In agreement with the analyst consensus, the government appointed rate-setters of National Bank of Hungary continued the easing cycle with another 25 basis point rate cut this week, lowering the benchmark interest rate to 6.25%.

Hungarian Parliament has approved new legislation to terminate the monopoly of national service provider Magyar Posta. The move removes the last obstacle in the way of opening the market in its entirety to privately owned companies.

A recent issue of Diplomacy & Trade carried an interview with the Japanese Ambassador to Hungary, Tetsuo Ito who looked at the various aspects of relations between the two countries. He has since left Hungary with his term expiring here.

Just over a week before the U.S. presidential elections, Tamás Magyarics, a Hungarian expert of international relations analyzes the prospects for Diplomacy & Trade online, highlighting some aspects that could be decisive as far as the outcome is concerned.

The Hungarian government has decided - following coordination with NATO - that the Pápa air base in northwestern Hungary will be upgraded into an intermodal logistics hub that will be suitable for receiving both military and civilian aircraft.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the main speaker of the rally organized on the national holida yof October 23 to show support for his government. At the same time, his predecessor, Gordon Bajnai spoke to a crowd that would like to see Orbán ousted.

The renowned American magazine, National Geographic, has collected the top ten trolley rides in the world, a list on which Budapest tram line No. 2 has been awarded the 7th place. At the same time, it has been found the best in Europe.

Ministers from Central Europe held a two-day summit in Veszprém, Western Hungary. It was suggested that - if partners agree - Budapest would be well-placed to compete for the role of a regional center for the European Patent Court.

Hankook will expand its Hungarian facility in an over HUF 2.4 billion (EUR 8.7 m) investment project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), setting up a new production hall for a new compound mixing unit to increase effectiveness.

Hungarian economics minister György Matolcsy announced a new set of measures to keep the budget deficit on track as the European Union has signalled to them that the first package is not sufficient to fill the hole in the 2013 budget.

The Diplomacy & Trade Business Club (The Club) has recently presented the Japanese focus of Diplomacy & Trade in the Reálszisztéma Lexus Buda car saloon in Budapest with over a hundred diplomats and businesspeople attending the evening.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe is having a negative impact on even non-eurozone countries like Hungary, but that does not diminish the need for Budapest to introduce the euro, Hungarian National Bank Governor András Simor said in Tokyo on Sunday.

Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi called for the preservation of the unity of the European Union at a roundtable meeting in Brussels. Hungary supports "more Europe" but clearly rejects "more than one Europe," he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel received Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Berlin. At a press conference afterwards, the Chancellor said it was understandable why Hungary is not concerned with the issue of euro adoption at the moment.

The Special Rapporteur of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Calin Georgescu, has been informed in Budapest about the details of the red sludge catastrophe of 2010, the rescue operations, the damage control and the legal modifications adopted.