
Pfizer Romania recognized as a Best Place to Work for 2025
The Best Places to Work program is a leading international certification that honors organizations providing exceptional employee experiences. The evaluation combines anonymous employee feedback with a comprehensive HR assessment, measuring areas such as leadership, culture, well-being, growth opportunities, and people practices.
A Workplace Defined by Purpose, Trust, and Inclusion
Pfizer Romania's certification was driven by impressive scores across key dimensions of workplace culture. According to the internal employee survey:
Leadership & Trust
94% of employees say leaders respect labor laws
89% believe leaders act with integrity and ethics
86% agree leadership communicates a clear and inspiring vision
Culture of Inclusion
94% say differences (gender, ethnicity, age) do not affect how people are treated
90% feel their ideas and opinions are respected
91% say integrity is a shared value across teams
Managerial Support
93% say their manager upholds ethical standards
90% feel supported in health and well-being
88% receive meaningful feedback to grow
Engagement & Purpose
86% overall employee satisfaction
86% align with Pfizer's commitment to social responsibility
83% rate HR practices as people-focused
Strong HR Practices Back the Recognition
In addition to the strong employee feedback, Pfizer Romania achieved impressive results in the HR assessment, which benchmarks the company's practices against recognized global standards. The results reflect how closely Pfizer Romania's approach aligns with best-in-class HR practices across multiple areas:
94% alignment with best practices in people-focused HR policies
90% alignment in leadership support and strategic direction
89% alignment in employee engagement initiatives
88% alignment in teamwork and cross-functional collaboration
81% alignment with best practices in benefits programs
73% alignment in compensation structures and fairness
93% alignment in community involvement and corporate social responsibility, reinforcing Pfizer's strong commitment to societal impact
Leadership Reflections
'Being recognized as a Best Place to Work reinforces our belief that a successful business starts with a strong culture,' said Mirela Iordan, General Manager of Pfizer Romania. 'Our values — Courage, Equity, Excellence, and Joy — are not just words; they guide how we lead, collaborate, and deliver on our mission.'
Iulia-Rodica Mateescu, Senior Manager, People Experience, added: 'We're honored by this recognition. It reflects our ongoing efforts to create an environment where every team member feels heard, valued, and supported to grow.'
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Initially, the price of gold started to fall as progress was made on a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union (EU), which followed a similar agreement with Japan. This easing of global trade tensions bolstered riskier assets like stocks and strengthened the U.S. dollar, making gold less attractive to investors. The decline was further exacerbated when the Fed, despite political pressure, held interest rates steady and offered no clear timeline for future cuts, which would have typically supported gold prices. Silver and other precious metals like platinum and palladium also experienced significant price drops throughout the week. Fundamentals Although gold entered a period of consolidation, the broader, long-term trend is still decidedly bullish, as gold's price remains comfortably above key trendlines and MAs. 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Based on recent reports from the WGC[5], gold ETFs globally experienced a total inflow of 74.56 mt, with funds in North America accounting for nearly 60% of that increase (the date for July has not been released yet). According to LSEG, a financial firm, flows into physically-backed gold exchange-traded funds stood at just above 40 mt year-to-date with monthly outflows recorded only in January and May. However, there was also a minor outflow in the first week of July (see the chart below). GOLD ETF MONTHLY FLOWS VS GOLD PRICE Commitment of Traders Apart from central banks, global investors have also remained quite bullish on gold. According to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)[6], large speculators (leveraged funds and money managers) were still net-long COMEX gold futures and options as of 29 July, 2025. Long positions totalled 178,435 contracts vs only 35,589 short contracts, translating into a net-long position of 142,846 contracts (see the chart below). CFTC COMMITMENTS OF TRADERS VS GOLD PRICE ' Although large speculators remain net-long, the size of their exposure is substantially smaller compared to what it was back in September 2024, when the uncertainty around the U.S. Presidential elections fuelled bullish bets', says Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa broker. ' Still, while long positions may have been cut, short positions are not being added. Nobody wants to be caught shorting gold during these turbulent times '. Outlook Fundamentally, the outlook for gold looks bright, but there are important caveats. We have singled out three important factors that will continue to play out in August and the rest of 2025. U.S. Monetary Policy Given how strongly the market reacted to the recent NFP report, it is clear that investors' expectations regarding the U.S. monetary policy continue to be the dominant factor driving gold prices. Until recently, investors were growing increasingly sceptical about the Fed's willingness and indeed its ability to deliver additional rate cuts. However, the latest NFP report, which showed a much smaller-than-expected increase in new payrolls in July as well as a major downward revision in jobs creation for June, essentially cemented dovish expectations for the rest of the year. Investors now widely expect a 25-basis point (bps) rate cut by the Fed in September. They also price in a roughly 60% probability of an additional rate cut in October and a 47% probability of another rate cut in December. 'With these dovish expectations in place, XAUUSD is likely to remain supported in the weeks ahead ', argues Kar Yong Ang. ' However, inflation is a major concern and the Fed is yet to communicate its readiness to cut the rate. Tariff-related price increases are yet to be felt, and although U.S. consumer 1-year and 5-year inflation expectations have eased, they remain very high by historical standards. I think some central banks, and maybe even the Fed, will prefer to wait until trade tensions are resolved before committing fully to rate cuts.' Geopolitical uncertainty Lingering global economic and geopolitical risks continue to play out, with the ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and the rest of the world, particularly China, being the most critical factor affecting the gold market and the global financial system. The conflicts in the Middle East, such as the Israel-Hamas hostilities, brief spats between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, Thailand and Cambodia, and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have destabilised world politics and raised many fears ranging from oil and food supply disruptions to the prospect of a worldwide conflict. Gold, considered a 'safe-haven' asset, typically sees increased demand during political uncertainty and instability. While it is extremely difficult to project the resolution of geopolitical conflicts, let alone to forecast the emergence of new ones, peace negotiations in the hottest regions have already commenced. ' Conflicting parties seem to have at least started to talk. A cease-fire in the Middle East and Eastern Europe is now more likely than it was only a month ago, but a lasting peace may take years to achieve. Either way, any progress in negotiations or even a temporary cessation of hostilities will improve risk sentiment and have a bearish impact on gold,' says Kar Yong Ang, global broker Octa analyst. Technical Picture Kar Yong Ang comments: ' At the end of July, it appeared like gold was getting under heavy bearish pressure and it looked like it was about to finally escape its two-month trading range and break below the 100-day moving average. With some big trade issues sorted out and the Fed being cautious about inflation, a price drop seemed pretty likely. But then, a surprisingly weak jobs report came out and completely flipped everything around.' Indeed, trade-related risk premium may have started to leave the market, but last Friday's weaker-than-expected U.S. payrolls data boosted Fed rate cut expectations, which, in turn, substantially weakened the U.S. dollar and thus pulled XAUUSD higher. The short-term technical picture for gold now looks bullish again. Kar Yong Ang offers his perspective on the technicals: 'In case XAUUSD rises above the critical 3,395 level and holds above it, traders will then almost certainly attempt to pull it towards the 3,426 level, where short-term consolidation may begin to take place again. However, a confident rise above 3,460 will open the way towards new all-time highs. Alternatively, only a drop below 3,300 will invalidate the underlying bullish trend'. Octa broker offers a proprietary trading platform to facilitate trading activities. Gold traders can expect fast execution and small spreads and also benefit from the company's dedicated analytical support, which includes daily trading ideas and educational materials. XAUUSD DAILY TECHNICAL CHART Octa is an international CFD broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and various services used by clients from 180 countries who have opened more than 52 million trading accounts. To help its clients reach their investment goals, Octa offers free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools. The company is involved in a comprehensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including improving educational infrastructure and funding short-notice relief projects to support local communities. In Southeast Asia, Octa received the 'Best Trading Platform Malaysia 2024' and the 'Most Reliable Broker Asia 2023' awards from Brands and Business Magazine and International Global Forex Awards, respectively.