Growth in Romania is now expected at only 1.8% in 2023 as a whole, considering the slowdown in the first half of the year, according to a report published on Wednesday (Sept. 27) by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The London-based financial institution’s projection was downwardly revised from an initial 2.5% one in May. Romania’s economy proved resilient in
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Romania’s government is set to invest approximately RON 1.44 billion (€290 million), primarily sourced from the European Union budget, to revamp the Black Sea Port of Constanta, the country’s maritime gateway, amid surging traffic demands. The strategic investment includes infrastructure enhancements, such as rehabilitation of existing roads, water and sewerage infrastructure, and development of electricity distribution. The initial phase of the investment includes around €145
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Romania’s foreign exchange reserves (excluding gold) stood at EUR53.90 billion at the end of August 2023, compared to EUR 53.93 billion on 31 July 2023, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) data showed on Friday (September 1). Foreign exchange inflows totaled EUR1.932 billion last month, representing: changes in credit institutions’ foreign currency-denominated required reserves with the BNR; inflows into the Ministry of
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Both deposits and loans in the Cypriot banking system experienced a decrease last month, according to the August 2023 edition of ‘Monetary and Financial Statistics,’ published this week by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). Total deposits in July 2023 witnessed a net decrease of €301.1 million, compared with a net increase of €399.2 million in June 2023. This shift was primarily
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UK bank Standard Chartered chief executive Bill Winters said on Monday (April 25) that the banking sector may face new problems even as the immediate risks from last month’s market turmoil have faded. “I think we can put the crisis behind us. I don’t think we can put the issue behind us,” he told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche. Winters also said other issues
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Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic are the European economies most vulnerable to a new rise in energy prices, according to the latest EY European Economic Outlook. “Our analysis shows that Europe is more vulnerable to a renewed increase in energy prices than other major economies, in particular the US. In the event of another spike in energy costs, the most adversely
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The Bank of England (BoE) hiked interest rates for the eleventh time in a row to 4.25% on Thursday (March 23), in line with expectations, and pushing borrowing costs to fresh 2008-highs. The policymakers emphasized they would continue to monitor the domestic economic trends, stressing that additional tightening can be anticipated if data indicate that inflationary pressures remain elevated. The BoE has been
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The inflation rate in Switzerland rose to 3.3% in January from a year earlier, largely reflecting higher food and energy prices, the Federal Statistics Office said, the highest reading since September 2022, from 2.8% in the prior month and above market expectations of 2.9%. Core inflation that excludes fresh food, energy and fuel, remained unchanged at 2.2%. The increase in inflation was
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said that global growth is set to slow to 3.1% in 2022 and fall even further to 2.2% in 2023 The OECD stressed that “uncertainty about the outlook is high” and the risks have become “more skewed to the downside and more acute” but the global economy should avoid a recession next year “We
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A trio of U.S.-based economists were awarded the Nobel prize in economic sciences for 2022 for their research on banks and financial crises. The work of Ben Bernanke at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, Douglas Diamond at the University of Chicago in Illinois, and Philip Dybvig at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, explained how finance greases the wheels of capitalism
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