SofiaEcho RSS feed Business

Murky digital future

Vessislava Antonova, Capital — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:52:00 +0200

The switch to digital television broadcasting in Bulgaria cannot progress before a transition plan is approved

Tight circle

Kalina Goranova, Capital — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:43:00 +0200

Bulgarian Government doing its best to drive strategic investors away from BDZ Cargo privatisation

Bulgarian telecom firm offers compensation after network disruption

The Sofia Echo staff — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:05:00 +0200

Services at several banks in Bulgaria were disrupted because of the network disruption which lasted several hours on February 6 2012.

Malév airline grounds all flights after running out of cash

The Sofia Echo staff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:26:00 +0200

Some passengers entitled to rerouting, the Hungarian airline says, announcing a shutdown after 66 years of operations.

Green fuel

Kristalina Stoikova — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:01:00 +0200

As debate in Bulgaria heats up on the issue of shale gas exploration, a view in favour of fracking from a geologist.

Jumping the horse

Ralitsa Nikolova, Capital — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:01:00 +0200

Bulgarian Cabinet's shale gas ban cuts off all oil and gas exploration drilling.

Road less travelled

Geert de Cock — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:01:00 +0200

As debate in Bulgaria heats up on the issue of shale gas exploration, a view against fracking from an environmental campaigner.

Greek bank merger suspended over private sector bond write-downs

The Sofia Echo staff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:43:00 +0200

Proposed merger would create Bulgaria's third largest lender by merging EFG Eurobank subsidiary Postbank with Alpha Bank's branch in Sofia.

Unemployment in euro zone hits new record

The Sofia Echo staff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:27:00 +0200

In November and December 2011, unemployment in the euro zone was 10.4 per cent, while in the EU as a whole, unemployment was 9.9 per cent. In Spain and Greece, almost half of all youth are jobless.

IMF slashes its global economic growth forecast

VOANews — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:32:00 +0200

The IMF’s chief economistsaid that if Europe’s financial woes worsen, 'the world could be plunged into another recession'.

Bulgarian regulator approves sale of E.ON unit to Energo-Pro

The Sofia Echo staff — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:12:00 +0200

E.ON agreed the sale of its Bulgarian unit in December, for a price of 133 million euro.

Fracking ban

Alex Bivol — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:03:00 +0200

Cabinet recants on shale gas exploration, says will review issue after EU debates.

Shrinking back

Ernst&Young — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:02:00 +0200

Retreat of euro zone banks to their home countries likely to pose great challenges to Eastern European emerging market economies.

World Bank projects global slowdown

The Sofia Echo staff — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:05:00 +0200

The World Bank says the world's economy will grow more slowly that previously predicted this year because of Europe's debt crisis, and efforts elsewhere to fight inflation.

Telekom Austria eyes Bulgaria's Vivacom - report

The Sofia Echo staff — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:15:00 +0200

Because Telekom Austria already owned Mobiltel in Bulgaria, its prospective acquisition of Vivacom could run afoul of competition authorities.

Bulgarian municipalities to end 2011 with debts of 150M leva

The Sofia Echo staff — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:47:00 +0200

If the preliminary figures hold true, that would be an improvement on past years, when municipalities collectively finished the year about 200 million leva in the red.

European financial markets shrug at credit downgrades

VOANews — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:29:00 +0200

Europe’s main stock exchanges in London, Paris and Frankfurt traded in a narrow range on January 16, fluctuating with small gains and losses. Earlier in the day, Asian markets slid one per cent or more in the first widespread stock trading after the ratings firm Standard & Poor’s announced its downgrades on January 13.

Small companies create 85 per cent of new jobs in EU, European Commission says

The Sofia Echo staff — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:18:00 +0200

Eight-five per cent of net new jobs in the European Union between 2002 and 2010 were created by small and medium sized enterprises, the European Commission said on January 16 2012.

FDI in Bulgaria down 48% in January-November

The Sofia Echo staff — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:08:00 +0200

In absolute terms, FDI was 740 million euro, compared to 1.43 billion euro in January-November 2010.

Lukoil refinery in Bulgaria given tax warehouse licence

The Sofia Echo staff — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:26:00 +0200

The refinery was already fully compliant with the tax warehouse legislation and Rossenets oil terminal was expected to be assessed by the end of the week.