Prague bourse experiences third worst day in its history

The Prague bourse experienced the 3rd worst day in its history on Monday, with shares in nine elite companies losing 150 million crowns in value over the last week. In a single day share values for Unipetrol, for example, dropped by 13 percent, Philip Morris by 12, with the main bourse index 15 percent lower than this year's max reached in February, the financial daily Hospodarske Noviny writes. Economic experts have said that the rapid fall in share value is the influence of a wave of selling on foreign markets. The deputy prime minister for the economy Jiri Havel commented developments by saying the decline was temporary, a sentiment echoed by other business specialists.