Conditions in Czech industry have continued to deteriorate, according to the June Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). The PMI indicator dropped from 46.6 in May to 45.9- the lowest level in the last 10 years Respondents to the IHS/Markit survey suggest that the decline in the indicator was due to lower production, where the rate of contraction was […]
The proportion of non-residents holding Czech state domestic bonds increased to 42.27% in May from 41.96% in April, Finance Ministry data showed on Friday. Foreigners’ holdings are more than double the levels seen prior to the central bank’s intervention regime to keep the crown currency weak that ran from 2013-2017. Foreigners held a record […]
Six of the seven board members of the Czech National Bank voted on Wednesday to keep the benchmark rate unchanged at 2 percent, bank governor Jiří Rusnok told a news conference. The central bank had voted unanimously in May to raise borrowing costs for an eighth time in two years. At the policy-setting meeting […]
German energy group E.ON has offered to sell Innogy’s gas and power business in the Czech Republic to address EU antitrust concerns over its bid for rival Innogy’s network and retail assets, E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen said at an event in Berlin. E.ON may also drop 260,000 heating customers in Germany, as well as […]
ZOOT is launching its first retail apps as part of an aggressive growth strategy. With 26 stores across the Czech Republic and Slovakia, ZOOT is one of the fastest growing retail brands in the Czech Republic, offering customers an omnichannel experience. Zoot stores boast a customer-first approach allowing shoppers to ‘try before they buy’. […]
The Czech Republic’s economic sentiment deteriorated for the second straight month in June, survey results from the Czech Statistical Office showed on Monday. The economic sentiment index decreased to 95.2 in June from 95.7 in the prior month. The business confidence index fell to 93.1 in June from 93.8 in the previous month. The industrial […]
Stores are closing across Europe as consumers shift to e-commerce and discounters barge in. Yet a pair of investors is making an audacious takeover bid for Metro AG, valuing the German chain that sells food and other staples from no-frills warehouses at $6.6 billion. The proposal from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky and his Slovak investment partner […]
Billionaire Daniel Křetínský is satisfied with the position of minority owner of the French daily Le Monde. He wants to support a letter with a long tradition and would not interfere with the operation of the editorial office, even if he would take over a majority stake in the future. One of the wealthiest Czechs […]
Czech banks have agreed to contribute a modest portion of their profits to a national development fund to avoid a threat of special taxes that earlier afflicted their eastern European peers. Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Monday he wants the units of Societe Generale SA, Erste Group Bank AG, KBC Groep NV, and UniCredit SpA, to jointly […]