According to real estate analysts, Romanian retail sales fell 20% so far in 2009, the sharpest drop among Central and Eastern European countries. The average drop in retail sales in the CEE countries was between 10-15%.   Simina Istrate, from the retail unit of Colliers International, stated that electronics and household aplliances, furniture and fashion retailers were the most affected by the sales' decline.   Razvan Gheorghe,... [...]

According to energy sector and Economy Ministry representatives, the setup of the two national power holdings may revive Romania’s economy and set “fair” market prices for electricity. The creation of the national power holdings is the final stage of the energy sector reorganization.   The government’s wants to reorganize Romania’s energy sector into two national power holdings including assets of all... [...]

US company Bechtel, working at the construction of Romania's Transylvania Highway since 2004, asphalted 30 kilometers of the 42 kilometer road sector Campia Turzii-Gilau, approximately 80% of the construction works for this sector, the company said Monday. The rest of 12 kilometers are due until January.   Bechtel is also working on the road sector Suplacu de Barcau-Bors, as well as on the viaduct in Suplacu de Barcau, the largest... [...]

Volkswagen Group and Varta battery producer intend to accomplish the development of the lithium-ion batteries designed for electric automobiles, planning to achieve competitiveness by improving their technology and also their price, according to Automotive News Europe. The German competitionauthorities must give their agreement on the partnership between the two companies.   The first electrical vehicle produced by Volkswagen will be... [...]

The unemployment rate in Romania will rise by over three per cent in 2009, at 7.6%, from 4.4% a year earlier. Acording to the National Prognosis Commission (CNP) preliminary autumn forecast, the number of jobless persons will rise to 685,000 by the end of the year.   In 2010, CNP estimates that the unemployment rate will decrease to 6.2% and the number of jobless people will fall to 550,000.   CNP estimates that the average... [...]

Through the new agreement made by the Romanian government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), annual spending of 10 of the largest state companies, among which CFR, The National Coal Company, Termoelectrica and Metrorex, will be strictly monitored. In the second stage of this settlement, another twenty societies, with big spending, will have to conform to this procedures. The companies will need to submit their budget projects... [...]

Romania's employment agency ANOFM announced that, until the end of the year, about 20,282 jobs will be cut. Last week, the agency reported that 4,882 employees were fired.   216 companies operated layoffs in the last week, most of which are in capital Bucharest (22) and counties Prahova (17), Timis (14), Vaslui (13), Galati, Cluj, Bacau (ten in each), Arges (nine), Gorj, Ialomita and Harghita (seven in each), Arad, Sibiu, Vrancea and... [...]

The german company Mansory, specialized in luxury car tuning, opended a local dealership and expects turovers of EUR100.000 by the end of the year. In 2010, the company expect to double it’s tourovers. Businessman Irinel Columbeanu and football coach Cosmin Olaroiu are some of the company’s clients.   Romania is the 10th european country where Mansory has opened a dealership. The other countries are Germany, Switzerland, the... [...]

Employees earnings from the financial intermediation, energy and insurance sectors, have recorded the most significant accession since the international crisis started to show its effects on the Romanian market. During the October 2008 – June 2009 period, the average net salary in Romania saw a 3.9 percent increase. So, if at the beginning of the fourth trimester of last year the average net salary was 1.327 Lei, at the end of the... [...]

Malls, real estate entrepreneurs, two industrial parks, a stock market, a paper factory and even an investment bank have licenses in the Romanian energy business sector. Ordinarily they are consumers, but they use their current supply license to resell unused energy. Nicolae Pintilie, commercial director of Statkraft Romania says that these companies are mainly consumers and they don’t produce electrical energy. “They got their... [...]

In the first six months of the year, tourism agencies recorded sales drop over the values estimated at the beginning of 2009. According to some sources Romanian tourism saw a staggering 40% drop comparative to the same period of last year. Overall, the most affected segment was for external destinations, especially the ones that included charter travel, where the fill rate reached only 60%. This is also the reason why the Romanian market is... [...]

Companies in the energetic industry recorded the most dramatic comedowns yet, recording a staggering 35% drop in turn-over. Next on the list, there are the companies in the intermediary goods industry with a 7.6% deficit and long term use goods with a significant 23.8% drop. According to the Romanian National Statistics Institute (NSI), in the first 5 months of this year, companies figures in the industry dropped by almost 20%, relative to... [...]

In half a year, the price of gasoline on the Romanian market rose by almost 40%, and by 15% for diesel. Oil companies blame the international oil prices and the undervaluation of the Romanian currency. Still, even with the drastic increase, according to the Oil Buletin, gas prices in Romania are still among the cheapest in the European Union with a price 0f 0.87 Euro/liter for gasoline and 0.84 Euro/liter for diesel. The closest values... [...]

Igor Hulak, president of the Czech company Aero Vodochody, has visited on Tuesday IAR Ghimbav and carried on discussions with the administration and trade unions. Aero Vodochody is the single company that remained in race for taking over IAR, after AVAS excluded from negotiations Marcovici Capital Ltd. Israel. Igor Hulak stated that it was impressed by the organization of the society from Brasov. “However, the technology should be... [...]

Year 2008 started promising for the aggregate works in Romania. The intermediary financial results forecasted economic performances above the ones in 2007 and it was mentioned about a huge investment next to the shore. The world economic crisis has ruined the plan of the siderurgists. Now, at the end of the year it’s being spoken about reducing the production and about unemployment. At the middle of September, the Ministry of... [...]