November 20 (SeeNews) - Following are some of the main stories in the online versions of Romanian media on Friday morning. SeeNews has not verified these reports and cannot vouch for their accuracy.
ZIARUL FINANCIAR
- Romanian life insurer BCR Asigurari de Viata sees its net profit rising 40%-50% this year, the company's director general Florina Vizinteanu said.
- Rompetrol Downstream, the filling stations operator of second-largest Romanian oil group Rompetrol, sees its fuel sales growing 3.0% next year as demand will start to recover in the second half of 2010, the company's commercial director Iulian Antonache said.
- The contraction of Romania's economy is expected at 7.0%-7.5% this year, slightly better than the previous forecast of an 8.0% drop, after the economy shrank less than expected in the third quarter, deputy Finance Minister Gratiela Iordache said.
MEDIAFAX
- Romanian annual inflation rate is expected to fall to 3.8% in 2010 and further to 3.3% in 2011, provided that fiscal and income policies are tightened, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in a report. For 2009, EIU estimates the inflation to be bellow Romanian central bank's target cap of 4.5%. EIU also expects the Romanian leu to stand at 4.33 per euro at end-2009, and to gain ground up to 3.97 per euro at the end of 2010.
BUSINESS STANDARD
- The volume of sales of Romanian brewer Ursus Breweries, a unit of UK-based SABMiller, fell by 12% on the year in the first half of the company's fiscal year of April to September, the company said.
AGERPRES
- Romania's Health Ministry confirmed 1,651 infections with the A(H1N1) virus by Thursday with 132 of them registered in the last 24 hours.