*1:0 for Templeton in the first direct confrontation with the state: Romgaz escapes RON 400 million donation – in Ziarul Financiar
*Parliament delays debate on Ordinance 50/2010 on lack of quorum– in Ziarul Financiar
*H&M signs contracts for ten stores in four months – in Ziarul Financiar
*Romanian Central Bank has the biggest stock of gold among Eastern Europe central banks – in Ziarul Financiar
*RA-PPS evaluates its assets at EUR 2.2 mln, could sell them – in Ziarul Financiar

The Halloween frenzy has taken over Romania, so whatever party venue you might chose on Saturday, October 30, it will most likely host a Halloween themed party. Romania-insider.com has made a list of Halloween parties in Bucharest you should check out before choosing your trick or treat location. (Click on the MAP links below to see how to get to the party)

Aviad Meitar, one of the founders of the Pepsi franchise in Romania back in the early 90s, remembers the early days of his business venture into the newly democratic country of Romania in an article recently published in the New York Times. “It was also the time of the first Gulf War, and no one really wanted to travel anywhere. I had a tough time getting someone to accompany me to Romania, but I eventually talked a colleague into going with me,” Meitar writes for the NY Times.

Swedish retailer H&M will open stores in Palas Shopping center in Iasi, as well as in Iulius Mall shopping centers in Timisoara and Cluj Napoca, according to Iulius Group, the owner of the three shopping centers. Palas shopping center is still under construction in Iasi and should be finalized in fall next year. The developer is yet to announce when the H&M stores in Iulius Mall shopping centers will be opened.

D&M Perfect Real Estate has invested EUR 8 million into the 45-apartment Hotel Epoque, which will be opened on November 1. The five-star hotel, located near the Cismigiu park in Bucharest, is managed by Trend Hospitality.

The Bucharest public transport company RATB has changed the routes of most of public transport means in Bucharest while several streets will be closed down for the general strike to be held in the capital city on Wednesday, October 27. Five workers' unions will join the strike and as many as 80,000 people are expected to join the protest.

QS Top MBA organizes an MBA fair on Thursday, October 28, starting 18,00 hours, at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bucharest (4 Nicolae Balcescu Blvd- MAP). The event is part of the QS World MBA Tour, which will bring representatives of top MBA schools to several European and Asian cities in the coming months.

Romania’s industry does not seem to be reviving and the country’s economy will not defeat the crisis in 2011, believes Frank Hajdinjak (in picture), the general manager of utility group E.ON Romania, the local subsidiary of Germany's E.ON AG.

HD Automotive International, a company owned by Romanian firm Polisea and German company Automotive Stefani, will build a car parts production unit in Craiova. Polisea currently produces paper rolls for the textile industry, while Automotive Stefani produces flexible materials for the car industry and works for companies like Audi, BMW and Volkswagen.

Romania's budget deficit in the first nine months of the year was of EUR 5.4 billion in the first nine months of the year, below the target set by the International Monetary Funds, which was of EUR 6.5 billion.

Romanian President Traian Basescu on Monday passed the law on the “small reform” in the justice system, which implements a series of measures to speed up trials. The law also allows more people and bodies to file appeals, under the law- the Ombudsman and the Coordinating Council of the Supreme Court.

Romania will probably introduce the co-payment system for healthcare services in the first half of 2011, following debates in Parliament, said Romanian Health Minister Cseke Attila on Monday, after talks with Jeffrey Franks, head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Bucharest.