Hungarian Forint Falls as Wage Data Spurs Interest-Rate Cut Expectations

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary's forint fell against the
euro after a report showing wages grew less than expected buoyed
expectations the central bank will lower the European Union's
highest interest rates.

The forint slid to its lowest in a week after Hungary's
Statistics office said gross wages grew 7.4 percent in May on the
year, compared with the 8 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News
survey. Slower earnings growth may prompt the central bank to cut
its base rate for a second time in two months.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Mol Board Rejects `Unsolicited and Unwelcome' Takeover Approach From OMV

(Bloomberg) -- Mol Nyrt., Hungary's biggest oil
refiner, rejected an approach from OMV AG, calling it ``unsolicited
and unwelcome.''

An OMV spokesman denied the Austrian company made a formal
offer to acquire Mol. ``There's never been a formal offer from our
side,'' Thomas Huemer said in a telephone interview.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Russia's New Oil Export Pipeline to Cut Supply to Central Europe, PVM Says

(Bloomberg) -- A new Russian crude oil export
pipeline may cut supplies to refineries in Hungary, Slovakia,
Germany and some other central European countries, PVM Oil
Associates GmbH said.

Russia plans to build a link that will deliver at least 1
million barrels of oil a day for export by tanker from the port
of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea. The pipeline will also reduce
supplies of Urals, Russia's major export blend of oil, to
refiners in Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic,
said PVM's Managing Director Johannes Benigni.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Bronfman-held Isralom in talks to buy Olimpia stake

(Reuters) - Olimpia owns a 29 percent stake in Dutch Nanette Real
Estate Group , which has residential projects in
Hungary, Romania, and Poland.




The Bronfman-Fisher group, led by U.S.-Canadian businessman
Matthew Bronfman, owns 57.19 percent of Isralom and intends to
turn it into Bronfman-Fischer's real estate investment arm in
Israel.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Hungary Needs Spending Cuts to Improve Rating, Moody's Kockerbeck Says

(Bloomberg) -- Hungary's government needs to cut
state spending to boost the prospect of an upgrade in its debt
rating, a Moody's senior credit officer said.

Moody's Investor Service's outlook for the country that had
the European Union's widest budget deficit last year is currently
stable, with the foreign currency rating at A2, five steps from
the top investment grade.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News