The Nova Group, a company owned by Romanian businessman Dan Adamescu, has bought the 50 percent share package in Medien Holding, the publisher of Romania Libera newspaper, from German Waz, the company has announced. The Nova Group thus became the sole owner of the media group.

The austerity measures taken by the Romanian government, which were initially announced to end in 2011, will have to be kept next year so that the country can achieve the targets it has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Telecom operator Romtelecom, subsidiary of Greek OTE, posted an operational loss of EUR 38.2 million in the first half of this year, while during the same period of last year it had posted a EUR 12.3 million profit. The company's revenues went down by 11 percent in the second quarter of the year, to EUR 178.7 million, while its EBITDA was 59 percent lower, to EUR 24.4 million.

Local dairy maker Albalact saw its net profit decline by 14 percent, to around EUR 580,000, mainly due to the increase in the foreign exchange rate in June, which triggered double financial expenses. “The dairy market goes through a very tough period, due to the dramatic decline of the purchasing power, which puts pressure on prices. We will continue to expand our portfolio, the distribution and the client network and we will have new launches and new promotions,” said Raul Ciurtin, president and general manager of Albalact.

Drug producer Zentiva posted a net profit of around EUR 6.3 million in the first half of the year, three times higher than the figure registered in the same period of last year. The company's turnover stood at almost EUR 30 million, up 35.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2009.

Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein (the European Economic Area – EEA) have signed an agreement to supply EUR 1.8 billion of non-reimbursable financing to 15 states in Central and Eastern Europe which are part of the EU, Romania included. The program will cover the 2009-2014 period and the financing will come from two programs – the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Cooperation Program.

Cable company UPC Romania posted a one percent increase in its revenues in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period of last year. However, the company's subscribers dropped in number – down 3.1 percent. The company has lost analog cable customers due to the difficult market conditions, as well as to the promotion of digital and high definition TV services.

Over 86 percent of Romanians would leave to work abroad, should they have the opportunity, founds a recent study carried on by the recruitment website myjob.ro. Half of the respondents in the study would leave the country to get a job for which they are already qualified, while an extra 25 percent said they would leave the country at any time.

German media group Waz, which has recently said it would exit from several markets in the Balkans area, Romania included, was disappointed by the region, according to a statement made by its president Bodo Hombach, for Deutsche Welle.

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) has kept the key interest rate at 6.25 percent, as expected by market analysts. BNR has also decided to keep the mandatory minimum reserves in the system to 15 percent for passives in Romanian currency and 25 percent, for those in foreign currencies.

The Nova Group, a company owned by Romanian businessman Dan Adamescu, has bought the 50 percent share package in Medien Holding, the publisher of Romania Libera newspaper, from German Waz, the company has announced. The Nova Group thus became the sole owner of the media group.

The austerity measures taken by the Romanian government, which were initially announced to end in 2011, will have to be kept next year so that the country can achieve the targets it has agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Telecom operator Romtelecom, subsidiary of Greek OTE, posted an operational loss of EUR 38.2 million in the first half of this year, while during the same period of last year it had posted a EUR 12.3 million profit. The company's revenues went down by 11 percent in the second quarter of the year, to EUR 178.7 million, while its EBITDA was 59 percent lower, to EUR 24.4 million.

Local dairy maker Albalact saw its net profit decline by 14 percent, to around EUR 580,000, mainly due to the increase in the foreign exchange rate in June, which triggered double financial expenses. “The dairy market goes through a very tough period, due to the dramatic decline of the purchasing power, which puts pressure on prices. We will continue to expand our portfolio, the distribution and the client network and we will have new launches and new promotions,” said Raul Ciurtin, president and general manager of Albalact.

Drug producer Zentiva posted a net profit of around EUR 6.3 million in the first half of the year, three times higher than the figure registered in the same period of last year. The company's turnover stood at almost EUR 30 million, up 35.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2009.

Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein (the European Economic Area – EEA) have signed an agreement to supply EUR 1.8 billion of non-reimbursable financing to 15 states in Central and Eastern Europe which are part of the EU, Romania included. The program will cover the 2009-2014 period and the financing will come from two programs – the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Cooperation Program.

Cable company UPC Romania posted a one percent increase in its revenues in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period of last year. However, the company's subscribers dropped in number – down 3.1 percent. The company has lost analog cable customers due to the difficult market conditions, as well as to the promotion of digital and high definition TV services.

Over 86 percent of Romanians would leave to work abroad, should they have the opportunity, founds a recent study carried on by the recruitment website myjob.ro. Half of the respondents in the study would leave the country to get a job for which they are already qualified, while an extra 25 percent said they would leave the country at any time.

German media group Waz, which has recently said it would exit from several markets in the Balkans area, Romania included, was disappointed by the region, according to a statement made by its president Bodo Hombach, for Deutsche Welle.

The Romanian Central Bank (BNR) has kept the key interest rate at 6.25 percent, as expected by market analysts. BNR has also decided to keep the mandatory minimum reserves in the system to 15 percent for passives in Romanian currency and 25 percent, for those in foreign currencies.