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The Competition Council yesterday announced that it launched an investigation to help it gain better insight on the electricity market.

GPS maker "Mio Technology", last year sold 32,000 unit out of the estimated total market volume of around 60,000 units, which means the company"s market share represents over 50%, with the company selling 7,000 units in Q4 2009.

Mihai Cristian Atănăsoaei, the Prefect of Bucharest, yesterday filed a lawsuit with the Administrative Court of the Court of Bucharest, requesting the invalidation of the building permit issued by the Mayoralty of District 1 for the building...

Romania"s economy could see a modest recovery, with an expansion of around 1%, in 2010, after a 7% decline in 2009, with the main short terms growth factors being exports and industrial output, estimates Cristian Ionescu, country manager with...

Taiwanese authorities have been investigating a possible case of arms traffic which may have possible ties to Romania, after a local publication - the "Next" magazine - reported that even Mircea Băsescu, the brother of Romania"s...

The Competition Council is reviewing the economic concentration resulting from the takeover of Finnforest Baco Production SRL Comăneşti, owned by SC Metsaliito Osuuskunta of Finland by SC Holzindustrie Schweighofer SRL Sebeş.

Chinese company Hoyo Râşnov expects to begin tractor production and deliver the first finished tractors on the Romanian market in April, when tractor production is expected to begin, the company"s general manager, Denisa Vasilescu announced.

"Armax Gaz" Mediaş (symbol: ARAX), which produces equipment for the natural gas industry won four framework agreements worth 205.35 million lei (approximately 50 million Euros), following a call for tenders issued by "Transgaz".

American bank "Citigroup" Inc., in which the government owns a 27% stake, posted losses of 7.6 billion lei in the last quarter of of 2009, due to expenses incrred in paying back the funds received from the US government.

Greece may become the first member country of the European Union which could be penalized for inadequate budgetary policies, if it does not implement the austerity measures intended to cut its deficit.

A mission of drilling company "Dafora" Mediaş (symbol: DAFR) which includes Gheorghe Călburean, the chairman and general manager of the company, will be leaving tomorrow for Ukraine in order to negotiate a contract for the drilling of two...

The portfolio of "Hyposwiss Danube Tiger", one of the largest foreign investors on the Bucharest Stock Exchange after "Julius Baer", includes holdings in Romanian companies worth over 21 million Euros, (12% of its net assets,...

Emerging economies could see asset bubbles form due to massive inflows of capital, says Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund.

The exchange rate dropped yesterday to a new annual low of 4.1008 lei/euro, in particular due to the improved perception foreigners now have on Romania, after the normalization of the country"s political situation and the positive signals of...

SIF Muntenia (SIF4) will launch a mandatory takeover bid for "Transchim" Bucharest (TRAI), according to a press release sent to the Bucharest Stock Exchange. SIF4 is offering 3.19 million lei for the outstanding 54% of the company (2.5...

Comcereal Constanţa will change its name to Ameropa, which is the name of the Swiss company which is its majority shareholder, provided the shareholders agree to the change on January 24th.

The Minister of Transports announced the signing of the contract for the "Upgrading the 2nd Section of the ring road of Sibiu to freeway standard - and the rehabilitation of County Road DJ 106B".

The Clinical Center Clinic Hifu Terramed Conformal (CC-HTC) of Bucharest began its operations in November 2009.

The Euro dropped against the dollar at the end of last week, due to the negative effect of Greece"s financial situation, which is struggling with a budget deficit equal to 12.7% of its GDP, causing fears it might default on its sovereign debt.

The economic crisis caused a change in investment strategies for the majority of financial institutions, forcing them to reorganize according to the financial resources they have available.

Iaşi-based heavy machinery maker "Fortus" Iaşi, only works with around 350 out of its 1200 employees, according to statements by union leader Dumitru Mihăiliuc.

The Board of Administration of "Roman" summoned a General Extraordinary Shareholder Assembly on February 15th.

The economies of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will continue to shrink for the second year in a row in 2010, causing a drop in consumer and mortgage loans, says Neil Shearing, an analyst with Capital Economics, who...

CDS quotations - which estimate the risk of Romania defaulting on its debt - continued to drop to 239 basis points, according to data by CMS Data Vision, due to improving investor sentiment on emerging markets, which include Romania.

Our maverick minister of Finance, Sebastian Vlădescu, who is a biking aficionado, hired Dan Bittman, the lead singer of Holograf, as advisor on citizen issues, in order to handle direct contact with people.

"Siemens" AG, Germany"s largest engineering company, received an order for from the Russian Railways (RZD), worth 580 million Euros, to supply a total of 54 modular electric trains to be used for the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi.

The Romanian currency reached a new nine month high against the Euro, with the Central Bank posting a reference exchange rate of 4.1215 lei/euro.

Greece and Portugal face a high risk of an economic "slow death", rating firm Moody"s says, as most of the revenues of the two countries go towards paying off their debts.

RED Group yesterday announced that Immorent Romania, part of Erste Group AG, has financed the first Cadran retail center, which is under development in Huşi.

Sorin Oprescu, the mayor of the city, yesterday summoned a meeting with the mayors of the city"s districts, debating the investment projects proposed for 2010, taxes, as well as issues pertaining to local administration.

A number of 133,362 companies have suspended their operations in 2009, 11 times more than last year, according to the National Trade Registry Office (ONRC).

The European Commission will most likely launch infringement procedures against Greece, due to unreliability of the statistics issued by the Greek authorities on budget deficit and the country"s debts, according to European sources.

The Romanian National Bank missed its inflation target for 2009, for the third year straight, with prices rising 4.74% last year.

• The bank is also reviewing direct capital investments in Romanian companies, as well as agribusiness projects  

The Court of Iaşi has ruled in favor of SIF Moldova and decided to cancel the share capital increase at ArcelorMittal Tubular Products SA Iaşi, with the decision made in the extraordinary meeting of the board of June 15th 2009, according to a...

The exchange rate yesterday for the Euro fell to an eight month low against the leu, mostly due to favorable sentiment of foreign investors in the region.

Fertilizer industry is facing a new issue in the beginning of the year, - lack of domestically produced gas needed for fertilizer production, producers say.

The intention of the Government to restrict the "First Home" program to new homes will deepen the deadlock of the real estate market, officials of (APAIR), the Professional Association of Romanian Realtors says.

The priorities of the EIB in terms of financing for Romania remain unchanged this year.

Gutmann Bank, the Austrian financial institution specializing in private banking has just received the license from the Romanian Securities Commission, at the end of 2009, said Ilinca Von Derenthall.

By autumn 2010, the Sibiu Derivatives Exchange plans to raise around 5 million Euros from its shareholders in order to raise the share capital for an Initial Public Offer, even though it has decided to launch its own stock exchange on January 22nd.

The joint houses of the Parliament will begin debating today the drafts of the Law of the State Budget and the draft of the law on Social Security for 2010, after last week Senators and Deputies submitted thousands of amendments.

The average price of electricity traded in 2009, on the spot market (PZU), managed by OPCOM, was 145.07 lei/MWh, down 23% over the average price for 2008.