Hungarians are certainly accomplished at many things, but when it comes to translating into a foreign language, anyone visiting Budapest has no doubt learned this is one of those areas fraught with more buktas than average. The most recent example can be found on the Economy Ministry's façade, where the sign also provides the ministry's name in English, French and German.

There are rumors circulating that Zsolt Simon, will be the man to replace Zoltán Várdy as TV2's chief executive, the Comment:com blog reports. According to Marketing és Média, the last two in the running for the job are Simon, who currently works for Mediaedge:cia, and András Stanovszky, the former regional directory for Procter & Gamble. The blog notes that Simon - due to his media connections - is considered a much better fit for the job.

Hungary's government has approved a document requesting the European Union to extend a moratorium on arable land purchases by foreigners for three years after the current ban expires on April 30, 2011, Minister of Agriculture Sandor Fazekas told a news conference on Wednesday. The minister argued that land prices in Hungary were about half or a third of western European prices, and an inflow of foreign investors would push up prices and put Hungarian farmers at a disadvantage. The ban has been in force since Hungary joined the European Union in May 2004. Before formulating the request, Hungary consulted with a number of foreign politicians, including the EU's agriculture commissioner, Fazekas said. The minister added that Hungary's endeavours for getting an extension were backed by France, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria as well as the Visegrad Four countries. Roger Waite, a spokesman for the EU's agriculture commissioner, said that Hungary will be expected to present a detailed justification of the extension request. Hungary has the right to request a three-year extension of the moratorium but the commission will thoroughly study the reasons, he added. Other EU sources told MTI that the commission was concerned about the drop in foreign investment in Hungarian agriculture in recent years and this will be taken into consideration when assessing the request.

The recent strengthening of the Swiss franc entails a growth risk for Hungary, and the forint's weakening raises the country's inflation risk and contributes to a rise in the percentage of non-performing loans in bank portfolios, National Bank of Hungary Spokesman Andras Simon told MTI on Wednesday. Mr Simon said that the Swiss franc's strengthening will prompt Hungarians with loans denominated in the currency to reduce their consumption and investments, while the weakening of the forint causes lending losses in the foreign-currency-denominated portfolio of banks, thus reducing their capital adequacy and their lending activity. Mr Simon added that declining investment and consumer demand as well as a reduction in lending inhibits economic growth, which in Hungary's case could represent a more powerful factor than the growth-stimulating effects of weaker forint rates. The central bank spokesman said that the NBH emphasised in its April stability report the risks resulting from the deterioration in the banks' portfolios, while also noting that the ratio of the non-performing portfolio could peak before the end of this year. The exchange rate weakening seen since then, however, does not only put off this turning point, but causes larger-than-expected lending losses in the financial system, which significantly cuts the banks' capital adequacy. The stress curve discussed in the stability report has materialised because of the weakening exchange rate, therefore it is possible that some banks will need capital raises because of their falling capital adequacy. Nevertheless it is important to emphasise that, with a strong shareholders' background and commitment, an additional capital requirement of manageable extent can be guaranteed. The Hungarian-owned banks' capital adequacy, and therefore their resilience, is currently high. However, the banks' liquidity position is steadily improving and therefore the forint depreciation does not create financing problems for the banks. Mr Simon says a further weakening of the forint - from the level known at the time when the August inflation was prepared - could jeopardise the achievement of the 3pc medium-term inflation target. As the Monetary Council said in its latest statement, if the inflationary risks persist or if there is a sustained deterioration in the country's risk assessment, it could become necessary to raise the base rate. The NBH's August inflation report highlighted the upside inflationary risks, which can primarily be attributed to the sustained weak exchange rate.

The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) said Wednesday it will start publishing a new index: HUFONIA (Hungarian Forint Overnight Index Average) on its website daily from September 1, the NBH said on Wednesday. The move is designed to support the development of a Hungarian market for Overnight Indexed Swaps (OIS). Official OIS rates are expected to be published daily from the end of September. The NBH said it expects that the wider use of derivative transactions based on the future development of overnight interbank interest rates would enable market participants to manage their interest rate risk more efficiently and may help defining realistic below-one-year interbank rates. Hufonia is the weighted average rate of unsecured forint overnight transactions on the interbank market, derived from daily reports by credit institutions. In developed markets, overnight rates of this type are reference rates for OIS, a special category of interest rate swaps. The name was chosen to make it easy to identify Hufonia with similar indices in Europe such as EONIA for the euro and SONIA for sterling. HUFONIA will be published at 11 a.m. on working days on the Reuters HTBL screen page and on the NBH's website. OIS rates (HUFONIA Swap Index) will be officially published daily, based on quotes by 12 Hungarian banks, from the end of September 2010, the bank said. The publication of OIS rates will be operated jointly by NBH and the Hungarian Forex Association. Quotes will range from one-week to one-year maturity and will be for a total of eight different maturities. The detailed terms and conditions of quotes for the HUFONIA Swap Index will be available on the website of the Hungarian Forex Association.

Hungarian financial market regulator PSZAF on Wednesday said it started operating under new internal rules of organisation and operation that aim to boost efficiency. The changes will improve PSZAF's oversight and place a greater emphasis on consumer protection. PSZAF noted that a leadership change took place at the watchdog in July, the act governing its activities had been amended and new expectations were expressed regarding its work. Karoly Szasz was named the head of PSZAF at the beginning of July, replacing Adam Farkas, who resigned. Mr Szasz headed PSZAF in 2000-2004. The work of PSZAF's chairman is now supported by two deputies, who share auditing and consumer protection duties, PSZAF said. The areas of investigation and law enforcement are separated more clearly than before. The new structure allows for comprehensive market reviews, the strengthening of on-site audits and the uniform oversight of various market operators such as brokers. Furthermore, PSZAF will play a more active role in drawing up regulations for the financial sector. With the new structure, consumer protection has been strengthened, with clearer competencies and responsibilities. The authority will take a firmer, more pro-active role in order to ensure more effective consumer protection, the statement said. PSZAF said it is closely following market developments, giving more emphasis than before to developing a retail financial culture and to informing consumers. One-stop customer service has been established, supporting the accurate and thorough management of customer complaints.

The Sziget Kulturalis Menedzser Iroda's annual musical festival in Tirgu Mures, Romania, the Peninsula/Felsziget Festival, drew attendance of 63,000 in 2010, up 5pc from 2009, though ticket revenue covered only an estimated 90pc of the cost of holding the multi-day event this year, Budapest-based media company econet.hu announced on Tuesday. Listed econet.hu is the whole owner of EST Media Group Asset Management which in turn owns 26pc of Sziget Kulturalis Menedzser Iroda, whose wholly-owned Romania-based company organised the event taking place between August 26 and 29. econet.hu attributed the Peninsula/Felsziget's 2010 financial losses to the negative economic environment. Still, the event's growing attendance has prompted the Sziget Kulturalis Menedzser Iroda, which also organizes Budapest's Sziget Festival, to plan such music festivals in other countries, specifically Croatia, in the future, econet.hu said. econet.hu trades in the A-category at the Budapest Stock Exchange.

Hungary's seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 51.9 in August from 53.5 in July, , the Hungarian Association of Logistics, Purchasing and Inventory Management (Halpim), which published the monthly index, announced on Wednesday. The expansion in domestic manufacturing activity, which returned in July after contraction in the previous two months, continued albeit at a slower pace last month, the index shows. The index indicated growth in six of the first eight months of the year, Halpim said noting that the contractions in May and June were minor and may even disappear as a result of future seasonal adjustment. Hungary's PMI exceeded 50, indicating expansion in manufacturing activity, in the first four months of 2010. The adjusted index peaked at 56.0 in February and dropped to 51.8 in April before dipping slightly below 50 in May and June. Hungary's PMI reflected continuous contraction between August 2008 and December 2009. The unadjusted PMI was 50.0 in August, down from 54.0 in July. Similar to July, four of the PMI's five sub-indices were above 50 in August, although all reflected slower growth than in July. The only sub-index under 50 was the delivery-time index which rose 4.1 to 45.0, reflecting that the lengthening of delivery times slowed after gathered pace in July. The value of the purchased-stock index fell 3.8 to 50.5, reflecting contraction now for the second month after contractions recorded for many months. The production-volume index dropped 2.4 to 55.4 in August after a 7.3-point jump in July. The new-order index dropped 2.1 to 54.4. The growth of new orders slowed but the sub-index still has risen now for the eighth month in a row. The employment sub-index dropped 1.7 to 51.0, still reflecting a moderate rise of employment in the manufacturing sector ongoing now for the nineth month.

Some ongoing ambitious development projects are expected to give a boost to religious tourism which is still on a relatively low level in Hungary, business daily Vilaggazdasag said on Thursday. "Religious tourism as such was not permitted during the decades of communist rule. Although the sector started to expand after transition to democracy two decades ago, pilgrimages make up just 5-6 percent of organised domestic trips," Gyula Madari, head of a specialised travel agency, told the paper. He added that only four or five of Hungary's nearly one thousand travel agencies organise such programmes. Some recent projects, however, seem to be changing the picture. For instance, Faith and Health, a 3.5-billion-forint (EUR 12m) project part-financed from EU funds, involved the reconstruction of the famous Greek Catholic pilgrimage site of Mariapocs, and the Reformed and Minorite churches of nearby Nyirbator in northeast Hungary. To combine religious tourism with health and wellness, a spa and wellness centre was also built in the latter town. In another development, the Benedictine Abbey of Pannonhalma (NW Hungary), a World Heritage site, won 1.56 billion forints (EUR 5.4m) in EU support a few years ago and used it to build a visitors' centre and a restaurant. The abbey hopes to increase the number of visitors from nearly 120,000 a year by 50 percent.

State-owned Malév airlines has received an emergency Ft 5.7 billion loan from the government in the last few days to pay back Ft 3 billion owed to International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), according to a report in the weekly Figyelő. ILFC, from which Malév leases some aircraft, issued an ultimatum to the airline and threatened to take back its planes, as Malév was unable to service its debt on time. If Malév is short of cash at this time of the year, immediately after the peak season, then, there is a question of what will happen later in the off season, when revenue falls along with passenger traffic, Figyelő writes.

"During the 11th September Festival, which will be held on 3-5 September 2010, internationally recognised master chefs, world championship dance groups, Olympic and world champion sportsmen and women, politicians from the European Parliament, famous artists and – as in every year – 80,000 visitors are expected at the festival to listen to music, dance, cook and take part in competitions.

"Budapest, the 'Pearl of the Danube' is reminiscent of the quays of Paris, the old cobblestone streets of Prague and the multi-coloured houses of Vienna's imperial and art nouveau architecture.

"An entertaining, dynamic way of moving your body with Tai-Chi’s flowing energy Move in a natural harmony while using a racket and a ball.

"To become healthy you have to change your life style. The program offers new ideas and help to do so. The event is focusing on quitting smoking.

"A Chinese man who studies in Budapest is suspected by police of murdering Pernilla Marie Thronsen, the Norwegian woman whose body was found at a youth hostel on Sunday evening.

"We have the pleasure to inform you of the following event: '1. European String Quartet Festival', at Károlyi Mansion, Fehérvárcsurgó from 24-26 September 2010. Musical director: Georges Zeisel

"The exhibition running at the Vasarely Museum presents works of art by the most outstanding representatives of the photogram, as yet not so well known to the Hungarian public. The photogram, which oscillates on the borderline between photographic art and the fine arts, will guide visitors into the world of freedom, creativity and experimentation through 80 works of art by some 40 artists in the Zichy Museum in Óbuda.

"Colores del Tango is a tango menage-a-trois between stage tango dancers Johanna Kulik, Santiago Maciel and Josip Bartulovic.

"Charlie St. Cloud is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother. So much so that he takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother is buried. Charlie has a special lasting bond with his brother though, as he can see him. Charlie meets up with his brother (Sam) each night to play catch and talk. Then, a girl comes into Charlie's life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to Sam, or going after the girl he loves."

"Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master."