Well this is spooky. Just a day after the IMF published a report crediting the Moldovan Central Bank for doing a remarkable job of containing problems: Prosecutors say a grenade was lobbed and exploded at the house of the outgoing governor of Moldova’s central bank. There were no casualties. Prosecutors said windows were broken and the house’s exterior was damaged in the attack which they … Continue reading Throwing Grenades at a Banker
I must say that it’s really been an interesting week for Moldova. No, I’m not just talking about all the protests but what all the players behind the current political crisis have been saying. Scattered across dozens of articles, you don’t see the pattern. It’s only when you stitch them together that you see what’s going on. Yesterday, Jose Manuel Borroso, the former president of … Continue reading Everyone Agrees the IMF is Swell
I was quite interested in seeing this rather even-handed but somewhat superficial investigation into corruption in Romania by British channel ITV, focusing on the fallout from the November 2015 Collectiv fire. A choice quote from a Romanian interviewed for the story: “This”, one of the survivors of the fire told me, “is what happens when as a people you don’t pay attention for a very … Continue reading 2 Articles on Corruption
Looks like Romania’s economy is still not doing very well, primarily due to government mismanagement. From here: The issue ratings on Romania’s senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have been affirmed at ‘BBB-‘and ‘BBB’, respectively. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at ‘BBB+’ and the Short-term foreign currency IDR at ‘F3’. The ratings from Fitch are explained here. Essentially, AAA is the best, then … Continue reading BBB-
Big smiles all around at the World Bank after a successful meeting in Bucharest yesterday: The World Bank’s status as an important partner to Romania was reiterated during the meeting, as well as the fact that Romania represents one of the World Bank’s most important partners in the region. Essentially, Klaus promised to sell off more state-owned enterprises, long a goal of the IMF and … Continue reading Klaus Gets his Orders from the World Bank
All Things Romania 