while in Topliţa, county of Harghita, that Romania won"t be going through a "social apocalypse", emphasizing that the Government...

The amount of arrears for loans taken out in lei as well as in foreign currencies climbed 225% in February 2009 YOY, reaching 4.252 billion lei, according to data published last week by the Central Bank. In February 2008, overdue payments for...

Romanian Commercial Bank, market leader according to the value of its assets, yesterday signed a financing agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development amounting to 100 million Euros.

Alumil Rom Industry - Bucharest, traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) as ALU, has generated the best 1-month return on the Romanian capital market. Thus, those who decided to sell all the ALU shares from their portfolio, on Friday, would...

The option of this financial arrangement with the international financial institutions is obviously a good one, if we look at its costs, Central Bank governor Isărescu explained yesterday, adding that Romania would have been forced to borrow...

After being at the helm of "Broker" Cluj-Napoca brokerage firm for more than 15 years, Petru Prunea was replaced by Anton Ionescu, according to a press release sent on Friday to the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

The ongoing Baneasa Investment scandal has already led to the most spectacular arrests since 1989 and seems to be interweaved up to the highest levels of the co-ruling party PSD, whose president, Mircea Geoana, seems to be the target.

The State Assets Recovery Authority (AVAS) audited Fortus SA - Iasi on 2-5 March to document the operations of the company during the period when it was controlled by former majority shareholder Metalexportimport SA - Bucharest, as well as the...