Record low

· UNEMPLOYMENT stood at 10.77 per cent in August, the lowest rate in over nine years, the Employment Agency said on September 9. Jobless people that month totalled less than 400 000. Between July and August, unemployment dropped 0.17 percentage points and the number of jobless persons decreased by more than 6000. Year on year, unemployment dropped 1.17 points and the number of jobless people decreased by more than 43 000.
The decline in unemployment resulted partly from the implementation of job creation programmes and measures. National programmes created additional jobs by setting up emergency teams to mitigate the effects of recent floods.

Nova Plama

· A MEETING on September 9 of creditors of Pleven-based bankrupt oil refinery Nova Plama decided that the company would be fully sold. It can be sold in parts only if there are no buyers, Judge Silvia Krusteva of the Pleven District Court said. Principal creditors include the State Receivables Agency, seven banks, Bulgargaz and the National Electric Company. The court reopened bankruptcy proceedings on July 19, when it declared the company bankrupt, imposed attachment on its property and terminated the powers of the governing body. The oil refinery had failed to discharge its obligations under a rehabilitation plan of 1998.

Challenging competition 

· MANY of Bulgaria's largest construction material traders have created the Bulgarian Construction Markets (BCM) joint stock company as an answer to the expansion of non-native home improvement companies Praktiker and Mr Bricolage, media reported on September 9. BCM, which will be marketed as a brand on the market, consists of 26 independent retailers with a combined 130 outlets across the country and more than 40 in Sofia alone. BCM will start the construction of a hypermarket towards the end of 2006, Toshko Totev, chairman of the managing board of the new company, said.

Institution appointment

· THE Cabinet on September 8 appointed Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski to serve as the representative of Bulgaria in five international institutions. These include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.