• April trade surplus stands at 19.9 billion crowns
    06/08/2015

    In other economic news, the Czech Republic had a trade surplus in April of 19.9 billion crowns. That is around five time the 4.2 billion total for the same month in 2014. Exports of Czech companies rose by around 6.0 percent. The customary heavy import bill for imported oil, gas, and some specialized chemicals continues to be cushioned by low prices for these raw materials. Overall, the Czech trade surplus with the rest of Europe increased but the deficit with the rest of the world deepened.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Czech Republic boasts two women in singles top 10
    06/08/2015

    The Czech Republic has for the first time in a quarter of a century two women tennis players in the singles top 10. Lucie Šafářová has entered the WTA top 10 for the first time at number seven following her success reaching the final of the French Open. Petra Kvitová jumps to second place due to the poorer performance of higher ranked players at the Grand Slam tournament but still trails number one Serena Williams by around 4500 points. But top Czech men’s player Tomáš Berdych slips from fourth to sixth place.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Unemployment rate drops to 6.4 percent in May
    06/08/2015

    The unemployment rate in May dropped to 6.4 percent from April’s 6.7 percent, according to the Czech Labour Office on Monday. That means that there are almost 466,000 registered for jobs without work, the lowest figure since June 2009. The number of vacancies stands at almost 93,000, that is the highest figure since November 2008. A year ago the unemployment rate stood at 7.5 percent with only half as many job vacancies announced.
    Author: Chris Johnstone

  • Javelin thrower Veselý second in Birmingham Diamond League
    06/08/2015

    Javelin thrower Vitezslav Veselý placed second at the Birmingham Diamond League on Sunday with a throw of 88.18 metres; his second best throw on record. Kenya’s Julius Yego claimed victory with a throw of 91.39 metres, the best throw in the world since 2006. Another Czech in the race, Jakub Vadlejch, came fourth with a throw of 84.34 metres.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Prague prepared to host Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
    06/08/2015

    Prague is prepared to host Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek said in a speech delivered at a security conference in Israel on Sunday. On a three-day visit to the Gaza Strip and Israel, Mr. Zaoralek said both sides of the conflict should do more to reach a solution. The Czech foreign minister also criticised the building of Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory, which he called a major problem. On Monday minister Zaorálek is to meet for talks with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech Central Bank governor says no change on forex policy
    06/07/2015

    Czech Central Bank Governor Miroslav Singer has said he has no plans to change the bank’s forex policy on the crown. Speaking on a debate on Czech public television the bank governor said that the country's economy was developing in line with the central bank's expectations and that forex interventions against the crown would not cease before second half of 2016. On the other hand he noted that it did not appear likely that the bank’s measure against deflation would be extended beyond that time.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • ANO retains edge over party rivals
    06/07/2015

    The ANO party of the centre-left governing coalition continues to outstrip its rivals in popularity polls, the ctk news agency reports. According to the results of a May poll conducted by the agency Aisa, ANO would currently win general elections with 29 percent of the vote. The Social Democrats of the ruling coalition would come second with just over 20 percent and the Communist party would place third with 12 percent of the vote. The opposition right wing TOP 09 party would come fourth with just over 9 percent of the vote and the right wing Civic Democrats would get 8 percent. The junior party of the ruling coalition, the Christian Democrats, would get 6.5 percent.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Šafářová/Sands win doubles at French Open
    06/07/2015

    After losing to Serena Williams in the women’s singles of the French Open on Saturday, Lucie Šafářová won the Women's Doubles Final on Sunday. The team Lucie Šafářová/Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat Casey Dellacqua/Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6 6-4 6-2. After their triumph at the Australian open in January this is their second grand slam title.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Supreme Audit Office says tax evasion still a problem
    06/07/2015

    The collection of taxes –particularly value added tax, consumer tax and personal income tax – has not improved as much as was expected, the Supreme Audit Office concluded in its report on state financing in 2014. The office says the mechanisms that were introduced to curb tax evasion have not proved as effective as the Finance Ministry hoped. The ministry is now striving to push through a bill on the introduction of electronic cash registers which should further improve tax collection.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech aid to the developing world should not decrease
    06/07/2015

    Czech aid to the developing world should not drop below 854 million crowns a year over the next three years, according to a Foreign Ministry proposal that is to be debated by the government on Monday. Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Tlapa told the ctk news agency that the ministry would ideally like to see the amount of aid increased depending on the outcome of EU negotiations relating to migrants and the commitment the country would take on. Currently Czech aid to the developing world amounts to 0.1 percent of the country’s GDP, while the EU recommendation is for it to reach 0.7 percent of the GDP.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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