Romanian banks reported combined losses of 304 million lei (EUR1=RON4.2649) in 2010, for the first time in 11 years, people familiar with the matter told Mediafax Friday. read more...

The Dacia Duster, Volkswagen Tiguan and Ford Kuga were the best sold SUVs on the Romanian market in 2010, with the Duster far in the lead, thanks to a market share of almost 40%, according to the data of the Romanian Car Producers and Importers Association (APIA). read more...

Romania's top two road passenger transporters expect 10% higher turnover this year, one of them hoping for a better economic environment, the other counting on people traveling in search of work. read more...

Romania plans to write off debts of 1 billion lei (EUR1=RON4.2649) of companies in the defense industry, citing a EU norm which allows the protection of the national military interest and arguing that foreclosing their assets would impact defense capabilities. read more...

The occupancy rate of Bucharest's three- and four-star hotels will rise this year by about 10%, having increased in 2010 to 42% from 39%, according to the Bucharest Benchmarking Report, developed by consulting firm Fivestar Hospitality. read more...

The ten largest banks entered a small-fee race at the start of the year, so that a loan file is not taxed with more than 400 euros, two-three times less than last year. read more...

KD Maximus, the second biggest equity fund on the market in terms of assets, holds investments worth 2m euros in Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil and in the biggest bank of Russia, being the first Romanian fund to bet on the potential of the Russian energy field. read more...

Dan Şucu, owner of Mobexpert business, the biggest player on the domestic furniture market, is for the first time speaking about the possibility of opening new stores this year, as he's received appealing offers from various space owners. read more...

Gold is currently almost 7% below the peak reached in late December, and the broad variations registered at the beginning of this year have certainly caused a headache to investors lured by the precious metal's spectacular increases of the passed years. read more...

Emil Delibashev, country manager of British Airways for the Balkans, who runs operations of the airline in 11 countries, says Romania continues to be the "Balkan locomotive", although the number of passengers transported to and from Bucharest fell 20% last year and revenues were down 15%. read more...

The economy remained in recession in the fourth quarter of 2010, with a 1% annual decline and a 0.3% quarter-to-quarter decrease, BCR analysts estimate. read more...

Romania's public debt continued to rise last year at a fast pace of 31.6%, amid massive state borrowing, and reached 194 billion RON (46 billion euros), accounting for 38% of GDP. read more...

The Transportation Ministry neither is nor has been a poor ministry, so if things are going badly, it is out of ignorance, carelessness or ill will. Former transportation minister Radu Berceanu made one mistake - he trusted people who were not professionals, says transportation minister Anca Boagiu. read more...