Independent cab drivers will go on strike on November 18, between 11,00 and 17,00 hours in Constitutiei Square in Bucharest. 3,500 taxi drivers from Bucharest and across the country are expected to attend the protest, which will also include a march to Victoriei Square.

Damian Draghici is a Romanian pan flute performer, famous for his triple-tongue staccato technique that allows him to play three times faster than the average pan flutist. He is known worldwide as “The Speed of Light”.

Oil and gas company OMV Petrom posted a net loss of EUR 23.3 million in the third quarter of the year. However, the company managed to post a profit of EUR 332 million for the first nine months of the year, which was up 44 percent compared to the same period of last year.

The Romanian public sector must lay off 26,000 employees between September and December, to bring the sector down to 1.29 million employees and allow salaries to be raised by 15 percent, after the 25 percent slash implemented in July, Finance Ministry state secretary Gheorghe Gherghina said Tuesday.

*Record unemployment among University graduates: 53,000 graduates can't find jobs – in Ziarul Financiar
*How does Microsoft Romania keep its employees: salaries above average, premium cars and subscriptions to massage sessions – in Ziarul Financiar
*Nestor: Lawyers' fees have dropped by 40%. From the gray area there are kamikaze offers which make it hard to compete – in Ziarul Financiar
*Vodafone revenues down 12% to EUR 425 million, due to recession and drop in tarriffs – in Ziarul Financiar
*Smaller damages made room for EUR 26 million profit for VIG – in Ziarul Financiar

Faced with the current international financial crisis, most companies have given up on their human resources development programs. But the alternative of using European Union funding could allow companies to train their staff or develop HR programs, as Romania has access to a large amount of European funding dedicated to human resources. Romania-Insider.com looks at funds for HR and at the companies that got them.

The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) has been included in the FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index, which reflects the evolution of prices for listed stock exchanges and other trading venues. It includes 18 other stock exchange operators in the world, among which Deutsche Bourse, London Stock Exchange Group, NASDAQ OMX Group, NYSE Euronext and the Hong Kong stock exchange HKEX.

Store theft is the biggest problem retailer New Yorker has been facing in Romania since opening stores in the country and the phenomenon affects all the companies in the textile industry, said Mihai Şindrilaru, general manager with New Yorker for Romania, quoted by newswire Mediafax.

Vega Company has bought the tourist complex Faleza near the Danube quay in Galati city for EUR 2.6 million, the Tourism Ministry has announced. Five bidders attended the bid for the 3,500 sqm hotel complex on the Galati Danube quay. The starting price was of EUR 1.1 million

Romania's Environment Ministry could increase the car pollution tax from next year, justified by the

Multinational company CA Technologies has opened a representative office in Bucharest, according to Madalin Bratu, channel account manager for Romania with CA Technologies, quoted by Agerpres newswire.

Swedish band Roxette will perform in Romania for the first time on May 30 next year, at Zone Arena, according to Emagic, which organizes the concert. Roxette fans from Romania and the CEE region will be able to listen to Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson in a concert which is included in the band's world tour scheduled for 2011.