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December 1st, 2008
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In Brief



August 13th, 2008 issue

INTEREST The Czech National Bank (ČNB) governing board voted unanimously to lower interest rates to 3.5 percent Aug. 8, a 0.25 percent decrease, the bank announced. ČNB Governor Zdeněk Tůma said the Czech economy peaked last year, and did not rule out further interest rate cuts before the end of the year.

PRICES Year-on-year inflation in the Czech Republic rose to 6.9 percent, a 0.2 percent increase since last July, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported Aug. 8. Overall prices grew 0.5 percent since June. Natural gas, regulated rents and tobacco products recorded the highest increases.
CREDIT Share prices of real estate developer Orco dropped 8 percent Aug. 8 after international credit assessor Moody’s lowered the company’s credit rating by one notch, daily Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported Aug. 8. Orco representatives denied claims that the company was struggling with debt finance assessment, and announced that Orco had secured 41 million euros from banks for its Polish activities.
EURO The Confederation of Industry will recommend that its members pay their workers partly in euros as a way to offset losses caused by the appreciation of the crown, HN reported Aug. 7. Companies hope this strategy will pressure the government to speed up euro adoption. The Kovo metalworkers federation objected to the plan, which it interpreted as a wage-cutting strategy.
RESULTS Komerční banka (KB) netted 6.46 billion Kč in the first half of 2008, a year-on-year increase of 22.1 percent, HN reported Aug. 7. The bank’s lending rose 23.8 percent, to 350.7 billion Kč. Personal mortgages also rose, increasing 27.2 percent to 82.3 billion Kč.
BOURSE A majority stake in the Prague Stock Exchange is up for sale, spokesman Jan Kovařík told HN Aug. 7. The sale is the result of increased interest from financial investors and strategic partners in accordance with a worldwide trend of stock exchange consolidation. Analysts say the price could reach 2 billion Kč.
INSURANCE Česká pojišťovna netted 2.4 billion Kč in the first half of 2008, a 59 percent decrease since last year, the company announced Aug. 7. The bank’s premium billings rose 4 percent to 20.8 billion Kč, with life insurance premiums rising 8 percent and nonlife premiums 2 percent. When one-time revenue from asset sales are eliminated, the 2008 results are comparable with last year’s.


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