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The Blues' return to the Champions League in 2017/18 contributed to the turnover growing by 22.7 per cent to £443.4m in the financial results for the year ending June 30, 2018. The accounts do not include the severance pay for former coach Antonio Conte or his staff. Conte was sacked in July after the Blues' fifth-placed finish and failure to qualify for the Champions League this season. Chelsea reported a £32m increase in commercial revenues following several partnership deals, including the kit deal with Nike worth a reported £60m a year. And the club says there was a £8.4m increase in matchday revenues, despite ticket prices being frozen at 2011/12 levels. Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said on the club's official website: "The club has now posted a series of record-breaking revenue figures and our profit margin has increased in consecutive years. "This has occurred against a backdrop of varying participation in European football, and different degrees of achievement in the Premier League, which demonstrates we have built a sound business footing to support our on-pitch quest for success." Chelsea's financial results for the previous year - until June 30, 2017 - reported a turnover of £361.3m and profit of £15.3m. The latest figures include the sales of Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid, Nemanja Matic to Manchester United, Nathan Ake to Bournemouth and the permanent transfer of Juan Cuadrado to Juventus.

Adding a set of studded snow tyres into the equation will get you further but the only way to truly venture off the beaten path in a cold, frozen landscape is behind the wheel – or joystick – of a snow machine. From luxurious, tank-like vehicles that cost millions to shrewdly home-brewed inventions, here are your best options if you need to drive from point A to point B this winter, even if a small mountain range separates the two. In the late 1930s, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser supported the US government’s effort to claim part of Antarctica. It was a mammoth, diesel-electric vehicle designed as a mobile living space for a five-person crew. Retractable wheels helped it crawl over the many crevasses encountered while driving across the most hostile continent on the planet and it was big enough to carry a Beechcraft plane on its roof. Field tests immediately revealed the Snow Cruiser’s gears weren’t low enough to propel it through deep snow. Researchers left it in Antarctica at the end of their mission, with plans to come back and swap in lower gears, but the American congress stopped allocating money to the project to focus on World War Two. The Cruiser never moved again. It was last seen buried under a thick layer of snow in 1958. It might still be there, but it may have been parked on a part of the ice shelf that broke away and floated out to sea in the 1960s. If that’s the case, it’s somewhere on the bottom of the ocean. Antarctica isn’t the most car-friendly continent on the planet. The short list of production cars that have survived a stint there includes the Volkswagen Beetle and the Lada Niva. But Hyundai made history by driving across Antarctica and back in a modified Santa Fe. Patrick Bergel, the great-grandson of intrepid explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, made the trip in 30 days. The Santa Fe retained its original 2200cc turbo diesel engine, transmission, front differential and driveshaft but a company named Arctic Trucks modified the suspension and installed low-pressure tyres. Designed and made in Russia, the Avtoros Shaman 8x8 is what we’ll drive if hell ever freezes over. It’s a monster of a vehicle that makes a Hummer H1 look cute and cuddly. Its eight wheels are independently suspended and its entire powertrain is enclosed to protect the mechanical components from damage. Power comes from a 3000cc turbo diesel engine provided by Iveco. It spins the eight directional wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. The Shaman seats nine or sleeps four depending on how it’s configured. The only part of it that’s more epic than its off-road prowess is its price. Avtoros charges nearly €9 million (about $10m/£8m) before buyers add options like a propeller that allows it to drive through water and a hydraulic winch that costs more than a Lamborghini Urus. Romania-based Ghe-O designed the aptly named Rescue as an all-terrain ambulance. The company boasts that its 400hp machine can outperform many sports cars while nonchalantly carrying 11 passengers. It looks unstoppable, and it was designed to be, but buyers worried about getting stuck can order a plow, inflatable pillows strapped to the wheels for flotation and tracks on the rear axle. The star of Nissan’s stand at the 2017 New York motor show wasn’t a rugged pick-up truck or a ‘Ring-bred coupé. It was a Rogue – one of the best-selling vehicles in the US – upgraded with a war-ready camouflage paint job and a set of tracks. Nissan explained that installing tracks on a family-friendly grocery-getter required modifying the suspension but it pointed out that the rest of the drivetrain was bog standard. It also clarified that we shouldn’t expect to see the Rogue Warrior Trail join the regular model in showrooms.

A wave of celebrations are illuminating the skies above cities around the world, dazzling millions of people as spectacular firework displays and light shows welcome the arrival of the New Year.

Happy New Year

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Each performs well in some areas, and not so well in others, which makes for a diverse catalogue of entries into our 2018 long-term test awards. Whether it be as a load-lugging, do-it-all utility vehicle, or as an eyecatching B-road blaster, every car we've had in our car park this year stands a chance at success. This award’s title should not be taken literally. Fairly obviously, nobody would ever fail to spot our big, bold and very yellow Stinger coming. No, this prize is all about the cars that surprised us for what they are, and in this case it was Kia’s ability to produce a large executive saloon that can genuinely rival the premium German brands. “It’s a lazily playful hot saloon that’s still a revelation every time you slide into the chunky driver’s seat,” said road tester Ricky Lane, while Tom Morgan said it was “the first Kia I’ve ever wanted to own”. Clearly, he’s never tried the Soul. Possibly. That said, road tester Simon Davis handed the Kia the prize because of the colour it came in. “I was expecting red or grey, certainly not that gawdy shade of yellow,” he said. While the Volvo XC40 was as polished as we’ve come to expect from the firm’s recent products, it gained attention on this category because, as Andrew Frankel noted, the firm has “done the hitherto impossible and created a genuinely desirable compact SUV”. This is perhaps the most prestigious award here, especially given how difficult it can be to part journalists from their cash. And the Volkswagen Golf GTI is a deserving, if not entirely surprising, winner. The key to the Golf GTI’s appeal is that it does everything well, mixing the best bits of a hot hatch with the usability of a daily driver, delivered with typical VW sheen and polish. Mark Tisshaw had the pleasure of running the Golf and said: “I’d always answer ‘Golf R’ when asked what car I’d buy given the choice. Then I spent nine months in the GTI and found it more usable. It’s also pleasingly old-school in the way its engine encourages you to rev it.” Rachel Burgess described the Golf GTI as “the real deal”, adding that “it’s comfortable and usable every day but brilliant when you want to push it”. The i30 N took second place, winning admirers for its sheer driving verve. Tom Morgan said: “I know the Golf GTI is the more sensible option, but the Hyundai is just that bit more exotic. It’s like ordering a curry: you know the tikka massala will fill you up, but sometimes you want a madras that’s going to make you sweat.” Erm, quite. Meanwhile, Mitch ‘Prepper’ McCabe championed the Toyota Land Cruiser: “I’m really scared Trump is going to press the red button tomorrow. The Land Cruiser would survive the nuclear apocalypse and still get me to the last McDonald’s drive-through on earth.” This category always attracts the most diverse range of responses so, as judge, I just went ahead and gave the prize to the explanation that impressed me the most – and, yes, the humble volume knob won. Why? Turns out we miss it when it’s gone. Editor Mark Tisshaw: “The Golf GTI was so good to live with that it made the absence of a volume control knob more annoying than it would have been otherwise. A glossy touchscreen too far.” Skoda’s ‘Simply Clever’ solutions aren’t new or particularly high-tech, but far from being marketing gimmicks, they actually work, as Dan Prosser found with the parking ticket clip on his Octavia’s windscreen. “It’s simple and it’s clever,” he said. “It’s simply clever.” Meanwhile, in a concession to the latest technology and a touch of common sense, we awarded third place to the XC40’s excellent 360deg parking camera system. That the luxuriously comfortable and well-honed S-Class should win this award is little surprise. If you’re going to take a long journey, you want to do it in style. “You simply can’t beat an S-Class for a very long drive,” said Dan Prosser. Road test ed Matt Saunders agreed: “Nothing – perhaps barring a Rolls Phantom – rides better. Absolutely nothing is more comfy in the back.” Andrew Frankel was the chief proponent of the BMW 740Ld – but also predicted it would finish second. “Everyone is going to say S-Class, and I’d not disagree, but I’d contend the 740Ld is just as good and, as perennial underdog in this class, worthy of at least a moral victory.”

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has long been linked with a move to the Premier League, and reports over the weekend have linked the USA international with a move to Liverpool. However, ESPN and Der Spiegel journalist Honigstein told the Sunday Supplement: "My understanding is that Chelsea are the only team that have made a firm offer at the moment. "Dortmund are looking to see if there are other offers coming in as you would, but it is kind of agreed that the player will move in the summer definitely because he still has a year to run on his contract. "Unless someone matches Chelsea's offer or exceeds it, he'll go there. "There was some interest from Manchester United, I understand, but they've gone a little bit quiet now because they've got other stuff to deal with. They don't know if whoever the next guy is will want to pay that amount of money on Christian Pulisic." The Daily Mail's chief sports writer Martin Samuel added: "He's a good player but he's been put out of joint a little bit by Jadon Sancho's rise and he doesn't get as much football there as he wanted to and as I understand it, he's going to Chelsea."

The US president said the deaths of Felipe Gomez Alonso and Jakelin Caal, aged eight and seven, were "strictly the fault of the Democrats and their pathetic immigration policies that allow people to make the long trek thinking they can enter our country immediately". Both children were from Guatemala but died in separate circumstances after crossing the border illegally and being taken into the custody of US Border Patrol. In his first comments on their deaths, Mr Trump said they were "very sick" before they were taken into custody. However, immigration officials have said both children passed initial health checks - with Felipe's mother telling the AP news agency that her son was healthy before he began his journey to the US. Felipe collapsed with a fever after arriving with his father from one of Guatemala's indigenous communities. His death on Christmas Day came as Jakelin was being buried back in Guatemala. She died of dehydration and shock after being arrested about 90 miles north of the border in New Mexico. They were among 139,817 people arrested near the US southwest border in the past two months, almost twice the number seen during the same period last year - 14,000 of those unaccompanied children. Washington is currently in the throes of a partial government shutdown, triggered over Mr Trump's demands for billions of dollars in funding to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. On Twitter, he argued that migrants "wouldn't even try" to make the crossing if the wall was in place, and also wrote: "I am in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come on over and make a deal." There have been no signs of substantive negotiations between Mr Trump, his Republican party and the Democrats - even though the Republicans only hold a monopoly on power in Washington for just five more days. One Democratic representative, Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania, warned: "[Mr Trump is] reaching new lows with these ridiculous tweets. His administration is the cause of pain and suffering that is taking place at the border. Nothing that he says will alter this truth." Others called his tweets "disturbing" and pointed out that US immigration policies have been in place for years without children dying in government custody. Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen travelled to Arizona on Saturday to meet medical staff at the border. She said in a statement that "the system is clearly overwhelmed and we must work together to address this humanitarian crisis". Mr Trump is demanding $5bn (£3.9bn) in funding for the wall, and has described it as an urgent priority. But Democrats have only agreed to offer $1.3bn (£1.02bn) in funding for security, which would not include cash to build the wall. The standoff has resulted in the third government shutdown of the year, with more than 800,000 government employees sent home or made to work without pay. Many of them have been on holiday over the Christmas period, but Mr Trump is likely to come under renewed pressure to reach a compromise if the shutdown continues beyond the New Year. Several organisations have started to run out of money and have implemented their shutdown procedures - with the Environmental Protection Agency furloughing most of its 14,000 employees as of Friday night. Only workers deemed essential for preventing public health threats will stay on the job.

Happy birthday

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In the beginning, there was Notre Dame Stadium, the House that Rockne Built, a concrete cathedral cradling a proud football program with seven national college football championships. Later, Touchdown Jesus appeared, watching over the Fighting Irish and their home field as Notre Dame went on to claim four more national titles. And for decades, those few acres on campus were, at least in the eyes of Notre Dame fans, sacred ground. But progress waits for no one, not even Notre Dame. In October, Garth Brooks performed a concert inside the House that Rockne Built, a first for the stadium. And next week, two N.H.L. teams will play an outdoor hockey game on a rink installed atop its famed field. Just as Knute Rockne’s years as coach catapulted Notre Dame into the nation’s consciousness and the “Word of Life” mural — Touchdown Jesus’s formal name — offered the university a singular television backdrop, the Brooks concert and the hockey game have announced a new direction for an old-school athletic program. Having completed a nine-figure makeover of the stadium and its surrounding environs, and facing a financial landscape in college football that threatens to leave the Fighting Irish behind, Notre Dame is now ready to leverage, very carefully, one of its most valuable assets: a mystique it has spent more than a century cultivating. Brooks, the country music star, was the perfect match for the stadium’s debut as a prestige entertainment site. He has a wide following and a wholesome image, and he even claimed to have had a poster of the former Fighting Irish quarterback Joe Montana in his dorm room at Oklahoma State. This month, his concert was broadcast on network television on the same day that the Fighting Irish (12-0) earned a spot in the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame will face Clemson (13-0) in the first semifinal, at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday. A few days later, on New Year’s Day, the N.H.L.’s annual open-air Winter Classic game will be held at Notre Dame Stadium. Coming soon, perhaps, will be a summer soccer match featuring two of Europe’s marquee clubs. Will modernizing its athletic business plan help deliver a 12th national title? Not even Notre Dame can guarantee that. But a willingness to embrace a new financial strategy, university officials said, is vital in helping Notre Dame keep up in the increasingly rich world of college athletics. The retrofitting of Notre Dame Stadium was just the first step. After years of pushback from tradition-loving alumni, the stadium now has new premium seating, event spaces and even a five-story video board. To get those amenities — now standard for almost every major college football stadium — roughly two-thirds of the $400 million set aside for the university’s construction project was first spent on classrooms and facilities for the music, anthropology and psychology departments, as well as state-of-the-art student recreation and multimedia centers. “Everything we do here is threading that needle of: How can athletics do what it needs to do to compete, but also serve the broader community?” Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said. “It’s an interesting balance, and what dictates our ability to do any of it depends on those cultural underpinnings.” Swarbrick knows better than most how expensive it is to keep up with the Alabamas, the Oklahomas and the other universities in the so-called Power Five conferences, with their billion-dollar television contracts and — in the case of the Big Ten, the Southeastern Conference and the Pacific-12 — their own cash-generating television networks. In addition, most of the Power Five universities have significantly larger enrollments than Notre Dame has; that produces vast alumni bases that can earmark tens of millions of dollars in donations to their sports teams, widening an already sizable wealth gap in college sports. There was a time when Notre Dame’s tradition produced structural advantages of its own. Notre Dame’s contract with NBC Sports to televise its home games used to be the envy of college football, allowing the university to remain an independent and free from the constraints of a conference schedule. But the reported $16 million annually it received looks quaint amid today’s economics. Now, the football program is Notre Dame’s only sport that consistently makes money, but that revenue — a tiny part of an operating budget of more than $1.4 billion — goes to a general fund that nonathletic officials allocate. Embracing the financial realities of modern college football — multimillion-dollar salaries for assistant coaches, luxury suites for top donors and corporate sponsorships to pay for it all — has been part of Notre Dame’s fiscal awakening. But it is also at the heart of its new push to monetize one of America’s most iconic brands in ways that once might have been unthinkable.

What does all this have to do with the season of mince pies and terrible sweaters? I’m reasonably confident you’re not going to guess the answer. There’s a fine Autocar tradition at play here, too. We like to round off every year by celebrating some of the cars we’ve ploughed our own money into during the past 12 months, from abject sheds upwards. The original idea for 2018 was to stick with the usual format, until my announcement that I had bought a Porsche Cayman S triggered a senior editorial revelation: regular contributor Richard Webber owns a near-identical car. He lives in Edinburgh and I live near Oxford, so could we find somewhere appropriately Christmassy in the middle to meet up? Love at first sight I first saw the Cayman S at a technical preview in Weissach in 2005. It was a couple of months ahead of the car’s official introduction and I didn’t get to drive it. Factory tester Phillip Arnold did a bit of skid pan drifting for the cameras, but the day was mostly about dry presentations. Yet the lack of seat time didn’t stop me from falling in love with the idea of a tightly wrapped Porsche coupé with its flat six in a more sensible position than the 911's. I knew it was effectively a Boxster coupé, and Porsche’s decision to try and extract a substantial premium for the fixed roof seemed cheek. At launch, the Cayman S was £5210 more than its rag-top sibling. But I promised myself that one day, once depreciation had done its reaping, I would buy one. It took a while. Indeed, the ambition looked set to live on the shelf of dusty dreams forever until a few months ago, when I noticed that early and less desirable Caymans were edging ever closer to four figures. I went to look at a super-cheap 2.9 with 95,000 miles on the clock and no fewer than 14 previous keepers on its V5 and quickly established that I wasn’t brave enough for a really cheap Porsche. But I’d also realised that I still really, really wanted a Cayman. Things escalated quickly, and expensively, and in early August, I agreed to buy this black 2009 ‘phase 2’ Cayman S from a well-known specialist for more than twice what that ratty 2.9 would have cost me. Peaky Blinders Webber and I arrange to meet in the Peak District, with a rendezvous at the spectacular Winnats Pass near Buxton. It puts us in striking distance of journey’s end near Macclesfield but also gives us a chance to drive the cars on some much more amusing roads. His Cayman looks great. It’s a pre-facelift first-generation ‘987’ S in silver, which gives it much more visual clout in the gloomy conditions than my black car. The easy way to tell them apart is that the headlights and tail-lights were redesigned for the ‘phase 2’ version. Webber has an ‘occupational hazard’ excuse for buying his, too: he wrote an Autocar buyers’ guide on the Cayman in 2012 and realised he had to have one. Webber is a far cannier used car player than I am. He already possesses a very nice Lancia Delta Integrale Evo that is now worth several multiples of what he paid for it nearly 20 years ago. The point is reinforced when he tells me that he bought what was then a six-year-old Cayman S with some nice options for less than I spent on a nine-year-old one. His has the extended leather package that my car misses, but he’s immediately jealous of the touchscreen interface (with iPod compatibility!) in mine. Webber’s car was also bought privately, which, he soon discovered, gave him no comeback when things went wrong. I have the (modest) reassurance of a dealer’s warranty. There are some great roads in the Peak District, but there’s also a surprising amount of traffic for a wet Wednesday in late autumn. So after a few runs through the magnificent gorge at Winnats, we head towards the Cat and Fiddle pass, which will take us down to the Cheshire plains. Running with a near-identical car gives a heightened appreciation of the one you are driving yourself. Webber’s Cayman looks small and lithe as it carves along the tight roads towards Buxton, darting between bends and fitting well past oncoming traffic. Viewed from behind, there’s a surprising amount of lean in loaded-up corners. I’m sure a modern 718 Cayman would stay flatter and generate far higher g-forces, but I’m also certain its driver wouldn’t be enjoying the same level of feedback that comes through the 987’s hydraulically assisted steering. Obviously, I’m biased but I reckon the only vaguely affordable car that better dials its driver into what the front end is thinking is a Lotus Elise. The Cat and Fiddle is an awesome bit of Tarmac, although these days guarded by a yellow army of average-speed cameras. The Cat and Fiddle pub itself is shuttered and closed, clearly unable to make enough of a living from passing trade despite having a major trans-Pennine route named after it. The Cayman feels at home in the greasy conditions, not through an abundance of adhesion but rather flagging up when the grip is running short and staying predictable as this fades to slip. Webber is grinning, too, when we stop and compare notes, and there’s a smell of hot brakes from both cars by the time we get to Macclesfield at the bottom of the hill. It doesn’t take much longer to reach journey’s end: the car park of Prestbury Golf Club. Light is fading and the rain is growing heavier. It doesn’t feel very Christmassy. But the reason for coming here is only a short walk away. Earlier this year, when I discovered the increasingly po[CENSORED]r What3words mapping app, I decided to use it to find the most festive part of the British mainland. What3words, as its name suggests, uses three common words to identify locations to an accuracy of a 3m-by-3m area anywhere on the surface of the planet. And the unbeatable combination of ‘tinsel.tree.star’ is somewhere on the course. It turns out that the golf club’s general manager, David Holmes, also owns a 987-generation Cayman S, and after looking at the map, he suggests the grid square in question is somewhere on the practice green. Getting there is a soggy trudge and – in retaliation for making him wear a Santa hat – Webber proves he’s a far more talented golf player than I am with some nifty use of a borrowed sand wedge.

The Economic and Social Committee that brings together investors’ associations, trade unions and civil society representatives, issued a negative, yet consultative review after the investors’ associations and other stakeholders invited the executive to more consultations before a final decision. The document was not published in the Official Gazette yet (as of December 27) and some of its provisions were changed compared to the initial draft posted online for public consultations just days before the Government meeting, but the most important ones were presented by finance minister Eugen Teodorovici and former finance minister Darius Valcov, now an economic advisor to PM Viorica Dancila and the main economic strategist of the ruling party PSD, in a one-hour press conference after the Government meeting on December 21. In principle, the provisions included in the ordinance can still be revised when passed by the Parliament, but it comes into force and starts producing effects once published in the Official Gazette — most likely before January 1, while the debate in the Parliament will take place next year. Notably, the phrasing in the initial draft was unclear in some respects and the government officials clarified only part of the issues in their press conference. Some important ones, such as the calculation of the tax on the banks’ assets and the minimum mandatory capitalization of the pension funds managers are still to be clarified. Sundry collection of provisions aimed at social justice The most visible feature of the ordinance is the multitude of different targets, all of them justified by the need of pursuing in a direct way the social justice, rather than building a regulatory framework aimed at optimum allocation of resources (with social protection as an intervention declared as such). The Government will finance local infrastructure and social projects by arbitrary decision of the National Prognosis and Strategy Commission (CNSP) at preferential 1% interest rate up to a limit of EUR 10 billion; will finance sports kindergartens and thermal spa resorts, to be developed by private entities; will levy supplementary tax on financial assets (mostly relevant for banks); will cut the fees charged by the mandatory pension funds’ managers and will set minimum required capitalization for them; will cap the local natural gas price for residential and industrial consumers and tighter regulate the electricity price for residential users (by a subsequent order of the energy market regulator ANRE); will cut the social contributions paid by employees in construction. Most of the moves are not aimed at bringing supplementary money to the budget (on the contrary, in some cases), but improve the standard of living and help locally-owned companies, Government officials argued. The revenues from the tax on revenues of the energy companies (thermal producers excluded), for instance, will be used to provide subsidies to vulnerable consumers under a mechanism to be further elaborated. The tax on financial assets is aimed at bringing down the interest rates on the money market (used as an index for the calculation of the taxes), they explained. On the other hands, Government officials and the ruling coalition’s leader Liviu Dragnea made clear that one of their final goals is make the companies (particularly foreign ones, although the results are debatable in this regard) make less profit to the benefit of end-users / po[CENSORED]tion. The order addresses real problems, the wrong way The order addresses real and urgent problems, finance minister Eugen Teodorovici argued: the abnormally low profits reported (hence profit taxes paid) by multinational companies in energy and telecom, the equally abnormal, high profits in the banking sector and the high energy prices paid by both residential and industrial users. The central bank’s latest Financial Stability Report spots market failure problems, Teodorovici said. “Banking sector profitability is well above the EU average[…] Low financial intermediation is associated with a wide spread between lending and deposit rates, for households in particular.[…] Banks’ business model continues to focus on retail lending, given the more favorable track record of risk-adjusted returns”, the report reads. The banks and energy suppliers colluded and set high prices (interest rates) and the transfer pricing is extensively used with the outcome of dismal profit taxes collected to the budget, Teodorovici implied. The return on equity posted by banks in Romania is triple the EU average, he pointed. This is confirmed by European Bank Association for January-June this year (21.2% versus 7.2%), but only for the three largest local banks — while the overall market average ROE is only 15.7% (16.7% for January-September) according to central bank data. The second pillar of the pension system was another key point of the ordinance. The EUR 100 million collected by the seven private fund management firms with 22 employees each are too much, while the capitalization of the asset management firm is too low. There are sectors that need no interventions, like the automotive production, Teodorovici added. There is an oligopoly situation in the natural gas market, Teodorovici also argued explaining that the European Union’s regulation allows for interventions with a duration of up to three years in this regard. The local producers lack export capacity and the offshore gas will not start flowing before the end of the three-year price setting dictated by the Government. The problems outlined are real and worth at least serious debates. More than that, they are only part of the multitude of causes that contributed to the general government budget revenues of under 30% of GDP (compared to 40% typical value in EU states). Out of the 10pps differential, only VAT evasion accounts for 4pp. At a 40% of GDP level of budget revenues, the wage hikes in the public sector would have not posed any problem and large public infrastructure projects could be financed. But the steps proposed by the Government are risky and the long-term benefits questionable. Instead of addressing the market failures in the sense of improving the institutional and regulatory architecture, it relies on more regulated prices, fees and centralized allocation of funds. The final purpose is low energy prices, affordable mortgage loans and thriving investments in utilities, education and healthcare. Banks have to pay tax on financial assets The banks will pay a tax on their financial assets when the average interbank offer rate – ROBOR for the maturities of three and six months exceeds the 2% benchmark. For the average ROBOR between 2% and 2.5%, the tax will be calculated as 0.1% of the financial assets with the tax rate rising proportionally with the average ROBOR rate (0.2% for 2.5%-3% average ROBOR, etc.). As per the provisions in the preliminary draft, the tax is payable on a quarterly basis with no annualisation (that would mean dividing by four the tax as calculated by levying the tax rate on the volume of assets at the end of the quarter). However, banks argue annualisation would make more sense in the context of the other taxes paid. A final clarification from authorities is needed. In any case, the tax on financial assets is deductible for the profit tax purposes. To put in perspective the magnitude of the tax on financial assets, the banking system reported return on assets (ROA) of 1.76% (annualised) in January-September 2018, after 1.3% in 2017, 1.1% in 2016 and 1.2% in 2015. If calculated under the most favorable formula (annualised), the tax on financial assets would account for a part of the banks’ profits not threatening, though, their viability. It is unclear, however, whether the current profitability rates are sustainable on medium term since they reflect to some extent the non-performing loan cycle. Possibly, the Government considers ad-hoc measures for extraordinary situations but wants to have the situation under control. If the tax is calculated under the least favorable formula, it will cost a significant part of banks’ profits putting at risk the smaller banks that can’t boast high profitability rates — which would accelerate the consolidation in the sector. Pension funds managers see their business at risk The seven pension funds managers with 22 employees on average collected EUR 100 million in fees during 2018, finance minister Teodorovici stated. Concluding that this is too much, the Government cut the fees as follows: only 1% of the contributions that enter the funds each month (from 2.5% currently), and out of this 0.5pp will go to the fund managers and the rest of 0.5pp to the public pension managers (first pillar). The 2.5% fee was aimed at being charged only over the first five years of life, with the fund management companies supposed to have gained capitalization during this period, Government officials explained. The 0.6% annual fee charged on the stock of assets managed (0.05% per month) will be changed into progressive fee of 0.02% to 0.07% per month depending on the yield generated by the fund managed. The 0.07% fee will be charged by those managers achieving real yields of more than 4%. As of September 2018, the average yield calculated for the past 24 months was 3.8%, versus average consumer price inflation of 2.5%. The real yield (1.3%) under this metric is at the lowest level since the end of 2012. At this level, the fee charged would be 0.04% per month, versus 0.05% currently. But the 24-month average real yield hit values as high as 7%-8% since the end of 2012 and even higher during 2010. For putting this into perspective, the market regulator cut the regulated rate of profitability for the electricity distribution firms to 5.7% as of January 2019 from 7.7% currently. The Chinese investors negotiating for the development of the nuclear reactors at Cernavoda reportedly ask for 11% internal rate of return for their capital. As a final note on the fees, the draft order does not specify methodologies for comparing the yield and the inflation rate. In practice, the monthly yields can vary substantially from one month to another. The scale of real yields suggests annual yields, but also 12-month annual yields would be an option (to avoid volatility). The tougher requirement regards the capitalization of the fund managers: up to 10% of the funds managed, for the large-sized funds. Notably, the smaller funds are set proportionally lower capitalization requirements (5% for EUR 100 million or less assets managed, to 10% for assets managed in excess of EUR 500 million). In principle, this comes against the trend toward consolidation. Nonetheless, the consolidation can be achieved at a higher level (parent group) and such a trend can’t be ignored. One issue not yet addressed regards the situation when no fund manager is willing to remain in the market. Possibly, the assets will be transferred to the first pillar. As explained by minister Teodorovici, the contributors to the second pillar are given the option to switch to the first pillar after five years of contribution. This means that their 25% of the gross wage will go entirely to the first pillar. The assets accumulated in the second pillar remain under private management and will be recovered at retirement. Currently, 2.75% of the gross wage is distributed to the second pillar. Under a provision circulated by government officials, the residents being employed after the order comes in force will no longer have the option of contributing to the privately-managed pension funds. But the preliminary draft (and the only one available until the final draft is published) does not specify this. Natural gas prices will be capped, electricity price regulated The natural gas price charged by local producers is capped at RON 68 (EUR 14.6) per MWh. For comparison, the gas is traded currently on the free market at around RON 95 (EUR 20.4) per MWh and this is the price used for the formation of the end-user price. But the price cut will be not felt proportionally by the end-users, since part of the end-user price include the transport and distribution fees, plus taxes. Residential users will preferentially be given gas produced locally while the industry will be delivered a basket of local and imported gas. More precisely, the market regulator will calculate the price of the basket including local and imported gas for non-residential users. The provision is valid since April 1, 2019 for a period of three years. The electricity price for residential end-users will be capped as well, but under a specific order of the market regulator ANRE, minister Teodorovici explained. The residential end-users have the option to return to their supplier of last resort, in case they opted for another supplier under the market liberalization procedures. Only the suppliers of last resort will be those observing the prices set by ANRE. The moves come against the market liberalization. But, at least in the case of natural gas, minister Teodorovici claims it addresses a situation of oligopoly. Indeed, the European natural gas market can hardly be described as a model of free market but the three-year suspension of the free-market provisions should be notified to (and approved by) the European Commission. Admittedly, the Government plans to get the EC’s permission until the natural gas price is capped at April 1. Notably, this will happen during the Romanian presidency of the European Union. Coupled with the development in good faith of the interconnection lines (including BRUA project), the price cap might be accepted by the Commission. The main risk comes from local producers cutting their output. On a pragmatic note, minister Teodorovici explained in the December 21 press conference that local companies will not have the option to export their natural gas within the next three years. And they need revenues, he implied, meaning that they will not decrease excessively their output. Another key provision pertaining the energy sector regards the 2% tax on the turnover of energy companies: those operating in the natural gas and electricity markets. The companies delivering heating, or the co-generation plants, for the heating business, will not be charged this tax. This is a more direct way of extracting resources from the energy companies, compared to the dividends paid this year, minister Teodorovici implied. Furthermore, it will be done at the expense of the minority shareholders, who have collected significant dividends this year as well, besides the Government. Notably, with the capping of the natural gas and electricity prices, the profits of some of these companies will drop significantly making impossible the distribution of high dividends. Telecoms, sanctioned for their “unfair behavior” Another sector targeted by the ordinance is telecom, for which the Government decided to introduce a 3% turnover tax. “For those who activate in this sector, a tax has been set that will be paid to ANCOM (the telecom sector regulator – e.n.) – of 3%. This tax comes as a result of a behavior that has been analyzed and considered unfair by Romania’s Government by those that have to pay profit tax in this sector,” said Darius Valcov in the December 21 press conference. He gave the example of market leaders Orange and Vodafone, which paid profit taxes amounting to 7.2 per-mille, respectively 9 per-mille, of their turnovers in 2017. Another operator, that Valcov avoided to nominate, paid a profit tax of RON 1.577 (EUR 339) at a turnover of RON 3.3 billion (EUR 710 million), he said. Moreover, the Government also set the minimum prices telecom operators will have to pay for the 5G licenses that will be auctioned at the end of 2019 and for the renewal of 2G and 3G license, also to be carried out next year. Thus, the authorities aim to sell the 5G licenses for a minimum of 2% of the turnover in the electronic communications sector times the number of years for which the licenses are granted. The renewal of 2/3G licenses will cost 4% of the sector’s yearly turnover times the number of years for which the licenses are renewed. Mobile communications operators have reacted to these taxes saying they will negatively impact their future investments, blocking the development of this important sector for Romania’s economy. Foreign and Romanian investors warn Govt. against excessive taxation plans Romanian companies warn supplementary taxes will surface in end-user prices Bucharest Stock Exchange crashes after announced fiscal changes by Iulian Ernst, Editor Romania-Insider.com; iulian@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Shutterstock)

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The verdict: Toyota serves up adventure, efficiency and safety with the 2019 RAV4, but a side of rowdy road manners spoils the sauce. Versus the competition: Though it’s solidly improved and offers a near-class-leading list of standard safety goodies, the new RAV4 lacks the comfortable ride of some competitors and the spirited road manners of others. The Toyota RAV4 has a lot of fans — more than 400,000 people in the U.S. bought one last year alone — but I've never been one of them; I've always been underwhelmed by its slow, loud road manners, clunky multimedia system and chintzy interior. A redesign for 2019, however, has brought me closer to understanding what all the fuss is about. On the outside, the fifth generation of the compact SUV trades its previous crossover-like curves for the beefed-up face and aggressive shoulders of Toyota's larger, trucky SUVs, like the 4Runner. Inside, there's an updated multimedia system, upgraded materials, and added tech and safety features. Compare it with the 2018 model. The compact SUV class is packed, and the RAV4 has some solid contenders, including the Honda CR-V and my favorites, the Nissan Rogue and Mazda CX-5. See them compared. Driving Differences The standout is the RAV4 Hybrid. It delivers utility, economy and the most comfortable driving experience. The hybrid pairs a 2.5-liter inline-four-cylinder engine with electric motors, a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack and a continuously variable automatic transmission that's good for 219 horsepower total. Off the line, pep is brisk and linear, and the CVT does an adequate job of delivering more — though when pushed on hill climbs, the powertrain can get loud. ------------------------- The brakes are a high point, with a natural, responsive feel often missing from hybrid braking systems. Fuel economy is one, too: Toyota estimates fuel economy of 41/37/39 mpg city/highway/combined, up significantly from the outgoing hybrid's 34/30/32 mpg EPA rating. All-wheel drive is again standard on hybrid models, which come in LE, XLE, XSE HV and Limited trims. Gas-powered models are available in LE, XLE, XLE Premium, Adventure and Limited trims. They come standard with the 2.5-liter engine, paired this time with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It's good for 203 hp — slightly less than the hybrid, and it feels like it. While not slow, it lacks the hybrid's zippiness. The eight-speed automatic shifts smoothly, but timing is off and often awkward; it's too quick to upshift out of lower gears and holds higher gears too long when a downshift would make for more responsive acceleration. Like the outgoing model, the new RAV4's road manners annoyed. Tire, wind and engine noise are intrusive — arguably the worst in the class — and the gas version's ride is firmer and bouncier than in the hybrid, which is more composed and controlled. The Limited trim I tested had 19-inch wheels versus the hybrid's 17s (and thus shorter, less compliant tires), which likely contributed to the extra hop. The RAV4 owners I know are exclusively pavement drivers, but should the urge to wander off the beaten path strike, the Adventure model lives up to its name. The gas RAV4 does make strides in fuel economy, however. Toyota estimates base models will get 26/34/29 mpg with front-wheel drive, 26/33/29 mpg with AWD. This is better than the outgoing FWD model's 23/29/25 mpg rating and brings the RAV4 in line with base FWD versions of the CR-V (26/32/28) and Rogue (26/33/29). It's also a fair amount better than the CX-5 (25/31/28). The biggest surprise was the Adventure model, which I mocked when it debuted last year, saying it offered nothing apart from slightly more adventurous styling and a big price hike. Like the 2018 version, the new Adventure model wears rugged body cladding and gets a few new exclusive colors, but the biggest change is that it makes good on its name with a robust new AWD system. The New Dynamic Torque Vectoring All-Wheel Drive system is several steps above the RAV4's regular AWD system in terms of capability. It can send up to 50 percent of engine torque to the rear wheels as needed for more traction, and it can also direct power to the left and right rear wheels to boost grip when slippage is detected. There's also a multiterrain selector that optimizes the AWD system for mud, dirt, rocks, sand or snow. The RAV4 owners I know are exclusively pavement drivers, but should the urge to wander off the beaten path strike, the Adventure model lives up to its name. I drove it on dirt, and it very capably mastered steep hill climbs, ruts and moguls. The new AWD system is standard on both Adventure and Limited trims. A Step Up Inside The old cabin's bland look and budget materials have been replaced with a sharper design and more padding. The Limited model I tested had ample cush in knee and elbow touch points, as well as handsome, two-tone imitation-leather seats and surfaces. The hybrid model had less padding for elbows, but its interior still stood out, with pops of chrome trim and an interesting seat upholstery pattern. Toyota cranked the style dial to 11 on the Adventure model, jazzing up its gray and brown color palette with pops of orange on the seats, doors and dash. Space is good inside, too. At 5 feet, 6 inches tall, I was comfortable in the backseat with the driver's seat where I'd normally have it. By the numbers, the new model offers slightly more rear legroom than the outgoing one, with 37.8 inches. That rivals the Rogue (37.9) but is less than the CX-5 (39.6) and CR-V (40.4). Caregivers with kids in car seats will likely have enough room for two car seats, and installation should be eased by the RAV4's exposed lower Latch anchors. Cargo room is a mixed bag. In front, there's a handy storage shelf nestled into the dashboard, along with a decent-size center console box and a small bin ahead of the shifter. Also useful is a reversible cargo floor in back; one side is carpeted, but you can flip it over for an easy-clean plastic side. In terms of room in back, however, cargo space is down in the gas-powered version. The new RAV4 offers 37.6 cubic feet of space, almost a cubic foot less than the outgoing model and less than the CR-V (39.2) and Rogue (39.3). The CX-5 offers even less, however, with 30.9 cubic feet. The hybrid version sees an increase in cargo room compared with the old hybrid thanks to a skinnier battery pack; it now matches the non-hybrid version's space. (Almost) Modern Multimedia Attention to detail continues with the RAV4's new multimedia system, Entune 3.0, which features a standard 7-inch touchscreen that includes Amazon Alexa connectivity and Apple CarPlay. Available upgrades include an 8-inch display, satellite radio and navigation, but what's missing is Android Auto compatibility. Toyota says it still has work to do to ensure seamless integration with the system but promises it will come eventually; many other compact SUVs already offer it. The high-mounted tablet-style system is a big win with its clear, responsive screen and easy-access tuning and volume knobs. Those dials win the best knob award (which I just made up); they have a solid, quality heft and are ringed with grippy rubber, making them easy to grasp. Other available goodies that bring the cabin up to date include Wi-Fi hot spot capability, heated and ventilated front seats, a foot-activated liftgate, a camera-based rearview mirror, up to five USB ports, a Qi wireless charging pad for compatible mobile devices, and an 11-speaker, 800-watt JBL premium audio system. Despite finding some other camera-based rearview mirror systems unnatural, I like the RAV4's. It's highly customizable, so you can change the view angle up or down, shift right or left, and zoom in and out. Added Safety All RAV4s come with Toyota's Safety Sense 2.0 system, which includes a forward collision warning system with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, full-speed dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure warning with steering assist, automatic high beams, lane detection and lane keep assist (which Toyota calls Lane Tracing Assist). There's also a new road sign assist system that identifies road signs and can warn the driver with alerts depending on sign type. Options include blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert, a 360-degree camera system, parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking. That list is long, but the Rogue's is longer, including standard blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert. The CX-5's standard safety list is less robust, but it also offers standard blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert. The CR-V trails competitors with many features not standard — and some not even optional on the base trim. Higher Price At $26,545 for a base FWD LE, the 2019 RAV4 starts higher than both the old version and its competitors; it's $1,200 more than the CR-V and CX-5 and $700 more than the Rogue. All-wheel drive adds $1,400 to each trim level, and the hybrid powertrain is an additional $800. The new model's impressive list of standard safety features helps take the sting out of the price hike, but with prices starting $840 higher than the outgoing model, it'll take more to win me over completely. When I've been asked to recommend a compact SUV, the Toyota RAV4 has never been on my list, but the 2019 version — especially in hybrid trim — has earned itself a spot for those with the budget to accommodate it. Cars.com's Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com's long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don't accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com's advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.

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