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July 9th, 2008
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May 14th, 2008 | Current Issue

Snack attack!
After consolidation, Intersnack faces off with PepsiCo

ČSA trashes the paper ticket
Airlines promising to go 100 percent electronic next month

Explosia looking past Semtex
Twenty years after Lockerbie, plastic explosive lives on

TV broadcaster going nova on the Web
Nova launches news site, clothing optional

Biz Events
Dates of Note

10 Questions
with Martin Charvát
10 Questions

Scania appoints CEO
Movers & Shakers

BRIEFS


JOBS The unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent in April, the lowest rate in nine years, the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry reported May 12. There are now less than 300,000 unemployed people in the Czech Republic. The falling rate — it stood at 5.6 percent in March — is due to strong economic growth and seasonal work patterns, analysts say. The highest unemployment rate, at 12.9 percent, was in Most, north Bohemia.

AAA The used-car dealer AAA Auto could delay further expansion until after 2009, the company’s new finance director, Kamil Ziegler, told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) May 8. AAA doubled its number of branches last year, a move that it now says may have been too quick. The firm’s further expansion to Russia and Ukraine will depend on its restructuring, Ziegler said.
TENDER Škoda Auto submitted the lowest bid, at 1.1 billion Kč ($68 million), for a police tender to supply 3,500 new cruisers, ČTK reported May 12. Only two other car companies submitted bids for the tender: Volkswagen (1.4 billion Kč) and France’s Renault (2 billion Kč). Automakers have criticized the tender for its excessive technical requirements, which stopped bids from companies like Hyundai.
UPC The Czech Republic’s largest cable provider, UPC, is acquiring a smaller Olomouc-based competitor, Forcom Net, Hospodářské noviny (HN) reported May 12. Forcom offers cable services in Prague and 13 Moravian cities. UPC has not disclosed the deal’s terms, which were approved by the Council for Radio and TV Broadcasting.
BAN Transportation Minister Aleš Řebíček is against extending the travel ban for heavy trucks from Sunday to the rest of the weekend, HN reported May 13. Řebíček suggested that a unified solution for truck traffic congestion be found on the European Union level. The ban’s extension is part of the governing coalition’s policy platform and is supported by the Green Party, a coalition partner.
RAILS Private railroad operators are decrying a government plan to have the Railway Infrastructure Administration (SŽDC) purchase 12 billion Kč in infrastructure assets from the state-owned rail operator České dráhy (ČD), Právo reported May 13. Radím Jančura, CEO of Student Agency, threatened to move his planned 5.5 billion Kč investment into passenger rail service to Slovakia if the proposal passes.
INSPECTORS Fines imposed by the Retail Inspection Office (ČOI) dropped 6 million Kč last year compared to 2006, ČTK reported May 12. The number of consumer protection infractions and investigations also dropped, owing to better cooperation with customs authorities, the ČOI said.
ELECTRIC Households in the Czech Republic have access to the cheapest electricity in Central Europe, Eurostat reported May 9. Households with average power consumption pay 10.63 euros ($16.6/268 Kč) per 100 kilowatt hours, less than Slovakia, Poland or Hungary. Prices in Germany are almost double the Czech level, though these rates are expected to converge over the next few years.

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