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The deputy governor of the Czech National Bank, Miroslav Singer, says the turmoil on world markets will lead to a marked slowing of the Czech economy and a drop in demand. In an interview for Wednesday’s edition of Hospodařské noviny, Mr Singer said some Czech brokerage firms could have problems in the wake of the financial crisis that began in the United States. He said, however, that Czech banks did not appear to be threatened. Shares on the Prague Stock Exchange have fallen to a near-three-year low, and at points trading was suspended due to sharp losses. In a two-day period over 100 billion crowns was wiped off the value of shares.

The Czech Republic's two-time Olympic canoeing champion Martin Doktor announced his retirement on Tuesday so he can become the national team coach. The 34-year-old who won the 500 metres and 1000m races at the 1996 Olympics has been handed the responsibility of coaching the team for the 2012 Olympics in London.

The Green Party has called for an internal coalition commission into a blackmail and entrapment affair involving Vlastimil Tlustý and Jan Morava, who are members of the biggest party in the coalition, the Civic Democrats. The latter quit the Chamber of Deputies last week after it emerged he had bought staged compromising photos of Mr Tlustý, who had played an active role in a sting recorded by tabloid TV station. Mr Morava also gathered material in order to blackmail a rebel Green Party MP, Olga Zubová.

Senior Civic Democrats have been calling on Mr Tlustý (who has frequently been in dispute with them since being passed over for a cabinet post) to resign over his part in the scandal, though he says he has no intention of going. On Monday MP Juraj Raninec, a close associate of Mr Tlustý’s, quit the Civic Democrat’s deputies group over the party’s handling of the affair, which he said had not been properly investigated. He said, however, he would continue to vote with the government, which now has 99 seats in the 200-seat lower chamber.

Another of Mr Tlustý’s allies, Jan Schwippel, is also reported to be considering leaving the deputies group. He was due to hold talks with the its chairman on Tuesday, but postponed the meeting.

Two MPs from the smallest party in the coalition government, the Greens, say they will remain in its deputies group if certain conditions are met. The MPs, Věra Jakubková and Olga Zubová, are at odds with the party’s leadership. They said on Tuesday they would stay in the Greens deputies group, if it allowed open discussion on subjects not covered by the coalition agreement and the government’s policy programme.