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This summer will see the largest renovation project of its kind in the Czech Republic – the renovation of the country’s main train stations, many in marked disrepair. Construction contracts are worth an estimated three billion crowns or more.

Czech consumers are increasingly shopping online, with overall revenues predicted to reach almost CZK 100 billion this year. What’s more, though Czechs currently lag behind some nations in this respect, they are using their mobile phones to carry out purchases ever more often.

A new programme of grants to encourage local councils and individuals to save water is being pieced together by the Ministry of Environment with an eye towards the likelihood of lower rainfall and more volatile climate patterns in the future.

The Czech Republic is facing a shortage of flats on the real estate market, according to financial daily Hospodářské noviny. Most acutely affected, the paper writes, is the Czech capital, where developers are running out of apartments on offer on the market. New construction projects, meanwhile, have been slow to get off the ground.

A hospital bed manufactured by Czech company Linet has made a striking appearance in the popular US television series House of Cards, when it was used by Kevin Spacey in the role of the US president Frank Underwood.

Czech energy group EPH teamed up with PPF Investments, the vehicle of the Czech Republic’s richest man, Petr Kellner, is said to be on the verge of another major acquisition, this time in Germany. The deal is focused on brown coal assets but that fits in well with the Czech company EPH’s existing activities.

It’s no secret that the toolboxes of central banks are looking a bit empty these days. In the old days when economies were always on the up they could tinker with the interest rates and that was indeed their main job. With interest rates at around zero long term, the central bankers are clearly stymied and looking for other tools.

A total bill for 33 billion crowns, that’s the estimate put on the costs of a crash of the hard coal mining company OKD.

March saw the highest ever number of new car sales in one month in the Czech Republic, according to figures just issued by the country’s Car Importers Association. Almost 23,000 new vehicles were registered last month, a rise of 8 percent on the same period in 2015.

The Czech film industry is currently enjoying something of a renaissance. Last year, cinema operators sold nearly 13 million tickets, which is the highest number since 2010, when the figure reached over 13.5 million. Sales reached a record 1.67 billion crowns. With over 600 cinemas, the Czech Republic boasts one of the densest networks of cinemas per person in Europe.