July 31, 2014 UPDATE
A look at the main stories on the local scene today.
România Internațional, 31.07.2014, 12:01
Romania’s government on Thursday approved its first budget adjustment this year. Prime minister Victor Ponta said additional funds are earmarked to the health, education, defence, transport and labour ministries, while the finance ministry will receive fewer funds. The Fiscal Council says that through this adjustment, the government shifts the burden to the budgets of the following years because it has overestimated the budget returns cashed in at the end of the year. The adjustment does not cover the impact of a 5% cut in the social security contribution paid by employers the government plans to enforce on the 1st of October, the Fiscal Council also notes.
Romania’s government bonds have been included in the global index of the world’s biggest investment bank, JP Morgan, starting on Thursday. According to an analysis by Reuters, Romania is the second emerging market in the eastern part of the EU, after Poland, to be included in a special category alongside 12 other states such as Turkey, Brazil and Russia. Experts quoted by Reuters say it is to be expected that JP Morgan’s decision will help Romania maintain its lending costs at a low level and benefit the local economy in the long term. In the last 4 weeks, after JP Morgan make public its decision, the demand for Romania’s government bonds has increased, while the national currency has strengthened significantly, the Reuters report also writes.
A flood alert is in place in 14 counties in the south and south-west of the country until Friday evening. In the last two days, these regions have been confronted with serious flooding, with one person being killed and over 1,000 evacuated from their homes. Almost 2,300 houses have been damaged and more than 17,000 hectares of land flooded.
In Romania, unemployment fell in June by 0.2% compared to the previous month, and by 0.3% compared to the same month last year. In addition, the National Institute of Statistics said that the number of the unemployed aged between 15 and 74 is estimated at 7.1%, which accounts for 700,000 people. Unemployment among men is 1.3% higher than among women. In the Eurozone, unemployment continued to fall in June, reaching 11.5%, the lowest level since September 2012. Austria, Germany and Malta have the lowest numbers, with the highest recorded in Greece and Spain. 10.2% of the EU population was registered as unemployed last month, following a decreasing trend.
