The value of payments using foreign-issued cards to Romanian traders climbed to a record EUR 94 million, 25 percent above the previous quarter's level.

*How did entrepreneur Ioan Ciolan restructure the Ambient business, from EUR 20 mln loss – in Ziarul Financiar
*Airports with under a million passenger traffic a year need EUR 150 million to develop – in Ziarul Financiar
*Large stock market players invest millions of lei in Fondul Proprietatea – in Ziarul Financiar
*The Government sets up the Fiscal Police – in Ziarul Financiar

Oil and gas company OMV's Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer (in picture) was charged with insider trading after buying shares in the company a week before a major divestment, according to Bloomberg.

A metro train got off the tracks between Unirii and Timpuri Noi metro stations on Wednesday evening, without causing any victims. The traffic was stopped on that route and works are currently underway to evacuate the passengers and move the metro train back to the depot.

Romania’s Economy Ministry has drafted a bill that would compel energy suppliers to inform consumers on the origins of the electricity they are selling. "It's possible that consumers may want to choose their suppliers based also on the fuel mixture used to produce the electricity, given that renewable energy might be exempted from excise duties," the ministry said in the bill's rationale.

If you're staying in Bucharest on Christmas and/or on New Year's Eve and you're not planning to throw a party in your own/a friend's house, there are a couple of options to spend some time out in the town during the winter holidays. We listed some of them for you: Christmas lunches & brunches, New Year's Eve parties – feel free to write us if you're hosting a party or know of one which you expect to rock! You could also check out other events taking place in Bucharest in December.

Romania's Finance Ministry will launch the first bond issue of its planned EUR 7 billion medium term notes (MTNs) program at the end of 2010 or early 2011, according to the government’s letter of intent that will be sent to the International Monetary Fund.

HR Specialists has received approval for two EU-funded projects worth a total of EUR 3 million which aim at creating facilities to help disabled people find jobs in Romania, Romania-Insider.com has learned. The first such project started in June and the second one in November and both should be active until 2013. For the first project, HR Specialists partners association Reninco, while for the second it partners NGO Apel.

Despite the crisis, Romanians started to travel by plane more often while travelers from other countries in the EU reduced the frequency of their flights. Still, Romanian travelers are below the EU level when it comes to the frequency of their flights. In Romania, in 2009, the number of flights per inhabitant was approximately 15 percent higher than in 2007, according to AT Kearney.

Romanian export-oriented manufacturing industries will continue to grow in 2011, further supporting economic recovery, whereas sectors such as retail and constructions will be negatively impacted by low consumer confidence, according to consultancy firm Roland Berger.

The value of payments using foreign-issued cards to Romanian traders climbed to a record EUR 94 million, 25 percent above the previous quarter's level.

*How did entrepreneur Ioan Ciolan restructure the Ambient business, from EUR 20 mln loss – in Ziarul Financiar
*Airports with under a million passenger traffic a year need EUR 150 million to develop – in Ziarul Financiar
*Large stock market players invest millions of lei in Fondul Proprietatea – in Ziarul Financiar
*The Government sets up the Fiscal Police – in Ziarul Financiar

Oil and gas company OMV's Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer (in picture) was charged with insider trading after buying shares in the company a week before a major divestment, according to Bloomberg.

A metro train got off the tracks between Unirii and Timpuri Noi metro stations on Wednesday evening, without causing any victims. The traffic was stopped on that route and works are currently underway to evacuate the passengers and move the metro train back to the depot.

Romania’s Economy Ministry has drafted a bill that would compel energy suppliers to inform consumers on the origins of the electricity they are selling. "It's possible that consumers may want to choose their suppliers based also on the fuel mixture used to produce the electricity, given that renewable energy might be exempted from excise duties," the ministry said in the bill's rationale.

If you're staying in Bucharest on Christmas and/or on New Year's Eve and you're not planning to throw a party in your own/a friend's house, there are a couple of options to spend some time out in the town during the winter holidays. We listed some of them for you: Christmas lunches & brunches, New Year's Eve parties – feel free to write us if you're hosting a party or know of one which you expect to rock! You could also check out other events taking place in Bucharest in December.

Romania's Finance Ministry will launch the first bond issue of its planned EUR 7 billion medium term notes (MTNs) program at the end of 2010 or early 2011, according to the government’s letter of intent that will be sent to the International Monetary Fund.

HR Specialists has received approval for two EU-funded projects worth a total of EUR 3 million which aim at creating facilities to help disabled people find jobs in Romania, Romania-Insider.com has learned. The first such project started in June and the second one in November and both should be active until 2013. For the first project, HR Specialists partners association Reninco, while for the second it partners NGO Apel.

Despite the crisis, Romanians started to travel by plane more often while travelers from other countries in the EU reduced the frequency of their flights. Still, Romanian travelers are below the EU level when it comes to the frequency of their flights. In Romania, in 2009, the number of flights per inhabitant was approximately 15 percent higher than in 2007, according to AT Kearney.

Romanian export-oriented manufacturing industries will continue to grow in 2011, further supporting economic recovery, whereas sectors such as retail and constructions will be negatively impacted by low consumer confidence, according to consultancy firm Roland Berger.