The annual inflation rate dropped to 6.45% in April, down from 6,71% in March, in line with economists" and the Central Bank"s estimates, as a result of the cut in prices for services and a stagnation of foodstuffs prices, according to...

The Export - Import Bank of Romania EximBank S.A. and Emporiki Bank yesterday signed an agreement to facilitate the access of small- and medium-sized enterprises to financing, according to a press release.

Lufthansa has reported a slight decrease in the number of passengers transported in Q1 to a little over 15 million, down by 6% from the corresponding period of 2008.

Europe has fallen into a deep recession and there is a risk that it may worsen because of collapsing confidence in the region and the global demand decline, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates.

On Wednesday, the European Commission will launch the excessive deficit procedure against Romania, Malta, Poland and Lithuania for exceeding the budget deficit limit of 3% of the GDP, set by the Maastricht agreement, which is a requirement for...

The law endorsing the Government"s emergency ordinance on the budget rectification is constitutional, the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) ruled yesterday.

The Romanian pharmaceutical market grew 22.5% y/y in the first quarter of 2009, reaching 1,990.2 million RON or approximately 466.5 million EUR according to the market researcher Cegedim.

The accounts of the Authority for State Assets Recovery are being periodically emptied by the disbursements made to the victims of the National Investment Fund (FNI), which AVAS being barely able to get the money needed for paying the wages of...

The no-confidence motion headlined "The Great PDL-PSD Hoax," signed by 124 MPs of the PNL and UDMR against the "abusive" measures taken by the ruling coalition - deconcentrated services and the lump sum tax - was presented...

The Finance Ministry yesterday sold three-month discount bonds in the amount of 1.749 billion RON, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) announced.

The completion of the restoration and modernization works of the spa resort, which was built over a hundred years ago, caused the turnover of the company "Staţiunea Ocna" SA, (the operator of the resort), to grow to EUR 1.6 million, in 2008.

Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) has unveiled a new 12-month RON-denominated deposit with a fixed interest rate of 14% p.a. available as of 11 May.

The assembled Chamber of Deputies rejected yesterday, after a ballot with 137 votes in favor, 51 against and 9 abstentions, the request of the Commission for Investigating Abuse, Corruption and Petitions on the creation of a commission for...

Owners of office space in Bucharest are beginning to experience some cold sweat as the occupancy rate plunged a worrisome 31% in Q1 compared to both Q4 and Q1 of 2008.

Adrian Vasilescu, advisor to the Governor of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), explained late last week that the loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (i.e. 12.95 billion EUR) would not lead to lending relaxation in Romania.

The Government convened for an extraordinary meeting yesterday, adopted the decentralization strategy for Health Care and approved the regulations for the decentralization of athletic activities, as well as a draft law regulating the...

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expressed its willingness to get involved in funding software or industrial parks and digital cities, and also agreed to extend its funding of the projects of the Romanian National Post...

The Minister of Development, Democrat-Liberal Vasile Blaga, announced that Prime Minister Boc issued an ultimatum to a Social-Democrat Minister during Monday"s government meeting, because the Minister in question criticized the...

Fertilizer producer Azomureş (AZO) made a net profit of 2 million lei in Q1 2009, meaning a 27 times drop YOY, according to quarterly earnings published on Friday, as published by NewsIn.

President Traian Băsescu, said to members of the Liberal-Democratic Party who attended the inauguration of the candidates for the European Parliament, that they should not use the crisis as an excuse for postponing the reform of the state.

"Transilvania" Financial investment company (SIF3) posted a net profit of only 4.01 million lei, for Q1 2009, down 67% YOY, from 12.15 million lei, according to the financial statements published on Friday.

The Romanian Association of Construction Entrepreneurs (ARACO) has acknowledged the decision of the ruling coalition leaders to give a team of PSD and PD-L ministers until 18 May to make proposals to amend the Public Procurement Law on the matter...

Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture had talks Wednesday with representatives of fruit and hog breeders in an attempt to find solutions for funding the two sectors, given the current crisis circumstances.

"People started having problems with their loans when the leu depreciated and the inflation rate remained high, while at the same time their income started to decrease and they stopped receiving their bonuses," said Laszlo Diosi,...

The National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) stated in their Annual Activity Report 2008 that 13 energy companies had contested various decisions and orders issued by the president of ANRE in the Bucharest Court of Appeal last year.

Mugur Isărescu, the governor of the Romanian National Bank, yesterday warned that stagflation correlated with a high foreign deficit could be one of the worst combinations for Romania.

Czech energy company CEZ, which intends to develop a wind farm in Dobrudja, is looking to secure funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), with talks having reached an advanced stage, according to Jean Christophe Laloux, Head of the South...

The current government, just like all the others in the last 20 years, is incapable of understanding that a country can not develop, even under favorable foreign conditions, without economic freedom.

The coming share capital increases by banks, are not a sign of weakness and are not the consequence of the stress tests that lenders have undergone, Mugur Isărescu, the Governor of the National Bank of Romania said.

Analysts of the Dutch financial group ING have identified serious errors in the International Monetary Fund data regarding the short-term external debt of some Eastern European countries including the Czech Republic and Poland.

The National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) stated in their Annual Activity Report 2008 that 13 energy companies had contested various decisions and orders issued by the president of ANRE in the Bucharest Court of Appeal last year.

It"s time for banks to reassess their stance on SMEs and to cut their interest rates, now that the agreement with the IMF has been signed, the Minister of SMEs, Constantin Niţă, said yesterday, at the opening of the Fair for Small and Medium...

The Private Pension System Supervisory Committee (CSSPP) has approved the norms regarding the procedure for supervising the enforcement of international sanctions on the private pension system as part of a broader effort to align the Romanian...

A bond issue released by the Municipality of Alba Iulia (ticker symbol ALB25B) for the overall amount of 8.5 million RON is tradable on the regulated market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE) as of today.

Prime Minister Emil Boc yesterday told Parliament that the money borrowed from the European Union would be used to finance the budget deficit and not for paying pensions and salaries.

Monica Iavorschi: " exports to over 45 countries" Household appliance maker "Arctic" had a turnover of EUR 213 million last year, with sales rising to 1.5 million units.

Industrial output in nominal terms (for the domestic and foreign markets) dropped 16.2% YOY, in Q1 2009, according to a press release by the Romanian National Statistics Institute.

The draft law on the endorsement of Government Ordinance 41/2006 transferring 200 hectares from the Potato Institute to the Brasov County Council for the construction of the Brasov-Ghimbav International Airport was up for voting in the Chamber of...

The competition intended to lead to the creation of Romania"s country brand comprises 13 companies or consortia of companies from Britain, the U.S., Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Portugal and Romania.

Following the decision to permanently close the coke plant "Uzina Cocso-Chimica" within the Galati Steel Works, ArcelorMittal yesterday met with trade unions and presented the voluntary layoff scheme prepared exclusively for the...

Most city-dwelling Romanians (77%) feel that the most important thing when shopping is to be well treatment by store employees, according to a study by GfK.