Romanian Labor Minister Ioan Botis said Thursday that Romania's job occupancy rate has been 58% for the past 10-15 years and, unless it climbs to 64-65%, the state will be unable to pay pensions. read more...

Romanians spent 5% less on fast moving consumer goods last year compared to 2009, according to survey conducted by market research company GfKRomania. read more...

Assets of private pension funds in Romania could top EUR1.6 billion this year, 60% more than in 2010, Mircea Oancea, head of the country’s private pension regulator CSSPP, said Thursday. read more...

The Romanian Government gave the green light to the Health Ministry to build a network of six emergency hospitals in public-private partnership, people close to the matter told Mediafax Wednesday. read more...

The Romanian economy shrank more than previously thought in 2010, largely due to declines in the constructions, retail and services sectors, revised figures showed Thursday. read more...

Romania’s Government decided Wednesday to unfreeze hiring in local public institutions that face major staff shortages, Government spokeswoman Ioana Muntean said after the Cabinet meeting. read more...

Colliers International, one of the biggest players on the real estate consultancy market, posted a 35% turnover increase in 2010, to around 3.9 million euros, returning to profit with a managing team whose average age does not exceed 30. read more...

The opening of the Basarab Overpass in Bucharest in a month's time, in April, is conditioned on the weather, say its builders - Italy's Astaldi and Spain's FCC Construction, after Sorin Oprescu, mayor of Bucharest, said a few days ago that the overpass would be open for traffic in a month's time at the latest. read more...

The world's largest money manager, BlackRock, with assets under management worth 3,500bn dollars (2,500bn euros), invested 5m euros on the Romanian stock market through an investment fund dedicated to frontier markets, being attracted by Fondul Proprietatea (Property Fund - FP). read more...

Small and medium-sized enterprises, which last year were hit the hardest amid a collapse of their business, are now beginning to recover, with their financial situations sometimes looking better than those of big companies, says Laszlo Diosi, the head of OTP Bank, the local subsidiary of the biggest Hungarian financial group. read more...

NBR is gearing up for inflation caused by internationally rising prices for food and fuel, pushing leu higher and driving interbank interest rates up to the level of the monetary policy rate. This is the explanation analysts and dealers have found for past week's unexpected developments on financial markets. read more...

The assets of the 166 insolvent companies included in the portfolio of Casa de Insolvenţă Transilvania (Transylvania Insolvency Firm-CITR) do not cover even half of their debts, so that banks and suppliers are likely to lose almost 500m euros in the following years, either in the wake of these companies' reorganisation or liquidation. read more...

A financial consultant and superior counselor within Romania's fiscal authority ANAF and a Bucharest Bar lawyer were retained for 24 hours on Wednesday with a request for their 29-day arrest under charges of traffic of influence, according to a National Anti-corruption Department (DNA) press release. read more...

Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu said during a trip to China on Wednesday that he wanted works at a suspended highway in the Romanian capital city begin as early as possible. He made the statement as he saw the suspended highway crossing the center of the Chinese capital. read more...

The Romanian Senate rejected on Wednesday a bill initiated by a a Democratic Liberal deputy to legalize prostitution, Romanian news agency Agerpres reports. The bill initiated by deputy Silviu Prigoana was rejected by a large majority, with 85 votes to 6. read more...

The political groups supporting the governing coalition signed on Wednesday a protocol of partnership between the Democratic Liberals (PDL), Hungarian Democrats (UDMR), the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the group of national minorities other than Hungarians. read more...

The US Department of Justice has approved the extradition to Romania of Mihai Necolaiciuc, former head of Romanian Railways national company, according to the Romanian Justice Ministry. Necolaiciuc was indicted by National Anti-corruption Department in February 2009 under charges of abuse in office against public interest. read more...

Bucharest District 6 mayor Cristian Poteras, who also serves as head of a local sub-commission for the land fund, was indicted by anti-graft prosecutors on Wednesday under charges of abuse in office against public interest. read more...

The Rompetrol group may issue bonds or get a loan should it reach an agreement with the Romanian government on paying its debt to the Romanian state, Tolegen Boznajov, chairman of the group, said in Almaty on Wednesday, as quoted by Bloomberg. read more...

Germany's Siemens industrial group says that according to the development plans it has for Romania, it will likely hire as many as 250 people in the next two years, expecting turnover to go up by at least 10%. read more...