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.

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.

Romanian car brand Dacia, which is now being produced by French Renault, is the subject of a recent photo story published by Time magazine. Under the headline “The Dacia, the Romanian car that could”, Time magazine goes through the history of Dacia, calling it a 'cult classic'. “The car's design remained basically unchanged for 35 years, outlasting both the Ceaucescus and their Soviet masters,” writes Time.

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).

Romanian language lesson number 7 - Going shopping, useful words and expressions

If you want to see a bit of the wild Romania and discover the beauty of the Carpathian mountains, we could recommend a hand full of places to go. This week we'll take you to Moldova, in the Ceahlau and Hasmas mountain massifs. It is a trip you should make by car to fully enjoy it– rent one for a couple of days, if needed.

Always on the look out for something new and different on the local bar scene, I found The Gang Cafe and Lounge. Situated directly behind Floreasca fruit market on Calea Floreasca, it is perhaps not the best location for passing foot traffic, but if you are in the area, it is certainly worth looking for.

A Black Sea monitoring agency has found oil spills in the Bulgarian and Romanian shelf waters, in particular near port cities of Varna and Constanta. “The total area of identified oil slicks is more than ten square kilometers

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.

UniCredit Tiriac Bank posted a net profit of EUR 36 million in the first half of this year, down 18 percent on the same period of 2009, the bank has announced.

The bank's total revenues were of EUR 158.4 million, up 10 percent.

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.

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.

Romanian car brand Dacia, which is now being produced by French Renault, is the subject of a recent photo story published by Time magazine. Under the headline “The Dacia, the Romanian car that could”, Time magazine goes through the history of Dacia, calling it a 'cult classic'. “The car's design remained basically unchanged for 35 years, outlasting both the Ceaucescus and their Soviet masters,” writes Time.

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).

Romanian language lesson number 7 - Going shopping, useful words and expressions

If you want to see a bit of the wild Romania and discover the beauty of the Carpathian mountains, we could recommend a hand full of places to go. This week we'll take you to Moldova, in the Ceahlau and Hasmas mountain massifs. It is a trip you should make by car to fully enjoy it– rent one for a couple of days, if needed.

Always on the look out for something new and different on the local bar scene, I found The Gang Cafe and Lounge. Situated directly behind Floreasca fruit market on Calea Floreasca, it is perhaps not the best location for passing foot traffic, but if you are in the area, it is certainly worth looking for.

A Black Sea monitoring agency has found oil spills in the Bulgarian and Romanian shelf waters, in particular near port cities of Varna and Constanta. “The total area of identified oil slicks is more than ten square kilometers

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.

UniCredit Tiriac Bank posted a net profit of EUR 36 million in the first half of this year, down 18 percent on the same period of 2009, the bank has announced.

The bank's total revenues were of EUR 158.4 million, up 10 percent.