Expats

Bulgaria's Research, Innovation Well Below EU Average [Feb 02, 2011] Bulgaria's research and innovation have been ranked next to last in the EU , the annual EU Innovation Union Scoreboard has shown. Only Latvia has performed worse than the Balkan country in 2010. "The performance of Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania is well below that of the EU27.... [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Up to 60th in Economic Freedom [Jan 12, 2011] Bulgaria has moved up to the 60th position in the 2011 Economic Freedom Index compiled by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. The Balkan country is one place behind Panama and one ahead of Kuwait. Romania is ranked 63rd. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria aims for China to be largest investor by 2013: minister [Oct 16, 2010] Bulgaria aims for China to become the largest foreign investor in the Balkan country by 2013, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov said Friday. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Coach Lothar Matthaus: My Dream is to Qualify for Euro 2012 [Oct 10, 2010] Bulgaria national football team boss Lothar Matthaus has praised his side's response after the break of the clash against Wales in Cardiff, which marked his debut as a coach of the Balkan country. [via YahooNews] More >>

Soccer-Matthaeus hails Bulgaria's second-half performance [Oct 09, 2010] Bulgaria responded well to a tricky opening 45 minutes against Wales and deserved their 1-0 win after an impressive second-half performance, said Lothar Matthaeus, who made his debut as coach of the Balkan country on Friday. [via YahooNews] More >>

Matthaeus hails Bulgaria's second-half performance [Oct 09, 2010] Bulgaria responded well to a tricky opening 45 minutes against Wales and deserved their 1-0 win after an impressive second-half performance, said Lothar Matthaeus, who made his debut as coach of the Balkan country on Friday. Ivelin Popov scored the winner three minutes after the break with a shot that went in off the post to give Bulgaria their first win in 2010. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Raises State Holding in Stock Exchange Before Majority Stake Sale [Sep 16, 2010] Bulgaria raised the state's stake in the Balkan country's stock exchange as it prepares to sell its majority to an industry investor and offer the rest to the public, said Ivan Takev, the bourse's executive director. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Raises State Holding in Stock Exchange Before Majority Stake Sale [Sep 15, 2010] Bulgaria raised the state?s stake in the Balkan country?s stock exchange as it prepares to sell its majority to an industry investor and offer the rest to the public, said Ivan Takev, the bourse?s executive director. [via YahooNews] More >>

Vietnam pays debt to Bulgaria [Aug 12, 2010] SOFIA (Bulgaria) - VIETNAM has paid back its remaining communist-era debt to Bulgaria, following a deal with the Balkan country to write off half the money owed, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. Bulgaria and Vietnam reached the agreement in July, during a visit to Sofia of Vietnam's First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria, Russia create joint venture on South Stream gas pipeline [Jul 16, 2010] Sofia - Russia and Bulgaria agreed to create a joint venture to implement the South Stream gas pipeline project in the Balkan country, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reported Friday. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Rally: Citroen Jr. preview [Jul 04, 2010] The second part of the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship gets underway with the Rally Bulgaria. On its World Championship debut, the Balkan country hosts the crews in the town of Borovets, the oldest ski resort in Bulgaria. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria coach Stoilov desperate for Berbatov rethink [Jun 28, 2010] Bulgaria coach Stanimir Stoilov wants the Balkan country's soccer authorities to try and persuade former captain and all-time leading scorer Dimitar Berbatov to come out of international retirement. [via YahooNews] More >>

(AFX UK Focus) 2010-05-05 11:46 UPDATE 1-Bulgaria to cut public spending by 20 pct in 2010 [May 05, 2010] SOFIA, May 5 (Reuters) - Bulgaria will cut public spending by 20 percent this year for total savings of some 900 million levs ($606.9 million) as it battles a deep recession, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov said on Wednesday. The Balkan country, whose economy contracted 5 percent last year, has been forced to take draconian action and seek ways to boost sagging revenues to keep its budget ... [via YahooNews] More >>

(AFX UK Focus) 2010-04-01 11:12 Bulgaria jobless rate breaks upward trend in March [Apr 01, 2010] SOFIA, April 1 (Reuters) - Bulgaria 's jobless rate edged down for the first time in 18 months in March, to 10.1 percent from 10.3 percent in February as seasonal employment rose, labour ministry data showed on Thursday. The number of unemployed in the European Union country fell by more than 4,000 to 375,000. The unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in March last year. The Balkan country has been ... [via YahooNews] More >>

(AFX UK Focus) 2010-02-23 13:03 Bulgaria ditches plan to list gas network operator (Interactive Investor) [Feb 23, 2010] SOFIA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has ditched plans to float part of its gas network operator on the market, an energy minister said on Tuesday, which media reports said was to prevent Russia gaining more influence over the Balkan country's gas supply. The listing of Bulgartransgaz was part of the new centre-right government's plan to float about 15 percent in major state energy companies this ... [via YahooNews] More >>

No Official Talks With US On European Missile Shield, Bulgaria Tells Russia (INO News) [Feb 19, 2010] (RTTNews) - Responding to Russia's concern over the United States' reported plan to expand its European missile shield to Bulgaria, Sophia made it clear that it is not engaged in official negotiations with Washington about basing parts of the missile system in that Balkan country. [via YahooNews] More >>

U.S. in talks with Bulgaria on missile shield (Russian Information Agency Novosti) [Feb 12, 2010] The United States is holding informal talks with Bulgaria on hosting elements of a U.S. missile shield on its soil, the U.S. ambassador to the Balkan country said Friday. [via YahooNews] More >>

Bulgaria Is Vulnerable to Greek Contagion Risk, Citigroup Says (Bloomberg) [Feb 11, 2010] Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Bulgaria is more susceptible to contagion risk from the Greek crisis than neighboring Romania or Turkey, because Greek banks control 28 percent of the Balkan country?s market, said Citigroup Inc. [via YahooNews] More >>

FACTBOX-Bulgaria's chequered record with the EU (AlertNet) [Jan 20, 2010] Source: Reuters Jan 20 (Reuters) - The embarrassing withdrawal of Bulgaria's candidate for a European commissioner role has rekindled doubts about whether the Balkan country deserved its EU membership and can tame ... [via YahooNews] More >>