Financial news

Bulgaria has received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 474 586 534 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), equivalent to about EUR 517 M. In this way the international currency reserve of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) is increasing, the BNB press office explained. Leaders of the G-20 countries took a decision on April 2 to allocate USD 250 B Special Drawing Rights between IMF member states as part of the measures on overcoming consequences of the global financial and economic crisis. This gave right to each of the countries to receive up to 75% of the SDRs from their quota in the IMF.

The business climate indicator fell 1.3 percentage points in August, month on month, to 9%, the National Statistical Institute said. That is the lowest point reached since October 2008, when the indicator started decreasing. Only the industrial sector registered a slight rise in business sentiments: 0.3 points. In all other sectors the drop was above 2 points.

REFA qualification course 12.10-20.11.2009 - Sofia Corporate organization and management and optimization of the production processes First module:"Work Systems and Process Design" Topic: Workplace Design and Ergonomics Ergonomic Workplace Design Work Load and Demands and Their Consequences Workplace Design - Anthropometry and Work Means http://refa.bia-bg.com/, tel. 981-45-67, Sofia

	Mineral Fuels, Tailoring Products, Canning, Perfumery and Cosmetics, Furniture, Meat Products, Wine, Wood-processing Industry

Companies

Bulgarian lubricants producer Prista Oil has teamed up with Turkmenistan's Turkmenbashy state-owned oil refinery to build a joint lube oils production unit in the Asian country. Plans call for an annual production capacity topping out at 100,000 tonnes. The announcement was made by Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who was on an official visit to Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) elected a new Board of Directors of its subsidiary, the National Electric Company NEK. The Board of NEK was reduced from five down to three members. The three new directors of NEK are Evgeni Angelov, Georgi Mikov, and Mihail Andonov.  On Monday, BEH announced that the two CEOs of the National Electric Company, Lyubomir Velkov, and Mardik Papazyan had been fired over failure to act in order to cut the company's losses from the economic crisis.

The supervisory board of Orgachim JSC has made the decision to close down its subsidiaries in Serbia, Ukraine and Italy with the aim to decrease losses and optimise business. The Bulgarian paint and varnish manufacturer booked a BGN 723,000 consolidated loss for the first half of 2009, compared to a BGN 3 million profit a year ago. The net sales income stood at BGN 52.2 million, down 23% year on year. Despite the closure of the subsidiaries, Orgachim's operations report states that the estimates are for a higher export income by EUR 15 mln annually.

The 57 largest creditors of the Bulgarian steel mill Kremikovtzi are ready to capitalize their debts and become shareholders according to Podkrepa union leader Lyudmil Pavlov. Pavlov informed that a vote on the recovery program for Kremikovtzi will be held at the end of September. He stated that if the creditors vote in favor as he expects there will be no need for the government to liquidate the mill. The Bulgarian government stated that it may decide to liquidate Kremikovtzi or implement a healing plan. "A final decision is yet to be taken," Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov told reporters.

The National Revenue Agency (NRA) has created an electronic system for detection of persons involved in VAT fraud, the press office of the Revenue Agency announced. The software processes the data, which of the NRA about companies registered under the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act. The system analyzes a number of predefined risk criteria and found suspicious commercial links between companies. The software automatically shows various "roles" of the companies in schemes for VAT draining. The software will allow the investigation of tax evasion to automate to a certain degree and thus to improve the selection of audit firms.

31.08.2009 - The ‘For Diversity. Against Discrimination.’ Campaign run by the European Commission

02 - 03 October 2008 - International Technology Brokerage Event during the Autumn International Technical Trade Fair – Plovdiv

10 October 2009 - Asia-Europe Transport Development Forum will take place in Vilnius.

Europe

L'Oreal posted forecast-beating first-half profits and said it believed the worst of retailers' order trimming of luxury products was over. L'Oreal Chief Executive Jean-Paul Agon also said the group was ready to make a strategic acquisition but had not yet identified a target. "There is nothing really on the market in terms of potential acquisitions but ... we are really ready to make a strategic acquisition if it presents itself," Agon said. The maker of Biotherm and Lancome creams posted a smaller-than-expected 8.3 percent drop in first-half profit to 1.37 billion euros, beating the average forecast of 1.29 billion.

America

US personal computer giant Dell reported a 23-percent decline in quarterly net profit but surpassed the expectations of Wall Street analysts. The Texas-based company said net profit fell to 472 million dollars in the second quarter of its fiscal year compared with 616 million dollars a year ago. Dell said revenue declined by 22 percent in the quarter to 12.8 billion dollars. "We have been reducing complexity in our organization and significantly lowering operating costs, in anticipation of improvement in the global economy and IT spending," chairman and chief executive Michael Dell said.

Asia

Japan’s unemployment rate rose to a record 5.7 percent in July and deflation worsened, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso on the eve of the elections. The jobless rate rose more than economists estimated, surpassing the previous record 5.5 percent last seen in April 2003, the statistics bureau said. Consumer prices dropped an unprecedented 2.2 percent from a year earlier. Household spending slid 2 percent last month, indicating Aso’s cash handouts as part of a 25 trillion yen stimulus plan are failing to spur demand among consumers whose wages are falling.

National Museum Radetski Steamship

The National Museum Radetski Steamship was established on March 16, 1982 by a decree No 9 of the Bureau of the Council of Ministers. The Museum collects and makes popular historical data and documents, related to the formation of the Botev detachment, its debarking at the Kozloduy beach, its historical feat and the gratitude of the Bulgarians to the great sacrifice. Along with the foundation Saving for the Radetski Steamship – the town of Kozloduy, the museum takes care for the protection of this national relic and the entire memorial complex Kozloduy Beach. The first tasks to the museums and the foundation were to repair the steamship and to form a museum exhibition revealing the heroism of Hristo Botev and his detachment.

On that day:  Mantaritsa