Issue 3, 2006

During the period of centrally planning in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries the officially applied accounting system was the so-called Material Product System (MPS), which has been different from the System of National Accounts (SNA). This hampered the international comparisons of national income (Net Material Product - NMP), which was the basic macro-indicators of the centrally planned economies (CPEs) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the market type economies. In parallel with the official practice in CPEs individual authors (like T. P. Alton and associates, A. Maddison, and others) or/and international organisations derived estimates of these countries' national income mainly trying to transform NMP into GDP (GNP). The International Comparison Project (ICP), where countries from CEE participated, was of great importance for producing comparable estimates.
In this study the known different approaches are presented, their methodological specificity is analysed and estimates of national income and economic growth for the period 1950-1990 are compared.
JEL: N10, P24, O4

As Southeast European countries have become much more attractive for foreign investors since 2000, this paper analyses factors that have influenced FDI inflows in these economies. There is a broad consensus that, regardless of the type of FDI, the most important FDI determinants include market size, prospects for market growth, the degree of development of host countries and the progress made in the process of transition, especially progress in institutional development. Still, the specific FDI determinant in SEECs has been the privatization process, especially that of large-scale state assets.
The assessment of the impact of tax incentives on FDI is evolving - showing increasing evidence that tax incentives in their broadest sense could have a significant impact on the pattern of regional FDI. The effects of incentives are likely to be particularly strong in the competition for FDI within regions, when the initial investment decision has been taken and the investor is choosing between alternative locations in a given region. In such circumstances, taxes will start to play an important role, especially corporate income tax. Its tax rate is of crucial importance and will play a major role in attracting investment. Accelerated depreciation and tax credits (allowances) for investment are even more cost efficient and could be seen as a good supplement to the former major factor. Tax holidays should be avoided. Countries should also consider lengthening loss carry forward and withholding taxes on direct dividends.
JEL: F21, F40, H25, H32

Rental rate gives the opportunity cost of a machine, that is, it accounts for the opportunities forgone by using the machine or self-renting it instead of renting it out to someone else. While the traditional approach studies how the rate at which a machine can be rented depends on the market price of that machine, it is interesting to trace the time path of the price of capital in relation to a given expected rental rate. When the rental rate is relatively stable and firms do not expect it to change with time the intertemporal equilibrium market price of the machine is the initial price. When market participants expect the rental rate to increase, the price of the machine can increase or decrease exponentially depending on the initial price level. Given that rental rate is expected to fall, the market price of capital will grow exponentially.
JEL: C62; D24, D92

The question of the equipoise points and the net value of the option positions has a dominant meaning for every investor in option instruments. Practically both terms are the bearer of the most important information for each investor - where the threshold between the profit and the loss is and how much exactly the concrete profit or loss is from every single position, which the particular investor has opened or intends to open.
Compared to the simple option strategies, in specialized literature and scientific studies, the equipoise points and the net value of the advanced option positions (strategies) are not given the necessary treatment and comments. Due to this, even in practice, usually the specialists rely on approximate values for the current condition of their option positions.
The present study specifies the techniques of determination the equipoise points and the net value of the compound and combined option positions, including also the multiplied such.
JEL: G1, G11

As it is commonly known, a great amount of the capital is concentrated into the banks and the bank system at a whole. That supposes a demand on both an adequate bank activities risk management on one hand and complete bank regulations estimating and controlling the risk in case of ensuring stability in the system, on the other hand. According to that the Basle Standards establish valid requirements on the requisite bank capital covering the varieties of risk provided by the bank activities.
The presented research follows the changes laid down by the Basle Standards reflected the activities of the BNB, which basic function is to synchronize the national regulatory frame to the EU regulations, concerning the capital adequacy and to adapt it to the problems arising in the commercial banks, which are expected to do a hard work in case to put the new requirements of capital adequacy in practice.
JEL: M11, M13, D20, D21

In order to reveal the current practice on the discussed problems is carried out a study, which ranges 15 trade banks working on the Bulgarian market and concentrating large part of the total activity of all trade banks in Bulgaria. The questionnaire is made in the following banks: United Bulgarian Banks, Raiffeisenbank, First Investment Bank, Bulbank, Procreditbank, Eurobank, Economic and Investment Bank, "Alianz Bulgaria" Commercial Bank, DSK Bank, Post Bank, Hebros Bank, DZI Bank, Encouragement Bank, Tokuda Bank, Corporate Commercial Bank.
In most cases the study ranges also the centrals of the banks in Sofia and their branches in Veliko Turnovo.
JEL: M31, M37, G21

The study discusses some problems concerning the market presence of the trade firm, defining the essence of the term market presence of the trade firm and suggesting a system of indexes for its study, analysis and evaluation. The study makes an attempt to detail and expand the essence of the category retail and to reveal their connection with the market presence of the trade firm. The study of the market presence of the trade firm is on the example of trade chain "Pikadili" EAD, Varna, through applying a suitable methodology for studying the dependencies between the retails of the firm and some inter-firm and outer-firm factors, revealing the factors with biggest significance for their development.
Based on the made empirical studies are determined some basic directions for expanding of the market presence of the trade chain "Pikadili" EAD, Varna, through increasing the sales volume.
JEL: L81