The risks of a global recession trifecta are rising by the day,
according to Kenneth Rogoff, former IMF chief economist, currently a
professor at Harvard University. A recession in Europe is almost
inevitable if the war in Ukraine escalates. With US consumer prices
currently increasing at their fastest rate in 40 years, prospects for a
soft landing for prices without a major impact on growth look
increasingly remote. Moreover, China is finding it increasingly
difficult to sustain positive growth in the face of draconian Covid-19
lockdowns, which have already brought Shanghai to a screeching halt and
now threaten Beijing. In fact, Mr Rogoff pointed out the Chinese
economy may already be in recession, according to The Guardian.
The main objective of the new head of the National Agency for Fiscal
Administration (ANAF), Lucian Heiuș, appointed on Thursday, is "to
increase the level of collection in order to ensure the financing of
economic and social measures", Prime Minister Niciolae Ciucă, who
signed Mr Heiuș’s appointment, transmitted. The increase in collections
recorded in the first quarter of this year must continue at a faster
pace, PM Ciucă pointed out. The implementation of the "Goods Radar" and
"E-Invoice" projects can also bring more money to the state budget and
ensure a competitive business environment," Prime Minister Nicolae
Ciucă pointed out.
Minister of European Projects and Investments Marcel Bolos announced,
during the briefing at the end of the Government meeting on Friday that
the Government had approved RON 300 million grants for four areas of
Romania’s economy, namely the food industry, aquaculture, fish farming
and agriculture. According to him, the grants are developed on two
measures. Under the first measure, micro-grants, worth EUR 5,000 each,
will be granted to micro-enterprises, authorized individuals (PFA),
individual enterprises and family enterprises that carry out their
activity in the four indicated areas. The total budget allocated for
this measure is EUR 50 million and a number of over 10,000
beneficiaries has been estimated.
The unprecedented increase in prices of food products in March 2022 was
followed by a slight decrease in April, of 0.8%, according to the
latest report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO). The aggregate price index fell from the all-time
high of 159.7 points (2014 - 2016 = 100), revised from 159.3 points, to
158.5 points. The annual advance of global food prices decreased to
29.8%, from 33.9%, amid a significant monthly fall in oil prices and a
slight decline in grain prices. The average price of vegetable oils
recorded a 5.7% monthly drop, after having gone up 24.8% in the
previous month, and the annual advance decreased from 58.1% to 46.5%.
The average monthly increase in the price of oil at global level has
been 3.6% over the past 12 months.
Euroins reached a 35% market share on the RCA (mandatory civil
liability car insurance) segment after the first four months of 2022,
slightly down from 36%, having maintained its place at the top of the
market, followed by Groupama, with a 20.5% market share, and by
Allianz-Tiriac, with a 17% market share, according to the information
transmitted by the representatives of the Financial Supervisory
Authority (ASF). Compared to the situation at the end of 2021, Groupama
managed to increase its market share on the RCA segment and climb to
the second place in the top of the RCA market, while Allianz-Tiriac
fell to the third place. The next ranking companies in terms of market
share in the RCA area are Omniasig - 9.4%, while Axeriad IARD – a
company which entered the market at the end of 2021, Grawe and Asirom
had market shares between 6.5% and 7.2%, while Generali reached a
market share of 1.15% in the first four months of 2022.
Banks have started increasing interest rates on RON-denominated
household deposits up to 5% or even more, depending on the maturities
clients opt for. However, some interest rate offers are promotional
ones, available for a limited period of time. In order to get a clearer
overview of commercial banks’ offers on the market, ZF carried out a
simulation on the online financial services comparator Finzoom. This
simulation took into account the highest deposit interest offers
offered by banks for three-, six-, twelve- and twenty-for-month
maturities, regardless of the criteria that banks impose in order to
benefit from the highest deposit interest rates. Most banks thus offer
higher interest rates if clients use the online environment to make
those deposits, and the transfer of one’s income into an account opened
at the bank is also taken into consideration in some cases upon
granting a higher interest.
OTP Bank Romania recorded a RON 35 million operating profit in Q1/2022,
above the level reported for Q1/2021, but the after-tax result marked
RON 24 million losses, due to extraordinary risk provisions, according
to information provided by the bank. Operating profit was several times
higher than in the first quarter of last year, but 4% lower than in
Q4/2021, as a result of higher administrative costs, mainly impacted by
the annual payment of contributions to the Deposit Guarantee Fund and
the Resolution Fund. On a comparable basis (removing these
contributions) operating profit increased by more than 70% in Q1/2022
compared to Q4/2021.
Banca Transilvania Financial Group (TLV) has reported to Bucharest
Stock Exchange (BSE) a RON 400 million group-wide profit in Q1/2022,
down from RON 656 million in the same period of 2021 (-39%), according
to calculations based on data from the report published at BSE.
Operating revenues in the first three months of the year stood at RON
1.29 billion, up by 12% against the RON 1.16 billion level recorded
last year.
German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen and its partners will invest
EUR 10 billion to produce electric vehicles and batteries in Spain, CEO
Herbert Diess said on Thursday, EUR 3 billion more than a previously
announced amount. The company also announced a partnership agreement
with Spain’s biggest electricity company, Iberdrola, which will set up
a solar park to partially power the batteries plant to be built in
Sagunto, near Valencia. Iberdrola will invest EUR 500 million in the
electrification plan, its CEO Ignacio Sanchez Galan told reporters,
without giving further details.
Austrian energy group OMV will not withdraw from oil and gas production
on a short term amid the possible EU embargo on Russian oil and natural
gas, OMV CEO Alfred Stern stated during an interview for the daily
Kurier. He pointed out that OMV would continue to invest heavily in oil
and gas until 2030 and would develop five new gas production
facilities, for example in Norway and in the Black Sea, the Neptun
project.
An over EUR 1 million investment is soon to start in the town of Targu
Bujor in Galati County. The announcement was made by Galati County
Council president Costel Fotea after having signed the works contract
for a new building at Târgu Bujor Town Hospital. The new building will
be dedicated to the Pediatrics department. The tender for the
construction of the new building was won by S.C. PM Construct 2007 SRL.
This investment is being carried out through the 2014-2020 Operational
Program Romania - Republic of Moldova, within a partnership with
Hânceşti district.
Fines imposed on drivers who drive without having a valid road vignette
will grow considerably - according to a draft law initiated by the
Government and adopted by the Senate, as the first notified chamber. In
the case of passenger cars, fines might increase to a maximum of RON
550, those for passenger vehicles with up to 23 seats will grow to RON
6,200, and fines for passenger vehicles with more than 23 seats could
reach RON 11,000.
Save Romania Union (USR) has announced that it has submitted a new
draft law to abolish special pensions for MPs, amid the Constitutional
Court’s decision on Thursday indicating that the current law had been
passed in breach of the law. In response, the National Liberal Party
(PNL) has argued that there is no need for a new law, but a re-analysis
of the law criticized by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR). USR
claims the decision adopted on Thursday by CCR judges and its reasoning
have not yet been published in the Official Gazette of Romania, which
means that, at the moment, Law 7/2021 abolishing parliamentarians’
special pensions is still in force.
The draft Ordinance on social vouchers is undergoing the proper
endorsement process, and the total value of this program is RON 3.1
billion, Minister of European Projects and Investments Marcel Bolos
announced on Friday, saying that the list of final beneficiaries
included about 2,861,000 people. He added that the cards distribution
to final beneficiaries would also start, but would require a certain
period of time to be completed.
Romanian flag carrier Tarom has received €1.9 million in financial
support to cover losses made due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the
second half of 2020 after it was recently approved by the European
Commission. The aid comes from the budget of the transport ministry,
the airline’s majority shareholder. The aid covers losses during the
second half of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted transport
services. Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu announced that he had
signed the executive order to grant the aid following approval from
Brussels. He added that the European Commission was currently analyzing
a restructuring aid worth €85 million for Tarom. In 2020, Tarom
received financial aid to cover the losses registered during the
lockdown period from March to June 2020.
Family Minister Gabriela Firea has stated that she supports equal
opportunities between women and men and has emphasized the importance
of "getting women more involved in the decision-making process, but
also of combating violence and harassment at the workplace, which are
intolerable". She has indicated that the National Agency for Equal
Opportunities for Women and Men, now part of the ministry she leads,
the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities, has been
fighting to combat gender discrimination and has been helping to raise
public awareness of gender equality through the implemented policies
and programs.
A total of 227,500 inactive people wanted to work in 2021, but were
either not looking for work or were not available to start work,
according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The
unemployment rate is the most visible indicator resulting from the
Household Labor Survey, used to characterize a multitude of economic
and social aspect. Moreover, in order to provide a complete picture of
the situation and evolution of the labor market, the INS publishes, on
an annual basis, a set of 3 indicators, representing categories of
employed or inactive population with some similarities to the
unemployed population and different degrees of attachment to the labor
market (compared to the standard situation of the category they belong
to), namely: underemployed persons; inactive persons looking for a job,
but not available to start work; inactive persons not looking for a job
but available to start work.