Financial news

Inflation in Bulgaria marked a new growth on an annual basis in March. Data from the National Statistical Institute show 1.3 percent growth in prices compared to March 2009. This is the third consecutive month with an increase in the CPI on an annual basis. In February consumer prices rise from a year earlier was 0.9% and for January - 0.5 percent. The rise in the cost of living in March was due to the increase in prices of non-food goods - by 5.9 percent on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the monthly inflation rate in the third month of the year is less (0.2%) compared with its size last month - 0.6 percent. For the whole 2009 the rise in consumer prices was 0.6%. The government forecast for 2010 is the inflation to reach 2.2%, as these assumptions base on expectations for recovery of economy and domestic demand, which typically generate higher prices.

The deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Dyankov announced in Parliament the current data for the non-returned value added tax (VAT), fiscal reserve and the foreign debt of the country. In Dyankov’s words – according to data provided this morning, at the moment, the due, but not returned VAT amounts to BGN 306 million. On July 27 2009, when the new government took the office, the amount was BGN 722 million. At the moment, the due VAT is less than the amount owed during the same time span in 2009. 

Is giving up on ERM-2 a step backwards for Bulgaria? Teodora Kamenova Just a few days ago Prime Minister Boyko Borissov stated that Bulgaria is giving up on its ambitions to join the ERM-2 - a needed prerequisite for the adoption of the euro. This was a sharp turn from the government's previously declared intentions of adopting the common European currency in 2014 at the latest. What will be the consequences of such statements and will this move affect Bulgaria in any way? Full text of the analysis You may send your comments to: bic@bia-bg.com

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Concessions

Parts of 5 Bulgarian railroad stations will be offered for concession, Transport Minister, Alexander Tsvetkov, reported Wednesday during the cabinet's meeting. Private management will be sought for the waiting areas, commercial buildings and facilities, and equipment of the railroad stations in Sofia (the Central Station and the Poduene one), Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas. With the move the cabinet hopes private companies with greater financing will be able to reconstruct and manage the railroad stations better than the Sate. The concessionaires will have to modernize the facilities, increase the quality of service and provide new job openings. The Transport Ministry expects to increase the budget revenue by over BGN 1 B.

Companies

After closing the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), the Bulgarian government will lump together all energy companies including Kozloduy NPP and Maritsa East 2 coal-fired power plant, deputy energy minister Maya Hristova said. Hristova said the government has not yet come up with plans what stakes will be put on the chopping block. “We can potentially offer majority stakes but the plans will be drafted by June,” she said. Energy minister Traycho Traykov said on Tuesday that the BEH -- the mega structure that brings together the nation’s top-notch energy assets -- will be closed by the end of June as it has been ineffective and is therefore unnecessary. The Ministry of Economy said one of the options on the table is creating two holding companies that will include energy and gas firms. Hristova confirmed speculations that Kozloduy NPP and Maritsa East 2 TPP will most likely merge into NEK.

European Commission launches an investigation of the plans to defer a EUR 9.8 million debt of the manufacturer of metal products Rousse Industry to the Treasury. European Commission has doubts whether this measure is in line with EU rules to help rescue companies. We must be sure that the measure in favor of Rousse Industry complies with the rules, ie the company is viable and will help to adversely affect competition," said competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia. Brussels is aware of the plans for rescheduling the debt since 30 June 2009.

The largest Bulgarian mobile operator M-Tel has decided to give up developing its WiMAX network, and to focus UMTS network. M-Tel has decided to transer its permit for the use of a radio frequency for WiMAX services to another Bulgarian WiMAX operator, Max Telecom. The amount of the deal has not been revealed, and it is yet to be sealed by the Bulgarian state Communications Regulation Commission. In addition to Max Telecom and M-Tel, three more companies have licenses for WiMax technologies in Bulgaria – TransTelecom, Nexcom, and Carrier.BG. The last three, however, do not have a functioning WiMAX network. The largest Bulgarian mobile operator M-Tel has already invested EUR 600 M in infrastructure in order to expand the use of the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommications System) technology.

The prosecutors are currently conducting two preliminary checks and five pre-trial proceedings, concerning a number of huge energy projects, including Maritsa East 2, Belene nuclear power plant, hydro power plant Tsankov Kamak and the National Electricity Company NEK. The preliminary checks and pre-trial proceedings were triggered by suspicions of malfeasance in office. The prosecutors have been approached in the period 2009-2010.Bulgaria's government has put on ice the EUR 4 bln project to build a second nuclear power plant, citing lack of funding and turning down a financing proposal from Russia. The government has not formally scrapped the Belene project, on the Danube, some 250 kilometres northeast of Sofia. But work on it has stopped and the cabinet has said it will resume only if a strategic international investor turns up.

Europe

The European Union has indicated it is ready to work with the Group of 20 leading economies in constructing a global framework for taxing banks. "We are ready to co-operate with G20 members on globally coordinated principles for a stability levy on the financial sector," EU officials wrote in a draft letter earlier this month. The fresh sign of support comes ahead of an informal meeting of EU finance ministers in Madrid, where the finance chiefs will attempt to hammer out a more unified EU position on the subject. With the recent financial crisis forcing governments to bail out struggling European banks, policy makers have come forward with an array of suggestions on how to force the industry to pay for some of the costs.

America

Intel Corp. posted a first-quarter profit and revenue that beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as the world's largest microchip maker became the first major technology company to report results for the period. Intel earned a profit of $2.4 billion, or 43 cents per share, during the three months ended March 27. That's almost four times what the Santa Clara, Calif., company reported for the first quarter of 2009, amid the downturn. Intel's quarterly sales rose 44% to $10.3 billion, the highest the company has ever reported for its first quarter of the year. The revenue also topped analysts' forecast of $9.8 billion. Revenue for Intel's PC unit rose 43% from a year earlier, but remained flat compared to a quarter earlier.

Asia

Toyota Motor Corp. asked Lexus dealers in North America to halt sales of GX 460 sport-utility vehicles after Consumer Reports labeled the model a “safety risk,” the magazine’s first such designation in nine years. “We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified,” Mark Templin, U.S. general manager for the luxury brand, said in an e-mail. The 2010 GX 460 received the designation and a “don’t buy” recommendation because emergency driving tests indicated it may be prone to rollover accidents, Consumer Reports said yesterday. The non-profit magazine, published by Yonkers, New York-based Consumers Union, said it hadn’t deemed any other vehicle a safety risk since 2001.

The Bachkovo Monastery

The Bachkovo Monastery was founded in 1083 by the Byzantine military commander of Georgian origin Grigorii Bakuriani and his brother Abbasii. Grijorii built up the monastery in his own feudal lands, and according to Georgian traditions, dedicated it to the woman-mother, thus naming it The Petrichki Monastery (after the name of the nearby fortress). In 1206 Tsar Kaloyan conquered the Rhodope Mountains and the Bachkovo Monastery was included within the boundaries of the Bulgarian State. After 1344 Tsar Ivan Alexander consolidated the Bulgarian ruling over the Rhodopes, and the monastery became an important medieval centre of religion and learning. After the Ottomans conquered Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Patriarch Evtimii of Turnovo was exiled to the monastery and created the Bachkovo School of Education there. The monastery library preserves many valuable incunabula and old manuscripts. Its most remarkable asset, however, are the unique paintings, which could be seen everywhere in the churches and the Ossuary, The figure of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander is discernible on the 11th and 14th century murals, in the Refectory (1601), in the "Assumption of the Holy Virgin" main church (1604), and in "The Holy Trinity and St. Nicholas" church (1840), which contains some of the first murals painted by the eminent National Revival artist Zachary Zograph.

On that day:  Church-charnel house St. Nedelya in Batak Baykusheva Mura