Financial news

Bulgaria's Energy and Economy Minister Petar Dimitrov stated that the gas shortage caused by the Russia-Ukraine price dispute would be over in a week. Dimitrov made this statement after his meeting with representatives of sixty large Bulgarian industrial consumers of natural gas, during which he informed them of the measures to restrict gas consumption. The Bulgarian government is introducing austerity measures in natural gas consumption starting at 8 a.m. today (Thursday, January 8), after the country was cut off from the Russian gas supplies early Tuesday morning. The industrial consumers have expressed their concerns that some plants might have to be shut down because of the natural gas shortage. Dimitrov himself announced that Bulgaria's chemical industry would suffer the most from the lack of gas.

Hungary, Greece and Portugal removed the restrictions for free movement of manpower and work for Bulgarians and Romanians, as of January 1, informed the e-edition "Financiarul". Bulgarians would be able to work in these countries without previously requesting a work permit and enjoying equal rights as their citizens or the citizens of other EU member states. The decision of the three countries complies with the fundamental EU principles.

Companies

The supply of natural gas to consumers continues without interruptions despite the crisis, the Deputy Director of Overgas Svetlozar Ivanov said. Ivanov added that Overgas was complying with the directive to discontinue supply to all industrial productions capable of using alternative energy sources. The directive was not affecting health and day care facilities, schools, households or productions with continuous cycles. According to Ivanov, 150 days was the deadline before discontinuing natural gas supply to consumers became necessary - a long enough period that would allow Bulgaria to resolve the issue. Bulgaria's gas supply network could transfer gas to 70% of the consumers even when the gas supply at the inlet pipe would be cut off.

Pirin Tex SPLTD in Gotse Delchev, the biggest tailoring factory in Bulgaria with 2,200 workers, will raise expenses by 60% if it switches from gas to petroleum as alternative fuel, the owner Bertram Rollmann said. Our gas stocks will last for 4-5 days. The factory has been using gas since June 2008 and the installation cost BGN 1 million. It is difficult to make any forecasts but volumes will drop by 15-20%.

As a result of the energy crisis the glass production factory Rubin JSC in Pleven is losing millions of EUR. The executive director Pancho Panchev pointed out that the huge losses are a result of forfeits on client contracts. Currently the company operates at a critical minimum. The machines have stopped working, so that the expenditure of gas is reduced to a minimum. Only the furnaces are being supported. The consumption of gas has been reduced by 1000 cubic meters per hour, which is about 2800-2900 cubic meters of gas. For the sake of comparison - during a normal work process about 3600-3900 cubic meters per hour are being used, Panchov specified. The production process in Rubin is totally dependent on gas, because there is no opportunity for using alternative energy resources.

The workers in another privatised Bulgarian company said they were held hostage to a vicious new owner after the staff of Bosnian tobacco plant Fabrika duhana Mostar wanted to terminate the sell-off contract. Sixty-seven percent of the Bosnian company belongs to Bulgarian tobacco processing plant Pazardjik BT, which was sold in 2006 to local company Chesteam, linked to mogul Hristo Kovachki. The sell-off agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina has sent a letter to the plant’s Bulgarian owner. The contract will be terminated unless the Bulgarian company guarantees it would invest BAM 7 million into its Bosnian unit over the next three years.

The State Commission for Energy and Water regulation fined Heat Supply-Rousse BGN 40,000. The regulator imposed sanctions for not following the conditions in the license issued to it. After a check-up, experts from the regulator found out that Heat Supply-Rousse SPJSC has not published all necessary data in the invoices for heating energy supply. What is more, the central heating company has demanded from its new customers preliminary financial guarantees for the energy quantities, which they will use in the future. In this way the company has infringed the responsibilities in its license for supply of heating energy.

Promet Steel stopped work and one third of all 900 workers went on paid leave. In the first days of 2009, the plant has to produce 33,000 tons of metal for clients in Europe and Africa. If the order is not fulfilled on time, we will lose USD 18 million, the executive director of the company said. This sum will be increased by the maintenance of the plant, which is USD 150,000 per day.

Europe

Marks and Spencer plans to close 25 of its small Simply Food stores and another two of its normal stores. The closures will mean the loss of 780 jobs. The retailer is also planning to cut 450 head office jobs. In the 13 weeks to 27 December, its UK like-for-like sales fell by 7.1%. M&S warned that its margins would be lower this year as a result of discounting, especially in food. M&S also said 23 December had been its record day for food sales, with sales of more than £50m.

America

Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. said it will slash its global workforce by 13%, or 13,500 jobs, by the end of the year as a way to remain competitive during the global economic recession. The company said it made the move to hold on to cash and cut costs. In addition to the job cuts, the company said it has also cut 1,700 contractor positions and instituted a global hiring and salary freeze. In all, the company expects to save an annualized USD 450 million before taxes.

Asia

Mitsubishi Materials Corp. is considering cutting production by an average 10 percent as global demand slows, a company executive said. Japan's third-largest copper producer, which has smelting operations in Japan and Indonesia, was looking to cut output starting in February, Managing Director Toshinori Kato said. Producers in Japan and China cut output as global inventories jumped to the highest level in almost five years.  

St. Nicholas Monastery

The monastery is situated about 2km from the village of Kalugerovo, on the bank of Topolnitsa River. There is a Roman traveling column with Latin inscriptions from Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) in the yard of the monastery. Also a Roman marble sarcophagus and Roman coins were found there. In the summer of 1871 Vasil Levski visited the monastery and established a revolutionary committee. The monastery was one of the centers of the April Uprising. Still a memorable inscription, reminding of the secret meeting of Georgi Benkovski and Panayot Volov (famous Bulgarian revolutionaries) in February 12, 1876, is kept there. After the crushing of the uprising, the old monastery church was burnt down together with the iconostasis and its icons. The new church is devoted to Saint Nicholas the Wondermaker. It is a high, one-shipped basilica with bell tower above the western entrance. There are many beautiful places and inlets at Topolnitsa River, which are suitable for hikes and walks.

On that day:  Babinden (Grandmothers’) day