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The Czech competition watchdog, the Office for Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), in a three line statement on November 6 announced that it had taken initial steps to impose a 2.036 billion crown fine on a cartel of construction companies.

A continued squeeze on electricity prices and problems with its Dukovany and Temelín nuclear power plants have hit the Czech Republic’s biggest electricity company.

With the ending of current sanctions expected to come as soon as the start of next year, Iran is now the target for trade delegations and missions from around the world. The Czech Republic is no exception and, after a ground breaking visit by the foreign minister, is now looking at the practical steps needed to exploit the opportunities when full two way trade resumes.

A third Czech power company has boosted the ranks of potential bidders for German power assets of Swedish energy company Vattenfall. In fact, Czech companies and joint ventures are the only bidders so far for the sizable portfolio of coal, hydro, and lignite mines.

A Czech manufacturing icon is making a comeback with a new design and new power source.

The Czech state will back a huge investment by a Czech company in Russia. Russia’s fertilizer producer PhosAgro, has contracted Czech technology firm Chemoproject Nitrogen to build a plant.

The World Bank Group comes up with an annual ladder basically comparing how much regulation and obstacles companies face in different countries to start up and then perform their day to day. The annual survey is sub-titled “Doing Business.”

Czech soft-drink producer Kofola has increased its sales to 5.5 billion crowns, which is the best results in the company’s history. The company’s sales in the first three quarters of the year have increased by over 16 percent year-on-year. Kofola announced the results in a press report released on Monday.

Labour mobility has never been high in the Czech Republic, be it geographic or occupational. Most Czechs are unwilling to commute long distances or move house for a better job and they have three to four different employers in the course of their working life. However according to data from Czech labour offices the situation is now gradually changing.

Security of supply of natural gas is one of the Czech Republic’s and EU’s main energy priorities. But a recent conference in Prague has shown up some worrying signals about how market forces might be undermining that target.