Monday, 9 December 2019
Business | Prague Daily Monitor
Part-time working mothers in Czechia: less than EU average

In Czechia, approximately 10% of females work part-time, versus 24.5% in the EU or even 37.8% in Germany says Anna Putnová, a teacher and co-founder of the Czech-Moravian Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers. The Minister of Labour Jana Maláčová (ČSSD) promises to find a fix for the situation and promote jobs which can be split between employees.
Business | Prague Leadership Institute
Pepper de Callier: Things to Think About

"An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." Let's apply Mahatma Gandhi's quote to the world of business. It aptly describes the zero-sum environment of silo thinking—I win, you lose—which becomes an endless cycle of negative posturing and waiting for a payback opportunity.
National | Business | Prague Daily Monitor
Bill to push waste separation to be debated today

Today, the government is to debate the increases and changes to the billing of garbage. The main discussion points are the billing options for garbage, in order to push more people to recycle. The bill would come into effect in 2021, but environmentalists are against the option to delay garbage dump operations closer to 2030 from 2024.
National | Business | Al Jazeera
Corruption cases pile pressure on Czech prime minister

Prime Minister Andrej Babis is under renewed pressure after a week in which two major corruption cases delivered personal setbacks. The government has appeared more stable in recent weeks than at any time since it was formed in mid-2018, but revived accusations of conflict of interest and criminal fraud threaten to rock it once more.
Business | Prague Daily Monitor
Military upgrades continue: New radar systems signed

It took ten years but the military has finally managed to sign the agreement to acquire eight new mobile radar units EL/M-2084 from the Israeli company Elta System's Iron Dome series. The contract is worth CZK 3.5 billion for the actual units with another CZK 2.5 billion for service and maintenance. The contract ran into some issues when Czech command was solving the question of the radar systems compatibility and inter-connectability with NATO technology.
Business | Radio Prague
Study: Czechs seventh in Europe when it comes to wearable payments

The Czech Republic is seventh in Europe when it comes to using wearable transactions, such as contactless payment bracelets, watches and rings, suggests a survey carried out by Mastercard.
Business | The Economist
China tries, and fails, to influence the Czechs

On the night before Christmas Eve last year Zhang Jianmin, China’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, paid a visit to Andrej Babis, the prime minister, on the outskirts of the capital. The two men posed for a photograph by a Christmas tree, but it was not a social call.
National | Business | Council of Europe
Launch of the HELP course on combating trafficking in human beings in CR

On 2 December 2019, the Council of Europe and the Czech Judicial Academy held a seminar in Prague to launch the online course of combating trafficking in human beings developed under the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme of the Council of Europe. The seminar was attended by 26 Czech judges, prosecutors and judicial assistants.
Finance | Prague Daily Monitor
Czech average monthly wage nears CZK 34,000

The Czech average monthly wage came in at CZK 33,697 in the third quarter. The increase is 6.9% higher than a year ago. After inflation the gains are about 4%. Wage growth is slowing down and analysts had predicted wage gains below 4% annually inflation adjusted. The information was released Wednesday from the Czech Statistical Office.
Business | Expats.cz
Medicine prices in Czech Republic are among the world's most affordable

A British medical startup, Medbelle, has compiled a comparison of drug prices across 50 countries. The highest prices are to be found in the United States and Germany, while Thailand has the cheapest medicine.
Business | Radio Prague
Czech Republic jumps six places in UNCTAD global e-commerce ranking to 25th spot

European nations hold eight of the top 10 spots on UNCTAD's latest Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index, which ranks 152 countries on their readiness to engage in online commerce. The Czech Republic finished a respectable 25th overall, rising six notches since the previous study.
Business | Reuters
Stock Spirits tells Polish, Czech vodka drinkers to expect price hike

Polish and Czech drinkers will face bigger bills for vodka with Stock Spirits planning to hike prices because of proposed increases in excise duties in its two biggest markets. The Czech Republic proposed a 13% tax rise on spirits and gambling to boost the state budget revenue by CZK 1.3 billion in 2020.
National | Business | Romea
Gov't council recommends analyzing interwar assets of Roma and Sinti confiscated during the war

An analysis may be undertaken in the Czech Republic to map the assets owned by Czech Roma during the interwar period that were confiscated between 1938 and 1945 to address any eventual compensation claims. Producing such an analysis was recommended by the Council of the Government on Romani Minority Affairs, which reviewed the question of compensation during its 21 October session.
Business | Radio Prague
Starlings and voles responsible for significant drop in grape harvest

Wine growers in the Czech Republic are expecting one of the lowest harvests in the past three or four years, the daily e15 reported on Tuesday. According to estimates, this year's grape harvest will range between 70,000 to 80,000 tonnes, which is a drop by around one third on the previous year.
Czech Republic and the EU | Finance | Radio Prague
Embattled Czech PM blasts EC for interpreting Czech legislation

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is fighting for his political future. Although the EC's audit, which allegedly confirms his conflict of interest, remains confidential, opposition parties are calling for his head and his coalition partner, the Social Democrats, have taken a cautious, non-committal stand as the situation develops.