COVASNA AND BRASOV COUNTIES Transylvanian Kalnocky guesthouses will open two antique properties owned by HRH Prince of Wales to paying guests from the end of Spring 2011.

The two new locations are located in Viscri (Brasov county) and Zalanpatak (Covasna county) near the current 11-room Kalnocky guesthouse of Miklosvar (Miciosoara).
Zalanpatak is a remote village reputedly founded by the British Prince’s ancestors in the 16th Century. The guesthouse in Viscri will have three rooms and Zalanpatak five rooms. Kalnocky Guesthouses are run by the Count Tibor Kalnocky, who has renovated his property, following its restitution from the state.

Now he is assisting in a programme to preserve the traditional regional agriculture, animal rearing and hospitality.BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard and Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro

Austria's Erste Bank has sold financial gold

BCR, the biggest domestic bank in terms of assets, is gearing up to enter the niche of gold sales to individuals, where only Greece's Piraeus is operating for the time being. Gold has this year brought a return of around 40% to investors, thus being one of the most profitable investments, just like in 2009, when it had climbed by 32%. Over the past two years, BCR, controlled by Austria's Erste Bank, has sold financial gold only to private banking clients, who have a greater financial power and are seeking ways to diversify their investments. Usually, the minimum quantity that had to be purchased stood at 5 kilos per deal, but smaller deliveries were also negotiated. As part of its new retail strategy, BCR is getting ready to sell gold bullion and coins issued by the Austrian Mint, starting from very small sizes, of just two grams, to one kilo. BCR will sell gold through certain selected branches, but Răzvan Furtună, head of the sales department of BCR Treasury, has not provided any further details for the time being.(Z.F.)euro, criza datoriilor de stat, euroscepticismul, monede nationale, renuntarea la euro, salvare euro, zona euro

Europe's central bankers appeared to calm jittery markets despite refusing to accelerate measures to support ailing eurozone economies in the aftermath of the Irish bailout.
The European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said he would keep giving banks unlimited liquidity well into next year but made no guarantee to step up the bond-buying to combat investor panic surrounding Portugal and Spain.
Investors initially sold the euro and increased the cost of insuring eurozone debts after Trichet's comments, but a closer reading of his remarks and analysis of market activity later showed that the ECB was involved in large-scale behind-the-scenes support to bond markets.If you ever played Monopoly, you learned that by managing your cash flow wisely, you could buy a bunch of houses and hotels -- and win. If you didn't manage it well, you might wind up in jail or penniless.
Small wonder that aside from bankruptcy and audit, the term cash flow is probably the most terrifying in an entrepreneur's dictionary. According to a survey by Intuit, 22 million of the nation's smallest business are waiting for approximately $1,500 in overdue payments every month, creating a $33 billion logjam on their cash flow. In the same survey, 42 percent of business owners said they stay up nights worrying about how quickly they will be paid.
Obviously, the money your customers give you is cash flowing "into" your business, and the checks you're writing to pay salaries, suppliers, utilities and others constitutes the cash flowing "out" of your business. And as entrepreneurs know, a positive cash flow is the holy grail for all business owners.BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard & Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro

Analysts anticipate a slight return to economic growth next year, after two years of recession, with the estimated GDP rise ranging between 0.2% and 2%. However, even if Romania leaves recession behind next year, the tentative economic growth will not be felt in the standard of living. The economic rebound remains fragile considering the fiscal adjustment started in mid this year, the unemployment rise and the reduction of capital flows. And the key factors to sustainable economic rebound are investments in infrastructure and structural reforms. It remains to be seen if forecasts will remain unmodified and if they will come true. The official forecast for the economy in 2010 has moved from a 1.3% GDP growth at the beginning of the year to a 0.5% decline at the end of May and to minus 1.9% toward the end of the year.
Ionuţ Dumitru, chief economist of Raiffeisen Bank, who has the most upbeat forecast for next year, anticipates a 2% GDP growth.
As for the role of the state in the relaunch of the economy, analysts cite the need to ensure predictability and to reduce taxation red tape in order to attract foreign investments.
Lucian Anghel, chief economist of BCR, says five to ten strategic projects of national importance should be singled out, and spared from any kind of cuts, which should help restore investor confidence.BCE, Citigroup, Comisia Europeana, FMI, Federal Reserve, Germania, Grecia, Irlanda, Marea Britanie, PIB, Rusia, SUA, Spania, Standard & Poor's, Ungaria, Uniunea Europeana, economie, obligatiuni, zona euro

Germany sees no alternative to the Euro

(Reuters) - Germany sees no alternative to the euro and Angela Merkel's government believes the best way to strengthen the currency which has helped make the German economy so competitive is closer policy convergence across Europe.
But with German public support in the balance for rescuing euro partners Greece, Ireland and possibly others, it is a tough message for the domestic audience. This explains the apparently mixed messages emerging from Berlin. Germany voices strong objections to some of the proposed solutions to the euro crisis, such as joint euro zone bonds, and Merkel's insistence on a crisis mechanism from 2013 involving private investors has upset markets.
"But in the end Germany has a vital interest in the survival of the currency union," Dekabank economist Andreas Scheuerle said. While mass-selling daily Bild runs headlines like "How Long Will the Euro Hold Out?" and some pundits suggest a north-south euro divide, the crisis seems to have hardened the German establishment's view that there is no alternative to the single currency. The government, including the sometimes fractious members of Merkel's centre-right coalition, plus the business world and the serious media are at pains to nix any talk of Germany losing its enthusiasm for the euro or returning to the deutschemark. Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle, from the Free Democrats, Merkel's often uneasy coalition partners, said on Thursday reinstating national currencies in the euro area was "not realistic". Merkel repeats that Europe's fate is inextricably tied to the currency shared by 16 countries and her comments on private investors needing to share in sovereign risk from 2013 reflect a belief that the euro will still be around. Currently enjoying a much stronger economic recovery than its partners, Germany may return to pre-crisis growth levels as early as next year, largely thanks to exports. So grumbles about the euro are slapped down with the argument that a revived deutschemark would quickly render German exports too expensive."The mark would be so overvalued against other currencies that our exports would be in trouble," said Andre Schwarz of the exporters' association BGA. "The solution is not to let the euro break up."Agerpres, Mediafax, Romanian Vancouver Sun,Global News, Financial Times,Le Monde,Tribune, ,Wall Street Journal,The Washington Times,Athens News,The New York Times,USA Today

Two of the leading Petrom top managers, who were in the company's management team ever since the privatisation of the oil and gas producer in 2004, have this year left to carry out the reorganisation of OMV's latest acquisition: Petrol Ofisi."I won't be talking about Petrom today because it is already going in the right direction, of integration. Let's talk about Turkey." This was one of the opening messages conveyed by Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer, CEO of OMV in London, at the latest media summit organised by the Austrian oil group, Petrom's majority shareholder.
In mid-October, OMV finalised the acquisition of Turkey's biggest petrol station chain, Petrol Ofisi, for which it paid one billion euros, securing a significant share of a market credited with the biggest chances of growth in the next period.Reinhard Pichler, 49, former CFO of Petrom, left his position last week, being replaced by Daniel Turnheim, a member of the OMV group since back in 2002. Pichler is not leaving the group, however, but will go to Turkey, where he will fill the same position he has occupied in Petrom since 2004.At the beginning of this year Tamas Mayer, who used to be in charge of Petrom's marketing operations, i.e. of the nearly 550 distribution stations, left the position to become Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Petrol Ofisi. According to some sources, Mayer will be running marketing operations within Petrol Ofisi, as well.Agerpres, Mediafax, Romanian Vancouver Sun,Global News, Financial Times,Tribune, ,Wall Street Journal,The Washington Times,Athens News,The New York Times,USA Today,Le Monde

The Irish government stood on the brink of collapse Monday

DUBLIN (Nov. 22) -- The Irish government stood on the brink of collapse Monday, a day after being forced to accept a massive bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he would call an election for early next year, once Ireland passes an emergency budget and finalizes the bailout.The admission represented a huge political blow to Cowen, who only days ago was denying even the need for a bailout to solve the problems brought on by Irish banks' reckless speculation in overpriced real estate.
Ireland's six banks, five of which are already nationalized or part-owned by the state, would be pruned, merged and possibly sold off."Because of the huge risks they (Irish banks) took earlier this decade, they became a huge risk not only to this state but to the eurozone as a whole," he said.Irish banks invested aggressively in runaway property markets at home and abroad. After the 2008 credit crunch sent property prices into freefall, the government tried to save the banks from bankruptcy by insuring all of their borrowings against default. That unprecedented promise - made to retain investor confidence in the country - cannot be kept without a bailout, the government has finally been forced to concede.Unions warned that overhauling the banks would mean thousands more lost jobs in Ireland, where unemployment has already reached 13.6 percent, the second-highest rate in Europe after Spain.Banca Mondiala,FMI, Guvern,agenda de business, bugetul de stat, economie, revistapresei,romania,antena3.ro,realitatea.net,mediafax,bucuresti,camera de comert

"Who knows?"

William Hague, the foreign secretary, has raised doubts about the future of the euro, saying it was impossible to know whether the currency would collapse. The Foreign Secretary, a vociferous and long-standing critic of European monetary union, said he "hoped" that the euro would survive, but added: "Who knows?" His comments came as talks continued about the possible need to bail out debt-ridden Ireland, the latest crisis-hit eurozone member. Asked whether the euro could collapse, Mr Hague told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Well I hope not. The Treasury has not ruled out any options for financial aid to Ireland, including the possibility of a bilateral bail-out, although that appears unlikely.
Britain would be required to guarantee up to about £6 billion of support as part of the European stability mechanism, if that option is pursued. Many Tory MPs are deeply opposed to the use of UK taxpayers' money to bail out Ireland. Earlier this week, Edward Leigh warned: "The British people want to be assured at a time when very painful cuts are being made here that good money is not being thrown after bad in driving the Irish further into the sclerotic arms of the euro which caused the problems in the first place."

"ID card-based" lending?

Bankers, who during the economic boom period lured clients with consumer loans granted upon proof of ID, have over the past two years been trying to offset the declining demand for large loans through aggressive promotional offers for credit cards, which have become the main growth driver of the retail segment overnight.
Amid the falling sales of traditional loans, could credit cards become the new form of ID card-based loans, given that as small sums are involved clients get such a product more easily?

Economists do not like such an outlook, rather viewing this as a bet on the future that could prove risky.Last year, many banks reported two-digit increases in the number of issued cards and the value of sums approved on such cards, as consumer loan portfolios shrank and housing loans were supported only by the "First Home" scheme.In 2010, card portfolios rose at a slower pace amid the prolonged recession, but promotions offers are still driving sales, even though at a slower pace. Banca Mondiala,FMI, Guvern,agenda de business, bugetul de stat, economie, revista presei,romania,antena3.ro,realitatea.net,mediafax,bucuresti,camera de comert

OECD - Fast growing economies

Fast-growing economies in the east should spend the vast savings accumulated through trade on their own people rather than use it to accumulate bonds and shares in the west, an influential thinktank said today.
The organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that policies designed to rebalance currencies would fail unless countries adopted more far-reaching and fundamental reforms.
The Paris-based research group, often described as the rich nations' thinktank, said in a webcast that world leaders needed to go beyond discussions about currencies at the G20 summit in South Korea next week and examine conflicts that hold back growth in the world economy.
It said: "Structural reforms, such as the strengthening of social safety nets and the development of financial markets in emerging economies, should be employed to reduce their savings and dependence on financial markets in advanced economies. The OECD sees structural reforms, such as the liberalisation of product markets, also as crucial to recover the output losses associated with the crisis and to help put public finances back on a sustainable path."
The pace of the global economy recovery had slowed since earlier this year, the OECD said, while public debt in most OECD countries was set to reach all-time highs.
"With support from fiscal stimulus fading, output and trade have softened," it said. "Average GDP growth across OECD countries is expected to be between 2.5% to 3% this year, between 2% and 2.5% in 2011 and between 2.5% and 3% in 2012. Activity is projected to vary widely across countries, particularly within the euro area.
"The US is expected to gain considerable momentum in 2012, while the Japanese recovery is expected to lose some steam. In many emerging-market economies growth is continuing robustly, although at a slightly slower pace than earlier in the recovery.
With public deficits and debt at "unsustainable levels", stabilising debt relative to GDP in most countries would require a historical consolidation effort of between 6% to 9% of GDP, said OECD secretary general Angel Gurría. "But in fact even more is needed to bring debt back to sustainable levels."
The OECD, which has promoted free trade as a route to promoting growth and easing poverty, urged the eurozone to cut taxes on employment that could reduced their ability to bring down unemployment over the next few years.
It also backed moves in the west to cut public spending as a way to "strengthen the cost-effectiveness of expenditures that enhance growth, in areas such as health care, education, innovation and infrastructure development".
Gurría said interest rates would remain at historic lows until 2012 and could be maintained at low levels if the world economy continued to struggle over the medium term.
Monetary easing by the US, the UK and Japan will brings its own problems as investors turn away from low-yielding western markets, the OECD warned. "Continued monetary easing in many advanced economies prompts capital flows to emerging economies where they risk creating asset bubbles while putting upward pressure on their exchange rates. The recent unilateral interventions in foreign exchange markets and the resulting volatility could prompt protectionist responses. Better to reach a common understanding on how global imbalances are to be reduced."

China - the new frontier for EU Investors

China's rapid growth is easing to a manageable pace and Beijing can do more to reconfigure its economy to promote domestic consumption and reduce reliance on trade, the World Bank said Wednesday. Inflation that has risen steadily this year should level off and is unlikely to be a serious problem, the bank said in a quarterly China outlook. The Washington-based bank raised its 2010 growth forecast from 9.5 percent to 10 percent and said the expansion should slow to 8.7 percent next year. Growth eased to 9.6 percent in the three months ending in September, down from 10.3 percent the previous quarter, as the government imposed lending and investment curbs.
"We think that coming from this very strong growth, China should be able to ease into a more sustainable growth rate in the long term," said the report's main author, Louis Kuijs, at a news conference.
The outlook reflects China's status as the first major economy to rebound from the global crisis on the strength of a flood of stimulus spending and bank lending. While Washington and others are trying to shore up growth, Beijing faces the challenge of cooling inflation and restoring normal conditions.
Beijing needs to boost wages and consumer spending and promote growth of private and service businesses to reduce reliance on exports and energy-intensive heavy industry, the World Bank said.
"The need to rebalance to more domestic demand-led, service sector-oriented growth seems stronger now than five years ago," said Kuijs. "Internationally the environment is less favorable than it was."
Communist leaders made raising domestic consumption a priority in their latest five-year economic plan crafted at a meeting last month. But it also was a goal in their previous plan and private sector analysts say Beijing has yet to take major steps to shift emphasis away from manufacturing and construction. The World Bank recommended opening up more industries to private business, changing the way energy prices are set to encourage efficiency and nurturing private-sector research and development. The bank cautioned against abrupt steps such as mandating sharp wage hikes, saying Beijing instead should look at gradual changes such as allowing more rural workers to move to cities and changing energy prices that favor heavy industry."We are looking for a market-oriented, market-friendly way of getting this consumption growth, consistent with continued strong growth," Kuijs said. Inflation that hit 3.6 percent in September, well above the 3 percent government target, should level off but might stay as high as 3.3 percent next year, the bank said. Kuijs said that in developing economies such as China, inflation of 3 to 5 percent might be acceptable as industries grow rapidly and demand for resources shifts."We still do not think China's inflation is at a very serious risk of escalating but we also do not think China will go back to the very low rate of inflation it saw in 2005," he said.
The bank also cautioned that China's politically contentious trade surplus is likely to rebound in 2011 after narrowing temporarily this year.
The multibillion-dollar trade gap has strained relations with Washington and other trading partners and prompted some U.S. lawmakers to demand sanctions over Chinese currency controls blamed for widening the surplus.

Recent Investments - Eastern Europe - Romania

Bancroft has acquired a significant stake in Dumagas Transport, a leading Romanian road transportation company. Dumagas Transport engages in general and specialised transportation of liquid, powder goods, and vehicles and holds a prominent position in controlled temperature warehousing and logistics.
It is the second investment in the third fund launched by Bancroft Private Equity, LLP, a Central and Eastern European, mid-market, private equity fund manager. This transaction was completed in July 2010. Bancroft will support the founding shareholders and managers as they continue developing the company’s activities across all its business lines, consolidate the group’s positions in key export markets, and speed up the development of the controlled temperature warehousing and logistics markets.

Fate of the Romanian Economy in 2011 depends on talks with IMF

Yesterday saw the start of two weeks of negotiations with the Fund, which are set to provide some answers to essential questions as far as next year is concerned.
Romania could find out in about two weeks' time if and how much economic growth it will see next year, what the main taxes will look like - flat rate, social contributions, VAT, what the new arrangement to be signed with the IMF in spring will look like and implicitly how big the RON/euro exchange rate volatility will be.
The first official talks between the IMF's review mission and the authorities began yesterday.Jeffrey Franks, the mission chief, says the Fund's forecasts regarding the Romanian economy could be adjusted, but not significantly.Forecast modifications have become a current practice over the course of the arrangement sealed in the spring of 2009, with the IMF so far only revising its calculations for the worse, after failing to anticipate the economic trends. Now the Fund expects a 1.5% GDP growth for 2011.The final forecasts will be an essential tool towards building next year's budget. The draft that recently featured in the press but has yet to be officially assumed is already suspected of overestimating the revenue potential. Things are made even more complicated by the chaos on the political scene, which was reflected yesterday in the Parliament in the decisions on introducing a 5% VAT rate on basic food items and on exempting from taxation pensions of less than 2,000 RON, after there had been talk of taxing all incomes of this type.If these decisions are politically assumed, by the head of state inclusively, attempts by the main ruling party PD-L to talk to the IMF about cutting the flat rate to 12%, cutting overall social contributions to 41% and increasing the minimum wage to 700 RON will fail.