EURO

Czech National Bank Governor Zdeněk Tůma told The Financial Times Jan. 4 that the conditions for new member states to adopt the euro are outdated and should be overhauled. He said the inflation criterion for euro zone entry is no longer appropriate. The Maastricht Treaty requires new euro countries to have an inflation rate no more than 1.5 percent above the three European Union countries with the lowest inflation.

WAGES

Wages in the Czech Republic will rise at least 5 percent this year, but real wages will increase just 2 percent, Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) reported Dec. 27 after polling more than 100 large companies that employ some 300,000 people. The business daily Hospodářské noviny cited a survey by the Czech Economic Chamber that said wage growth will be lower than 5 percent.

WEALTH

The number of Czechs who make more than 31,500 Kč ($1,519) per month will increase more than 30 percent this year, according to Finance Ministry estimates published in MfD Jan. 4. The group represents less than 10 percent of the work force, and pays one-third of all income taxes collected.

LOANS

Czech banks loaned more money before Christmas in 2006 than the year before, Hospodářské noviny reported Dec. 28. For example, more than 35,000 people borrowed money from Česká spořitelna to finance their Christmas shopping. The average loan increased 20,000 Kč to 77,000 Kč. Analysts said the increase was due to better access to loans and reduced monthly payments on such loans.

ČEZ

Shares of state-run power producer ČEZ accounted for nearly half of all trading on the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) in 2006, improving its position as the most-traded stock on the market. The company's trading volume reached 347.5 billion Kč, while deals in the second most actively traded stock, pharmaceutical company Zentiva, amounted to only 107.2 billion Kč. ČEZ has a total capitalization of 568.5 billion Kč.

BROKERS

Patria Finance and Wood & Company were the leading brokers on the BCPP last year, the same as in 2005, according to the exchange. Patria's trading was worth 456.5 billion Kč, while Wood & Company and Česká spořitelna reached 337.4 billion Kč and 178.1 billion Kč, respectively. Share trading on the BCPP fell more than 18 percent from 2005.

INVESTMENT

The Czech Republic received the most investment in 2004 among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Czech Statistical Office said Dec. 22. Outside investment amounted to nearly one-third of Czech gross domestic product from 1995 to 2005. The volume of investment in the Czech Republic has declined slightly in recent years.

DEALS

The Czech Export Bank granted loans worth more than 19 billion Kč last year, 1 billion Kč more than it did the year before, a bank spokesman said Jan. 3. The largest projects the bank supported were a power plant in Pakistan costing 1.9 billion Kč and a power plant in Russia for which it loaned 1.7 billion Kč.