Wednesday, 22 January 2020
Business | Radio Prague
IT specialists organize "hackathon" to give gov't online motorway vignette sales system for free

The Czech transport minister has been sacked for mismanaging a tender to operate a new online system of motorway vignette sales. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš moved swiftly on Monday to stop a 400-million crown deal going ahead, accepting an offer from IT specialists who said they would work for free to produce a fully functional online sales system by next Monday.
Business | Radio Prague
Increasing number of Czech employers equip staff with phones and laptops

Over 80 percent of Czech companies with ten or more employees provide their staff with mobile phones, tablets or laptops with access to the internet, according to a new survey carried out by the Statistical Office of the European Communities, the Eurostat.
Czech Republic and the EU | Business | EurActiv.com
Czech FM: Visegrad countries will continue to promote EU enlargement

The Visegrad countries will need some time to close the ditches they have dug in recent years, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček told Euractiv.cz in an interview. He also voiced doubts about the need for a reform of EU membership negotiations, demanded by France, saying the process is already reversible at any stage.
Business | Honest Guide
These are the real owners of scam exchange offices in Prague

You'll see faces of the real owners in this video. But the series is far from over. Honest Guide is filming a new episode at the time of publishing this one. The story continues.

Business | Radio Prague
Number of foreign workers doubles in ten years

The Czech economy is increasingly dependent on foreign labour. According to figures released by the Czech Statistics Office foreign workers made up 13 percent of the labour force last year. In 2010 it was just 6 percent. In the course of the past decade their number has more than doubled.
Business | Reuters
Czech investor Kretinsky lifts stake in French retailer Casino

Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky and his junior partner Patrik Tkac said on Monday they had raised their stake in Casino to 5.64% from 4.63%, in a further show of support to the troubled French retailer. The move comes as Casino CEO and controlling shareholder Jean-Charles Naouri is hunting for ways to ease the company's debts - and those of parent company Rallye - in part through asset sales.
Business | Warsaw Business Journal
High concentrations of ultra-fine particles on Polish-Czech-Slovak border

High concentrations of the so-called ultra-fine particles in the air were found by scientists from the border regions of Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, collaborating on the Air Tritia project. The findings confirm the need to reduce municipal and transport emissions, according to a representative from the Central Mining Institute (GIG) in Katowice.
Business | Prague Daily Monitor
Prague-based coach tapped for leading international speaking and leadership tour

What makes a great leader? This is a question to ask Pepper de Callier, founder of Prague Leadership Institute, columnist, and best-selling author of the Common Sense Wisdom trilogy, who has been asked to lead an exclusive leadership tour in Italy for senior executives, in addition to other speaking engagements across Europe.
Business | Prague Leadership Institute
Pepper de Callier: Things to Think About

The people who are evaluating your progress and likelihood for promotion are not only looking for what you have accomplished. They are also looking at something that is a reliable predictor of your future success in today's world: Your willingness to try new things.
Business | Radio Prague
CzechTourism head hints attracting tourists no longer agency's main goal

Some 22 million tourists visited the Czech Republic last year, a slight rise in a long-term growth trend, according to preliminary data compiled by the state agency CzechTourism. While foreign visitors are welcome, simply increasing their number each year is no longer the main goal.
Prague | Business | Expats.cz
New look for Prague's InterContinental Hotel and plaza has been unveiled

The renovation of the InterContinental Hotel and a radical change to its surroundings will be one of the most visible projects in Prague in the coming years. Architect Marek Tichý from TaK Architects presented how the hotel and its surroundings could look.
National | Business | Brno Daily
Cable car to Bohunice campus? It's a real plan

To the Bohunice campus from Pisárky by cable car? This is not a wild dream. Brno Transport Company (DPMB) has already ordered the start of zoning procedures.
Finance | Nasdaq/Reuters
Czech crown pulls back from 7-year high

The Czech crown EURCZK= retreated from a seven-year high in early trade on Thursday, as it approached a new resistance level after a blistering start to the year. The crown has been the region's best-performing currency so far this year, boosted by speculation that rates could rise in the face of stronger inflation. On Wednesday it hit an intraday high of 25.056, its strongest in seven years.
National | Business | Romea
Romani politician Cyril Koky: Stanislav Křeček as Czech ombudsman would be absurd and ridiculous

According to Cyril Koky, the expert official on national minoriites at the Central Bohemian Regional Authority who is running for the Czech Senate as a candidate of the Pirate Party in Kolín, Czech President Zeman's nomination of Stanislav Křeček as a candidate for the next Public Defender of Rights (ombudsman) is absurd and ridiculous. Koky posted his opinion to his Facebook profile.
National | Business | Romea
Czech Police investigating Nazi symbols on 14 buildings in Ústí nad Orlicí

Graffiti with Nazi and radical motifs was spray-painted yesterday on buildings in Ústí nad Orlicí, Czech Republic, and the Roškot Theater, which is protected as a national cultural heritage building, now has a Nazi swastika on it. Mayor Petr Hájek (Oušťáci) told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) that police are investigating the case.