English Section

14 decembrie 2020

Predictions about the pandemics in Romania: does freedom of speech depend on responsibility or not?

Over the last three weeks, among many other statements and analyses, of all kind news are being snuck in, with claims that we may have a third wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the first quarter of 2021, or that the pandemic will last until the summer or all of the year 2021. The "news" come from certain doctors, who are otherwise respectable in their profession, but who, without any solid arguments, express their own opinions on the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, probably based on a descriptive analysis of historical data. Some of them have the cautiousness of quoting the World Health Organization as the source which broadcast this information, thus resorting to an appeal to authority, even though the WHO has a doubtful credibility. Others rely on historical data or their own intuitions, since they provide no information on how what their predictions on the evolution of the pandemic that we are being faced with.

Votes in times of Covid

The stake of the parliamentary elections of 2020 should have been the reformation of the government, of the administration and public sector. The crisis caused by the Covid pandemic has shown the weaknesses of this ancient political organization. But the pandemic has changed the electoral behavior and so voter turnover, has become the main hurdle, like in a referendum. And voter absenteeism has once again become the main topic of debate! Or, amid this absenteeism, which is equally chronic and circumstantial, reform seems to be a failed objective. The Romanian political party system, stuck in the 90s, seems to still withstand pressures. What should have been a historic reversal for the PSD, were it not for the pandemic, has turned into a head-to-head race between the system parties for the top spot. And USR-Plus, lacking territorial structures on a national level, couldn't break up that balance.

The new law of giving in payment turns the courts towards the consumers

The new version of the law of giving in payment, passed by president Klaus Iohannis in mid-May, seems to have convinced the courts, which have already begun ruling in favor of debtors.

NO ESCAPE FROM THE SEISMIC WAVE OF DEBTIIF: The pandemic has caused the global debt to rise to 363% of the global GDP

In the first nine months of this year, the global debt increased by more than $ 15 trillion compared to the end of last year, to about $ 273 trillion, while the global economy contracted by more than $ 5 trillion, reaching $ 75 trillion, according to the latest Global Debt Monitor report from the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

The New York Stock Exchange believes in Trump

US stock markets believe in the victory of the current US president in the November 3 election, as their November evolution shows. US stock markets rose with the tech sector making significant gains after Republican Donald Trump announced himself the winner in the presidential election before all votes were counted. Moreover, Trump, who fought against Democrat Joe Biden, said again that "voting fraud is being attempted."

1 Euro5.1417

1 Fr. elveţian5.5821

BNR

1 Liră sterlină5.9370

BNR

1 Dolar SUA4.3965

BNR

1 Gram Aur653.5585

BET28263.9

BET FI98133.49

BET NG2102.67

INTERVIEW WITH THE OMBUDSMANRenate Weber: "I've never made decisions on my own"

Reporter: What can you tell us about the dissatisfaction expressed by some of the employees of the institution you run? What is the situation regarding the appointment of coordinating advisers?

There is no vaccine for bringing back to life European zombie companies, nor is there going to be one

"The pandemic is threatening the existence of many companies in the Eurozone", an analysis in the latest financial stability report by the ECB states.

ANNIVERSARY EDITION / AT 25The BSE steps into a new stage of development

The Bucharest Stock Exchange is celebrating today 25 years since the first trades conducted through its platform, after a period of almost 50 years where no stock exchanges existed in Romania, and the landscape has fundamentally changed.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM AUSTRALIAThe economics lesson "taught" in the Southern hemisphere, during the pandemic

In the battle with Covid-19 virus, various policies have been adopted around the world, of which I would mention the two extreme positions. Thus, some states followed the Darwinian theory of "Survival Of The Fittest". Others considered...

The road to the economic recovery will be long and difficult

• The quarterly dynamic of the GDP was +5.6% in the third quarter, about 50% of the EU growth

The credibility of the ECB has turned into an illusion, just like the prospect of a recovery through money printing

Christine Lagarde, the president of the ECB, talked a lot, but essentially said nothing, in the virtual conference organized by the ECB, which reaplced the Annual Sintra Forum.

Renate Weber on the turf of the PSD - The ombudsman

Renate Weber is to the Ombudsman what Valer Dorneanu is to the Constitutional Court: a political representative, heavily anchored in the past, who, instead of reforming the institution they are in charge of, has turned it into a tool they use as...

The statue of Christopher Columbus in Minnesota, a symbol of the new world, was torn down on June 10th by a group of protesters led by the American Indian Movement, amid the anger over the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by a policeman.Protesters threw a rope against the bronze statue and have brought it down from its stone socket, saying they viewed Columbus as a symbol of genocide against American natives. Once brought down, protesters sang and danced around it, in a dramatic show of defiance against a significant in America's recent history whose reputation is now associated with the assassination and enslavement of indigenous peoples. Their gestures send a direct message: "Good bye, White America!"

REPORT FROM THE U.S.Goodbye, America!

Nothing is made to last forever. Not even great empires. History has its own specific way of beibg written, based on causal events, as well as random ones, so that the future cannot be predicted only based on past developments.

Who won the American elections?

On Saturday November 7, although technically the US Presidential election must be confirmed by the Electoral College in December, the media announced the result.

CORRESPONDENCE FROM USABiden, the anti-Trump vote

Ever since the major news networks in America announced that a Biden victory was inevitable, New York has been partying. People have been blocking cars with street parties, opening up bottles of champagne, dancing, and, in this multi-ethnic city,...

We know who is gonna win the elections in the US

The world is a complex place and full of uncertainties. That may be. But we are convinced it is rather simple. Simpler than it seems and more complicated than we believe. Here is also the illustration: the American presidential elections. Their...

ABOVE THE AMOUNT BUDGETED IN THE REVISION CAUSED BY THE PANDEMIC9-month profit of Romgaz exceeds 950 million lei"

• (Interview with Adrian Volintiru, CEO of SNGN Romgaz)

SHARE CAPITAL INCREASE OR HIDDEN PROFIT DISTRIBUTION?Comvex - a "family business" for Dan Drăgoi

• According to some information and documents obtained by BURSA, Dan Drăgoi and Viorel Panait have concealed the takeover of Comvex behind a share capital increase.

THE BURSA VIDEOCONFERENCE "AFACERI ÎN AGRICULTURĂ - AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS" / ADRIAN OROS, MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: "We have to get rid of subsidy chasers"

In the future National Strategic Program for the 2021-2027 period, we will need to get rid of the subsidy chasers, so that the money dedicated to farmers gets where it needs to go, according to Mr. Adrian Oros, minister of Agriculture and Rural...

Is our country ready for the transition from globalization to localization?

Localization has become one of the most discussed topics in the US and Europe since the outbreak of the pandemic, after globalization has brought major benefits for large companies.

The pulse of the global economy seems to be recovering

The drop in global trade volume has slowed down in August 2020 as well, according to data from the World Trade Monitor report, published by the Dutch Institute CPB (www.cpb.nl).

The Battle for the Soul of America

The upcoming US Presidential election is truly a "battle for the soul of America" - a confrontation of Right and Left. The winner will shape the direction of the United States for a long time.

People make machines, machines create unemployed

• For the first time in the last years, job creation isn't keeping up with their disappearance

SMEs, on the frontlines of the pandemic

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the first to be affected by an economic crisis, both at the national level and in the European Union (EU). Most small companies are now facing difficulties amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with most fighting for...

People make machines, machines create unemployed

• For the first time in the last years, job creation isn't keeping up with their disappearance

"We need to increase the absorption capacity two or three times, compared to the annual rhythm of 2.5 billion Euros"

THE BURSA VIDEOCONFERENCE "EUROPEAN FUNDS" / MARCEL BOLOŞ, MINISTER OF EUROPEAN FUNDS:"We need to increase the absorption capacity two or three times, compared to the annual rhythm of 2.5 billion Euros"

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which we have allocated for 30.4 billion Euros, will be put up for public debate on November 5, said Ioan Marcel Boloş, minister of European Funds.

3,19 PER 1000 RESIDENTS - THE INFECTION RATE IN BUCHARESTBucharest, code red

Closed schools, online "education", HoReCa nearly collapsing, the mandatory mask wearing in all public spaces.

The reply of the ASF to BURSA blows apart the official reports of the manager of SIF Banat Crişana

The response of the ASF to BURSA blows apart the official reports of SIF Banat Crişana, because the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF) contradicts the claims made by Bogdan Drăgoi, the CEO of SIF Banat Crişana (SIF 1), in the official documents...

BURSA has filed a preliminary complaint against the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF)

BURSA has submitted a preliminary complaint against the Financial Oversight Authority (ASF), because it is dragging its feet in answering the request for information included in an Open Letter, which was published in the September 2 issue (vezi...

Tudor Ciurezu has presided for the last time the General Shareholder Meeting at SIF Oltenia

Tudor Ciurezu has presided, yesterday, the last General Shareholder Meeting of SIF Oltenia. Tudor Ciurezu, Anina Radu, Carmen Popa and Nicolae Stoian have been dismissed as directors of SIF Oltenia (SIF5), in the general shareholder meeting,...

The attack on SIF Oltenia - a financial crime in broad daylight, in complicity with the ASF

The ASF, forced to pay to Claudia Sava, the head of the Oversight and Audit Commission of the institution over 200000 Euros

FROM 2000 TO 3000 INFECTIONSThe pandemic, near a new threshold, in just a week

Romania seems to be following in the footsteps of countries Covid-19 where it had an alert evolution.

The pandemic is changing the architec-ture of debt

• IMF: "The initiative of suspending the payment of debts needs to be extended until 2021"

BY 2025Nuclearelectrica has scheduled investments of 2.29 billion lei and wants to raise billions in funding, including from the stock market

• (Interview with Cosmin Ghiţă, CEO of Nuclearelectrica)

The decapitation SIF Oltenia by SIF Banat Crişana, with the complicity of the ASF

There is no official explanation for the fact that the vice-president of SIF Oltenia, Cristian Buşu, is being exempted from the proposed personal liability proceeding formulated by the SIF Banat Crişana & SIF Muntenia & Fondul Deschis de...

Temper Tantrums... the American way

Is there anything left to ruin in American politics? So far one of the most beautiful, interesting and useful traditions has been ruined: the televised debate of the two contenders for the presidency. The key word is of course, debate. In the US,...

Political propaganda - powerless against the mayors who served their citizens

As if there were a higher power that gives meaning and an endgame to elections, some political analysts and journalists are proposing the arguable idea that Sunday was meant to settle the ratios between parties, by consolidating the power of the...

High castling

The pandemic did not cause the vote attendance to drop. On the contrary, it has remained comparable to what has happened in the local elections of 2008 and 2016

"The energy industry, the main engine for economic turnaround chosen by the EU"

VIDEOCONFERENCE/ CORNELIU BODEA, ROMANIAN ENERGY CENTER PRESIDENT:"The energy industry, the main engine for economic turnaround chosen by the EU"

The main engine that the entire European Union has chosen for economic recovery is tightly connected to the energy industry which is extremely significant in Romania's industrial system, said Corneliu Bodea, President of the Romanian Energy...

"It is highly unlikely that the call for tenders for 5G gets held this year"

• (Interview with Bogdan Chiriţoiu, president of the Competition Council)

Politics and the pandemic shake up the markets

The Leu has reacted differently against various currencies, during the pandemic, with the EUR/RON exchange rate going up, while the opposite happened to USD/RON. The latter happened because of the weakening of the dollar against the Euro, during...

"Chimcomplex has a strategic mission - to build a strong and integrated regional chemical company"

Chimcomplex Borzeşti, the chemical plant which has taken over a large portion of the assets of Oltchim, has made its strategic mission to become a chemical company that is strong regionally and integrated, said Tivadar Runtag, the new CEO of the...

ON THE FIRST DAY AS AN EMERGING MARKETStock prices did not reflect the optimism in the statements

The first day in the category of emerging secondary markets under the banner of the London agency FTSE Russell was marked by an event organized by the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and declining indices across the board, in a negative climate...

A CASE BROUGHT TO THE COURTS AFTER SIX YEARS OF INVESTIGATIONSThe odyssey of the copper that disappeared on the Bucharest-Constanţa railway

The criminal investigations conducted by the Railroad Transports Police and the prosecutors took nearly six years, before the case concerning the theft of nearly 160 tons of copper wire replaced upon the rehabilitation of the Bucureşti-Constanţa...

<< more articles >>