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July 4th, 2008
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RECORD Shares on the Prague Stock Exchange set record highs three days in a row, fueled by Unipetrol, according to the Czech News Agency (ČTK). Unipetrol benefited from high oil prices around the world, rising by close to 2.4 percent Monday to close at 296.5 Kč ($14.10) per share. Last week’s national holidays appeared not to affect investor activity, which was spurred by the pending announcement of an electricity price limit for the next year by a new Prague energy exchange. ČEZ grew 0.44 percent Monday to 1,142 Kč per share.

POWER European Commission officials will look into whether Prague’s new energy exchange can fix electricity prices without violating European Union economic rules, which are based on a free market system, Hospodářské noviny reported. Analysts expect Prague’s new energy exchange to increase total stock market volume 25 percent, according to ČTK, while market officials plan growth of 14.2 percent.
EUROZONE It might be better economically for the Czech Republic and Slovakia to stay outside the eurozone for awhile instead of rushing to join it, Pavel Kavánek, ČSOB’s chief executive officer, told Mladá fronta Dnes. Kavánek criticized the inflation requirement for eurozone members, which can force governments to tighten monetary policies. The country plans to adopt the euro by 2010.
HIKES The government’s next round of planned interest rate hikes are expected to hit consumers harder in their pocketbooks because of rapid recent increases in household borrowing, Jan Čermák, the ČSOB’s chief financial markets analyst, told Hospodářské noviny.  
DEBT The country’s debt is low and stable, compared to its neighbors, although it was on the rise in the first half of the year to 856.1 billion Kč, the Finance Ministry told ČTK. Per capita debt now stands at nearly 84,000 Kč, the Finance Ministry reported. The country’s debt is financed through loans from the European Investment Bank, government-issued treasury bills and loans and direct bonds. Analysts worry that public debt could rise rapidly, possibly led by money needed for social programs such as pensions and health care.


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