Financial Press Review, 6 April

The Ziarul Financiar commented on a conference held yesterday on financing the foreign trade transactions in an article entitled ‘Exporters demand rate stability.’ ‘The exporters can even tolerate an appreciation of the leu, provided that the movements are not steep, the newspaper revealed.

The sharp progress of the rate exchange lately determined the companies to no longer have the courage to sign new contracts and to put to an end on the ongoing ones, the Bursa newspaper quoted the General Secretary of the National Association of Exporters and Importers of Romania, Mihai Ionescu.

He was also quoted by the Ziarul Financiar: ‘Exports were the star of the economy star in 2010.’ ‘However, Romanian capital is a stranger in its own country. A company with a Romanian main office struggles to obtain secured credits in Romania with tough securities and high costs.’

In an article the daily Bursa reviewed the main spending destinations of the households in the last three months of the past year. ‘The main destinations (...) are the consumption of food, goods and services (72.7 percent) and the transfers to the public and private administration and to the budgets of social insurance as taxes, contributions, levies and duties (15 percent). The article is titled ‘Money for investment - only 0.8 percent of total household spending.’

The Ziarul Financiar we learn that ‘The rates on loans outstanding of the population and businesses increased by 3.8 percent in February to 16.2 billion lei, marking a doubling from the beginning of 2010, according to NBR data. (.. .) Bank officers continue to have problems with bad payers even though unemployment is falling continuously for more than a year, while company revenues began to grow.’

The Curierul Naţional opened with the title ‘Book sales down. Is someone still reading?’

Last year the sector had declined by 40 percent, although 57 percent of the Romanians said that they daily or weekly read books. Publishers and printers have been highly affected, but the libraries were the most affected ones, as they had to pay higher rents. ‘

The decision to purchase a book is based on the price, so the publishers have decreased the quality of the paper, also revealed the Curierul Naţional. The higher interest paid to Internet surfing was seen as the main cause of the decreased interest in reading, revealed a survey quoted by the newspaper.

Other mentioned reasons were the greater interest paid to television shows and the lack of time.

Under the title: ‘On Easter, more expensive lambs, cheaper eggs’, the Bursa wrote that ‘Easter lambs this year will be heavier than last year, as the Easter holidays are about a month later than in 2010, but they will also will be more expensive compared with those of a year ago, ‘the newspaper quoted Sorin Minea, President of the Romanian Meat Association.

He also referred to another point: ‘Only in Romania one can buy from the street’s side, where meat is not medically checked. In all civilized countries this is prohibited. Compared to last year, the eggs are sold at lower prices by 20 percent. ‘The offer stood the same, but the purchasing capacity lowered and thereby the demand has been reduced.’ In addition, ‘the black market has a very high level. The fiscal evasion is committed ostensibly, ‘the article in the Bursa pointed out.


Translated by: Iulia Florescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University