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2016 was a very good year when it came to the state budget, which ended with a surplus of 61.8 billion crowns. The result is the best since the foundation of the Czech Republic in 1993. The last time revenues exceeded expenditures was in 1995 and the result is a feather in the cap for Finance Minister Andrej Babiš. But critics charge that the achievement could not be attributed to the minister alone, far from it.

Seven new or reconstructed shopping malls are set to open in the Czech Republic this year, which is twice as many as in the past two years, according to a report by real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield.

Last year some shake out on the Czech banking scene with one of the upstart new banks aiming to take on the top three or four falling out of the race. But the start of 2017 has also seen a newcomer on the scene with a financial past and some foundations to boast of.

Demand is clearly outpacing supply in the market for new flats in the Czech capital. That and other factors have pushed up prices - by around a fifth since the start of the year - but the buyers don’t appear to be deterred for now.

With New Year’s Eve approaching fast, the producers of the Czech Republic’s most popular sparkling wine, Bohemia Sekt, are doing well, with a one-quarter increase in turnover in the last four years, the newspaper E15 reported.

Finance Minister Andrej Babiš has proposed building a new administrative compound on the northern outskirts of Prague which would pool civil servants from several ministries who are now housed in various buildings around the city. The minister says the plan would save money, increase work efficiency and make life easier for people who need to settle administrative matters for which they would currently need to visit several buildings in different parts of Prague.

One in three Czech companies currently have problems finding qualified staff, the news site ihned.cz reported on Tuesday, predicting that in 2017 the crisis on the labour market would deepen. Companies seeking to expand will be forced to offer higher wages and there will be growing pressure on the authorities to simplify the immigration procedure and open the door to more foreign workers.

Visitors to the Czech Republic as well as locals should be warned that stores larger than 200 square metres will close at noon on December 24 and remain closed for two days after that. A new law which has come into effect aims to make the Christmas period less about commerce and more about the holiday spirit, allowing people to slow down and spend time with their families. The flip-side is that there has been a greater rush at large stores in the run-up. This week, there was no shortage of long lines at many major retailers.

Czech Post employees have joined a chain strike in demand for better wages. According to the state company’s spokeswoman, the strike has not affected services at counters, although it may delay delivery of parcels ahead of Christmas.

The Czech state is in the running to buy up the country’s sole hard coal, or coking coal, company, OKD, which is now under insolvency administration. A bid of 1.0 crown was submitted by the state company Diamo on December 16.