business trend analysts
Radio Prague - Subject Business
business in the Czech Republic
- Business News 12.12.2008
In this week's Business News: Škoda cuts production as the economicslowdown bites; local police offer jobs to laid off Škoda employees;despite woes, confidence in Czech businesses remains high; the state budgetis burdened by pension costs and industrial production decreased by 7.6percent in October. - “Unrealistic” state budget for 2009 approved by lower house
Despite its minority support in the lower house the centre-right governing coalition on Wednesday pushed through the state budget for 2009, securing the votes of all five rebel deputies and overriding protests from the opposition Social Democrats and the Communists. This could be seen as a major victory for Prime Minister Topolánek’s government, but there’s a hitch. The budget, which operates with a deficit of some 38 billion crowns, or more than 1.9 billion US dollars, is based on a 4.8 percent economic growth forecast which critics say is simply “unrealistic”. They claim that the deficit is inevitably going to be much higher. Analyst Jan Macháček, from the Czech weekly Respekt, says that data for the 2009 state budget are simply out of date. - Czech economy begins to feel the pinch
Ever since the onset of the global economic crisis, the Czech Republic hasbeen spared some of the stronger side-effects of the financial slowdown,particularly when compared to its western neighbours. However, a new set ofeconomic data suggests that the country’s period of economic upswing isover. Although talk of an actual recession is still rare, the forecast,with job losses, a growing trade deficit and decreased consumer demand, isbecoming increasingly gloomy. - Business News 12.5.2008
In Business News this week: Czechs are spending much less on theirChristmas shopping this year than last; the US has put the Czech Republicon a pirate-goods blacklist; unions claim that Škoda Auto is to cut backoperations by three percent, and Czech sport is feeling the effects of theglobal financial crisis. - Energy firm offers consumers prize freeze for 2010
Consumers fearful of rising energy prices have now been offered a choice bythe Czech energy giant ČEZ: the possibility of freezing electricity pricesthrough 2010. Not long ago ČEZ came under fire for an announced 10 percentelectricity price hike, and this is its answer to critics. Anyone wishingto avoid a further rise in two year’s time, can now sign up. The questionis, will it be worth it? The international financial crisis is likely tosee energy prices drop before they go up. As a result, anyone signing upfor the freeze now could end up with the higher bill. - Business News 11.28.2008
In Business News this week: the IMF says GDP growth in the Czech Republicis likely to fall below 2 percent next year; the Czech finance ministersays if that happens the government has a plan; wage growth in the CzechRepublic could be at its lowest level ever in 2009, with a surveysuggesting nearly half the country’s firms will not increase wages atall; and real estate sales fall by almost a third. - Czech companies to cut thousands of jobs
The Czech Republic is now beginning to be more affected by the worldfinancial crisis. After a number of industrial companies announced cuttingthousands of jobs, the government has, for the first time, admitted takingaction to help the economy. - Business News 11.21.2008
In Business News this week: the EU has agreed on new agricultural policy,which Czechs do not support; Russian oil firm Lukoil wants to buy a stakein several Czech refineries; a packaging firm scoops the title of Businessof the Year; over a half of Czechs find it difficult to get by on theircurrent income, and Czech hoteliers are registering a decline in the numberof guests. - Award for firm hoping to make banknote counterfeiting thing of past
Among the prize winners at Tuesday’s 2008 Česká hlava (Czech Head)science and technology awards was the company Optaglio, which has createdasystem aimed at ending the counterfeiting of banknotes. It involvesembedding holograms – similar to those you might find on credit cards -incash, making notes far harder to copy, and fakes far more obvious. Idiscussed the innovation with Optaglio’s Libor Kotačka. - The Czech Republic’s Nuclear Energy Dilemma
Today, energy from nuclear power plants provides for roughly a third of the Czech Republic’s overall electricity consumption. There are in fact six operating nuclear power plant units – four of them have been operating for twenty years in Dukovany, and two of them have been operating for almost ten years in Temelín, in south Bohemia. The rest of the Czech Republic’s energy needs are met by domestic coal as well as imported gas. But the country has recently begun to wrestle with how it will meet its energy needs in the future, and more nuclear power seems to be topping the list of options. Yet, nuclear power remains an understandably controversial choice – with both domestic opponents as well as the country’s vocal non-nuclear neighbour Austria wanting to steer the country clear of this option. - Business News 11.14.2008
In this week's Business News: Is the Czech Republic bucking the trend ofthe global economic slowdown? The Czech electricity company ČEZ has seenprofits go up by forty percent compared to last year; employees of thetroubled Karlovarský Porcelán porcelain maker are to go without pay forthe month of October; the Prague bourse responded to an upward turn forworld markets on Thursday by showing strong gains in early trading ofFriday and Czech companies have set aside around 750 million crowns during2008 for charitable spending. - New eleven-degree version of bestselling Czech beer hits market
One in every four beers served in this country is a Gambrinus, made bybrewer Plzeňský Prazdroj. But, in a bid to dominate the market yetfurther, the brewery has just unveiled a slightly stronger, 11-degreeversion of its bestseller, titled Gambrinus 11 Excelent. The foreign-ownedbrewer says it is reacting to a shift away from the 10-degree beers whichhave for so long been so popular in this country. I spoke to Gambrinusbrand manager Jiří Rakosník to find out more. My first question was,why the upgrade? - Business News 11.7.2008
In this week's Business News: the Czech Central Bank slashes interest ratesby three-quarters of a percentage point, while downscaling its GDP growthforecast again; the majority French-owned Czech bank Komerční Banka hasposted profits of 9.94 billion crowns for the first nine months of 2008; anew survey suggests that Czechs are likely to spend significantly lessduring the Christmas period than last year; the Czech government is seekingto write-off the majority of a nearly one billion crown debt owed by Russiasince the Soviet era and Czechs and Poles are increasingly losing interestin working in Britain. - Business News 10.31.2008
In this weeks Business News: Czech car makers have announced that they mayhave to cut jobs in the first quarter of 2009; Škoda has just postedfigures that reveal an 8.6 billion crown and nearly 25% fall in profits;the Czech Central bank has formally rejected the idea that a fast-trackadoption of the euro may help the Czech Republic fight against the effectsof the global financial crisis; a new prognosis from the Finance Ministryputs economic growth in 2009 at just 3.7%; Czechs are increasingly lookingfor bargains on the Czech stock exchange and household debts climbedsteeply in October by around 14 billion crowns, according to the CzechNational Bank - Business News 10.24.2008
In Business News this week: the Czech crown falls significantly against theUS dollar, while also losing value against the euro; the Prague StockExchange seesaws again; a sharp decline in the volume of mortgagesprovidedby Czech lenders slows considerably in the third quarter; and Czechbettingcompanies are fighting for a slice of the lucrative on-line gamblingbusiness. - Škoda Auto cuts prices
The global financial crisis has not spared the Czech automobile industryand the majority of car makers have already announced price-cuts. Now theCzech Republic’s largest car manufacturer, Škoda Auto has been forced todo the same. The company announced a series of price reductions onWednesday, the first since 1991, when Škoda Auto became part of theVolkswagen group. So what sort of discounts is Skoda offering? JaroslavČerný is the company’s spokesman: - Business News 10.17.2008
In Business News this week: as the financial crisi