CARDS - The number of payment cards in Central and Eastern Europe has tripled in the last four years to 109 million cards, according to the Payment Cards Central and Eastern Europe 2006 study by Retail Banking Research. The Czech Republic ranks fourth in the region, with 7.7 million cards.

FRAUD - Former Deputy Development Minister Petr Forman, an adviser named Petr Spacek and six other people have been charged with embezzling from European Union funds. They are accused of stealing 229 million Kc ($9.3 million) over a period of several years from the Foundation for Development of the Regions.

UNIPETROL - Polish company PKN Orlen recently paid the government 14.695 billion Kc ($594.8 million) for its final 63 percent stake in oil and chemical group Unipetrol. PKN Orlen paid an additional 1.645 billion Kc because of Unipetrol's strong performance last year.

AUTOMOTIVE - The annual production capacity of Czech automotive manufacturers is expected to more than double to 1.2 million units by 2012, according to an analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers. In Europe car production is expected to increase the fastest in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It should decrease in Western Europe.

LAWSUIT - The SOS consumer group is planning to file a class-action lawsuit against CSOB to help account holders get back money paid for account maintenance or termination. CSOB said the SOS has never shown why the fees are illegal.

HYUNDAI - Each of the 410 households near the Nosovice industrial zone will receive 100,000 Kc from the state if the South Korean carmaker Hyundai decides to build a plant there. The Moravian-Silesian regional authorities will compensate for the construction inconvenience.

TRIBUNE - The Prague Tribune, a bilingual business and lifestyle magazine, will close down in December after 12 years on the market, Publisher Philippe Riboton announced Oct. 31. Launched in March 1993, the magazine has been struggling for several years from a decline in advertising revenue.

LABOR - Allowing citizens of EU countries to buy land in the Czech Republic might encourage countries to open their labor markets to Czechs, said Foreign Affairs Minister Cyril Svoboda. Under current law, Czechs can only work legally in a few European countries, including the UK.