NAME - Shareholders at Český Telecom (ČT) gave final approval April 27 to renaming the company Telefónica 02, which comes as part of a merger between ČT and its mobile arm, Eurotel. CEO Jaime Smith said the brand name O2 will be phased in during the second half of the year. ČT was bought last year by Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica.

GDP - The Czech National Bank (ČNB) has increased its 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to between 5.4 percent and 6.9 percent, thanks mainly to the fact that GDP grew a record 6 percent last year. The bank originally predicted growth at between 3.3 percent and 4.5 percent. Also, ČNB Governor Zdeněk Tůma said inflation should remain low this year.

STORES - Tesco opened two small stores April 28 in Rokynice nad Jizerou and Turnov under the Tesco Express name as part of a new strategy. The British retailer will open a third in Plzeň within the week, and dozens more are planned for next year. Rival Delvita already has 39 similar stores in this country.

AIRLINE - Czech budget airline Smart Wings will begin offering flights this winter from Budapest to Prague, Paris, Rome and Milan. It will also become the first low-cost airline in the Czech Republic to serve free food on flights.

PPF - Financial group PPF has signed a preliminary contract to buy Privatinvest, a unit of Ukrainian bank PrivatBank, Hospodářské noviny reported May 2. PPF has not made an official statement on the deal, according to the report. PPF is, however, looking to get into the financial services business in Ukraine this year, according to the company's spokeswoman.

DELVITA - Retail chain Delvita is planning to leave the country and sell more than 90 stores to rival retailers, Euro reported in its May 2 issue. Delvita has in the past denied speculation about its withdrawal from the Czech Republic. It will hold a press conference May 4 about its plans in this country.

ČEZ - Managers at power company ČEZ earned nearly 1 billion Kč in stock dividends as part of a company motivation program, Mladá fronta Dnes reported April 29. Managers at the company are allowed to buy ČEZ shares at a price the stock was listed on the Prague Stock Exchange before they took their position.