Romania needs to regain the trust of foreign investors and avoid a third year of economic crisis in the country, said Mariana Gheorghe, Petrom CEO and head of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC) in Romania. The council has launched a 80-measure plan to send Romania back on the economic revival path. The council estimates such measures could allow the country grow its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 11.6 percent, should these measures be applied by 2015.

Movies on screens in Bucharest during the period October 8-14 2010

The local retail market was down 12 percent in the first half of the year, according to Nielsen Romania. The drop was higher – 15 percent - excluding the sales of discount stores. Traditional trade was the most affected, but still covered the bulk of the market in Romania, although hypermarkets and discounters have gained more ground in the meantime.

Romania plans to support young investors who will start a business by offering them state guarantees, as well as exemptions from social security payment and a state aid of 20 percent of the value of their projects, up to EUR 10,000. The Romanian Government has put up for public debate the ordinance project and plans to enact it later on.

With coal, gas, nuclear and large hydropower plants largely under state control, investors have found it hard to tap the European Union (EU) member state's energy market as successive governments have stalled reforms, privatizations and public-private partnerships, wrote newswire Reuters in a recent analysis about the Romanian wind projects market.

Ilinca Paun has been promoted managing director with Colliers International in Romania. She will coordinate the company's commercial and administrative activities, including sales, marketing, market research. Paun has been working in sales and management with Colliers for the last ten years.

UPDATE: Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said the toxic residues from Hungary have not reached the Danube yet and when they will, on Friday evening, they will not be dangerous. “It is not true. I have spoken with the head of Hungarian Waters last night, who said the authorities there have built a dam to stop the toxic residues from spreading. The residues have not reached the Danube and when they will, they will not be dangerous,” said Borbely for a Romanian TV station.

Carmaker Renault plans to increase production of its Dacia Duster sports-utility vehicle after getting 75,000 orders in five months, Le Figaro reported, quoted by newswire Bloomberg, citing Gerard Detourbet, head of Renault’s low-cost program. The company will raise output to 180,000 vehicles a year at the start of 2011, from 150,000, according to the French newspaper.

Futureal and Immofinanz will open the EUR 100 million Gold Plaza shopping center in Baia Mare on November 4, after previously setting the opening date for September this year. The developers had been planning to finalize the shopping center in 2008, but the project was delayed for 2009 and finally for 2010. The shopping mall has been 80 percent financed through a loan from MKB Bank.

More than 100 Romanian and foreign inventors present over 300 inventions at the Inventika show that takes place at Romexpo Exhibition Centre in Bucharest between October 6 and 9. The exhibition will feature Ioan Rusu's remote-controlled crib that swings with a magnetic field, the motorcycle smoke wrecker vehicle, the 100 kilometre range electric scooter, the versatile chair for those with back pains and Iustin Capra's green asphalt.

Romania’s economy will shrink at the fastest pace among emerging states in Europe this year, while its estimated growth of 1.5 percent for 2011 will be the smallest in the region, the International Monetary Fund said in its latest global outlook report. The IMF forecasts Romania's gross domestic product will decrease 1.9 percent in 2010, from a steep contraction of 7.1 percent a year earlier.

*Romania enters world top 10 of corn producers – in Ziarul Financiar
*Renault – There is no difference between Mioveni and France – in Ziarul Financiar
*Nokia brought us to Romania, say Japanese Anritsu – in Ziarul Financiar
*The pollution wave from Hungary will reach Romania in a couple of days – in Ziarul Financiar
*Ikea pays EUR 1.8 million to Catarama after a law suit of several years – in Ziarul Financiar
*9 banks and 8 law firms want to reform the stock market – in Ziarul Financiar