NEWS
Extraordinary session to deal with vaccines and EU summit
The cabinet meets in a special session covering H1N1 vaccinations and the delegation leaving for Thursday’s EU summit in Brussels to name the union’s first president and foreign minister. Cabinet ministers have not yet picked one of the five candidates, and it is likely that PM Jan Fischer will be the one to decide on the spot.
Source: ČTK, Právo 1
Swine flu vaccines arrive
Health Minister Dana Jurásková announced that 95,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine arrived Tuesday. Up to 50,000 will go to GPs for health-impaired patients. The rest are for health workers. More will come. The Education Ministry has recommended preventive measures concerning potential swine flu epidemics for schools.
Source: most Czech press
Islam critic Wilders to give speech in Senate
The Netherlands’ controversial Geert Wilders has been invited by Senate’s media committee chairman Jiří Oberfalzer (ODS) to speak in the upper house at the end of November. Wilders will likely also show his anti-Islamist film Fitna. Senate Chairman Přemysl Sobotka (ODS) said that the upper house is not an appropriate place for the presentation of Wilders’ ideas.
Source: ČTK
SANEP: Schwarzenberg most trusted
An internet poll by SANEP found that the majority of people trust the leader of TOP 09, Karel Schwarzenberg, with the founder of the party, Miroslav Kalousek, occupying second position. ČSSD deputy chairman Bohuslav Sobotka ranks third, and the Green Party MP Kateřina Jacques is the least trusted political figure.
Source: Právo 1
Police to charge 33 neo-Nazis
Police plan to charge 33 for incidents during the Velvet Revolution celebration in Prague on Tuesday. Lawyer Tomáš Sokol, who is representing the Interior Ministry in the case to ban the rightwing Workers’ Party, told Týden.cz that should the charges against members be serious he will consider using them in his argument.
Source: Týden.cz
Topolánek says ODS needs him
For an interview that will run Friday, ODS chairman Mirek Topolánek told Hospodářské noviny that his party has two choices: keep him in charge, or risk disintegration and loss of influence. He said this in reaction to disputes over whether a new chairman should be elected at the upcoming party congress.
Source: HN 1, 5
Füle could be replaced by Chmiel
Lidové noviny reports that the new European affairs minister replacing the Czech EU commissioner candidate Štefan Füle will likely be the current ambassador to Australia, Juraj Chmiel. Chmiel has been suspected of misusing private data since his wife sent out an email in summer urging voters to go for the ODS in the elections that were to be held this fall. The Foreign Affairs Ministry is looking into the matter.
Source: LN 1, 3
Doctors prescribe antibiotics incorrectly
Czech doctors prescribe CZK 2.5 billion worth of antibiotics every year. Experts estimate that some 40% of the prescriptions are issued incorrectly or unnecessarily, warning that this results in an increase in microbes resistant to currently available antibiotics.
Source: HN 4
Three candidates in final round for Prague Zoo head
The finalists for the new director of the Prague Zoo are the former chairman of the Czech Airlines supervisory board Miroslav Zámečník, the editor-in-chief of radio Leonardo, Miroslav Bobek, and the former head of the news section at TV Nova Jan Vávra. The final decision should be made on 1 December.
Source: ČTK, MfD B1, B3
BUSINESS
Czech banks blocking cards due to data leak
Thousands of clients of banks operating on the Czech market have had cards blocked after a data leak warning by Visa and Eurocard/Mastercard. ČSOB spokesman Ivo Měšťánek told HN this includes all cards used in Spain this year. Some banks in Germany are also blocking their clients’ cards.
Source: most Czech press
ČEZ is world’s ninth biggest electricity firm
The Czech company ČEZ ranked ninth this year on the global power industry ladder compiled by the US research agency Platts. In the overall ranking of all energy companies, ČEZ occupied the 49th place among 250 businesses assessed.
Source: HN 17
AVG Technologies to enter bourse
Antivirus software producer AVG Technologies will go public. Shares might launch on the Prague bourse, America’s NASDAQ, and the London and Warsaw exchanges. AVG has a presence in 167 countries, more than 80 million customers and an estimated value of CZK 13.6 billion. No Czech company has entered the US bourse.
Source: HN 1, 13, 19
Export companies expect improvement
A survey by DHL and CzechTrade found that some 41% of Czech export companies expect an increase in business within the next 12 months, compared to 37% in autumn last year. Only 9% of the surveyed companies expect the volume of their export to fall, down from 17% last year, and almost 40% expect the volume to remain the same.
Source: ČTK
ÚOHS looks into potential acquisition of Euroclinicum by PPF
The antimonopoly office will study into the proposed sale of Euroclinicum, which owns seven hospitals, to PPF Healthcare and should deliver a ruling within three weeks. PPF Healthcare also plans to take over Euroclinicum’s central management and service structure. Neither of the companies disclosed the price of the transaction.
Source: ČTK
ČSA supervisory board has new chairman
Member Michal Mejstřík was elected new chairman of the Czech Airlines supervisory board at the company’s extraordinary general assembly. At the meeting, members also endorsed a proposal to deal with ČSA’s debt to the state-owned company Osinek and cut the number of supervisory board members by half and their bonuses by 30%.
Source: most Czech press
NWR records loss of EUR 69 million for 2009 so far
The New World Resources mining company, which owns the black coal company OKD, recorded a loss of EUR 69.1 million during the first three quarters of the year, compared to a profit of EUR 259.4 million over the same period last year. Revenues fell by 44%, to EUR 775.7 million year-on-year.
Source: MfD A11, E15 13, ČTK
Czech Republic tops the list for retail theft
A study by the British Centre for Retail Research found that the Czech Republic ranks first out of 22 countries when it comes to stealing in shops. The value of stolen or lost goods in Czech shops during this year amounted to USD 510 million, 6.5% more than in the previous year. Austria and Switzerland are at the other end of the list.
Source: LN 14
Govt tender for new debt collectors delayed
The number of distrainers should increase from 121 to 180, but a relevant tender faces difficulties. The Justice Ministry halted a previous bid after applicants had paid CZK 30,000 and undergone exams, citing the failure of the debt collectors’ chamber to sufficiently announce the tender.
Source: HN 13-15
KBC could place up to 40% of ČSOB shares on Prague bourse
Belgian bank group KBC plans to offer 30% to 40% of the Czech ČSOB’s shares on the Prague Stock Exchange. Yesterday, the European Commission approved a plan that includes the move. Bourse CEO Petr Koblic said that, if KBC offers as much as it plans, its volume on the PX index might be 15%.
Source: most Czech press
Janota signs investment contract with Saudi Arabia
In Riyadh yesterday, Finance Minister Eduard Janota signed a contract with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, concerning support and mutual protection of investment between the countries. Janota said that the Czech Republic is also interested in closing talks to prevent double taxation.
Source: Euro.cz
