E-TRENDS by NewsVibe. The top economic themes in trend, in the last week

In the last week, economic themes have remained at the forefront of public interest in the digital space, supported by developments related to companies, spectacular transactions, as well as the water crisis generated by the situation of dams in Romania. Based on a monitoring of the press and social networks conducted with the help of the NewsVibe platform, which utilizes automated machine learning mechanisms, 17,975 materials with economic content published in the previous week were identified. Following this analysis, ten entities that recorded accelerated growth in online visibility during the analyzed period were highlighted, explaining both the causes of their increased exposure and how digital channels contributed to the circulation of information.

Top 10 entities in trend, in economic context 

1. Brazi
2. Paltinu
3. AFEER
4. Laurențiu Urluescu
5. HBO Max
6. Valentin Ștefan
7. Warner Bros Discovery
8. Adrian Nicușor Nica
9. Netflix
10. Pornhub

WATER CRISIS. The unplanned shutdown for two days of the OMV Petrom power plant in Brazi, which contributes 10% to national energy production, generated a wave of discussions and concerns. This situation was caused by the water crisis at the Paltinu Dam, with issues related to turbidity and low flow. The Ministry of Energy assured the public that the National Energy System can cover consumption by supplementing energy from other sources, including by starting the coal power plant in Paroșeni. According to estimates, the economic losses generated by the water crisis in Prahova and Dâmbovița, including the temporary shutdown of the plant in Brazi, would exceed 3 million euros per day.

MEGA-MERGER NETFLIX-WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY. The official announcement regarding the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Netflix, a transaction estimated at tens of billions of dollars (between 72 and 83 billion), sparked a wave of reactions in the media and entertainment industry. This merger would mean that Netflix will become the owner of HBO television, the streaming platform HBO Max, and Warner Bros. studios. Personalities such as Jane Fonda have described the transaction as "catastrophic," considering it a threat to the entire entertainment industry. Discussions are now focused on the implications of this mega-merger for subscribers, subscription prices, and the future content available. On the other hand, a Polish series produced by Netflix, "Heweliusz," brought nearly 20 million euros to the Polish economy, demonstrating the potential of investments in local productions.

INCREASE IN NATURAL GAS PRICES AND STATE DEBTS TO SUPPLIERS. The Romanian Energy Suppliers Association (AFEER), through its president, Laurențiu Urluescu, warned that natural gas bills for household consumers could increase by at least 5% starting April 1, 2026, once the capping-compensation scheme expires. The AFEER leader also referred to the state debts to energy and natural gas suppliers, with estimates indicating amounts in the billions of lei.

ROMANIAN POST AND THE CHALLENGES OF PENSION DISTRIBUTION. Valentin Ștefan, the general director of the Romanian Post, stated that the distribution of pensions and social assistance has become a "burden" for the company, considering that this service should be outsourced. He emphasized that the government does not have a clear vision regarding state-owned companies and that income capping affects the Post's ability to generate profit. In this context, the Romanian Post also announced a modernization process for post offices, starting in January.

ANAF AND THE ONLINE PLATFORM FOR THE SALE OF CONFISCATED GOODS. Adrian Nicușor Nica, the president of ANAF, announced the preparation of an online sales platform for the transparent valorization of goods confiscated by the institution following controls – a project funded through PNRR.

FORMER PORNHUB OWNER INTERESTED IN LUKOIL ASSETS. Bernd Bergmair, the Austrian businessman and former owner of MindGeek (the company behind Pornhub), expressed interest in purchasing the international assets of Lukoil, a Russian company sanctioned in the US. Bergmair reportedly contacted the US Treasury Department, considering that the acquisition would represent an "excellent investment."

Top 15 online sources on economic topics, in the last week

NewsVibe Chart. The top web and social media sources that published the most articles and posts on economic topics in the last week

*****Summary prepared with the help of a data stream provided by the media monitoring platform NewsVibe Romania. The analysis is based on a Machine Learning model developed by the NewsVibe team, which has been trained to classify content extracted from relevant online sources based on the addressed theme. The presented data has been enhanced with the help of AI tools.