Business briefs

ECB 'Convergence Report' critical of Czech deficits; 'One-stop' registration for new businesses proposed; Downsizing Ispat Nova hut offers unprecedented severance pay; U.S. dollar falls below the 25 crown mark.

Business briefs

ECB 'Convergence Report' critical of Czech deficits

Photo: European Commisssion

The European Central Bank and the EU Commission this week criticized the Czech Republic for running up the state deficit to the point where quick adoption of the euro is impossible. The bank also said in its first "Convergence Report" on the Czech Republic that the government should slash budget deficits and reform its labour market and pension system.

'One-stop' registration for new businesses proposed

The Cabinet this week approved a plan by the Minister of Industry to create "one-stop" central registration desks in conjunction with trade-licensing offices and at offices of the Economic Chamber, as of 2006. The plan is designed to reduce the time it takes to register a new company to about two weeks

Downsizing Ispat Nova hut offers unprecedented severance pay

The management of steel maker Ispat Nova hut has offered its staff an unprecedented severance pay worth up to 25 times the average monthly wage at the firm, which now stands at 23,000 crowns. The management expects that half of the 2,000 people it wants to lay off by 2006 will accept the offer, which is valid until mid-November.

U.S. dollar falls below the 25 crown mark

The U.S. dollar fell below the 25 crown mark this week, a record low. For Czech consumers, a weaker dollar could mean that local motor fuel prices do not rise as quickly as world oil prices, now at 55 U.S. dollars per barrel. The crown has been firming to the dollar in the long term owing to a worsening of the U.S. economy, the inflow of foreign investment to the Czech Republic and, in the short term, due to the growing price of oil, analysts note.