SALE - Czech financial group PPF is holding talks with ČSOB on the potential sale of eBanka, Mladá fronta Dnes reported Feb. 16, referring to an unnamed source. Both sides have denied being in negotiations over eBanka, which economists estimate is worth between 2 billion Kč ($84 million) and 4 billion Kč.

FINES - Hundreds of farmers will have to pay fines worth a total of 200 million Kč to the European Union for producing too much milk. The Czech Republic is producing 20 million more liters than allowed, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

SHOPPING - Very few Czechs like telephone shopping, while many believe the service is a fraud, according to a recent poll by Factum Invenio. More than one-third of respondents said teleshopping was a fraud, and the same number said it was an advertising trick. Eighteen percent, however, said teleshopping was a way of buying goods that would otherwise be difficult to get.

PLANT - A new bioethanol plant worth 1.2 billion Kč will be built this year in north Moravia, according to media reports. The plant will employ approximately 100 people and should be fully operational by 2007. It will be Central Europe's first bioethanol plant.

PROFIT - Skanska, the country's leading construction company, saw profit increase 20 percent to 1.3 billion Kč in 2005 on the Czech and Slovak markets. Sales were up 15 percent to 33.9 billion Kč. The company attributes the profit growth to major infrastructure projects, including the new terminal at Prague's Ruzyně Airport.

POWER - Electricity giant ČEZ has launched negotiations in the privatization of a power plant in Varna, Bulgaria, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said in Prague Feb. 16. ČEZ is currently pursuing major acquisitions throughout Central and Eastern Europe, and Stanishev said the company has a realistic chance of winning the Bulgarian privatization.

INSURANCE - Insurance company ČSOB Pojišťovna collected 6.9 billion Kč in premiums in 2005, 13.5 percent more than in 2004, the company said Feb. 16. The Czech insurance market increased 3.5 percent to 115.5 billion Kč last year, with ČSOB Pojišťovna's market share growing 6 percent.

ROOMSTER - Škoda Auto will unveil its new Roomster model at the Geneva Motor Show at the end of February. The Roomster first appeared as a design concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003. Škoda will announce the price and other details in Geneva Feb. 28.

BUDGET - The recent announcement that SkyEurope, a low-cost air carrier out of Slovakia, will begin offering flights from Prague has prompted rival Smart Wings to lower its prices. Smart Wings has cut the price of its least expensive one-way ticket to several European cities from 990 Kč to 190 Kč.

DEALERS - The number of securities dealers operating on Czech stock markets doubled to 382 last year, with nearly 200 new traders obtaining a European license from the European Union, according to data by the Securities Commission.