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Austrian furniture retailer XXXLutz is aiming to build what would be the biggest warehouse so far in the Czech Republic. The planned development covering around 150,000 square metres would dwarf warehouse already built for such corporations as Amazon, Lego, Internet sales company Mall.cz and US-based branded clothes and footwear seller VF Corporation.

Gun sales in the Czech Republic have been rising fast in recent months, while the number of Czechs applying for licenses is also growing. Experts suggest this is a response to worries over terrorist attacks and the migrant crisis.

The OKD hard coal company, belonging to New World Resources which is in controlled by the by the so-called Ad Hoc Group, filed for insolvency on Tuesday; the move had been expected after the government made clear last week it would not step in to help the long-ailing firm. The company issued a statement that it had filed with an aim to “restructure the company and maintain viable operations”.

Wage increases of 10 percent, way ahead of inflation, are now being pledged by some political parties for Czech health workers as well as teachers. And such sizable increases have also been seen in some of the most dynamic parts of the private sector as well.

With the summer holidays two months away, personnel agencies say the time is ripe for students and others to being applying for temp work, as firms ready to bolster regular staff numbers. Czech Radio reports that construction, landscaping and receptionist jobs are among those currently on offer. The number of ‘brigády’ (temporary jobs) in construction alone, doubled over the last month.

Train travel between the two largest Czech cities, Prague and Brno, should be faster from December. Planned changes will shave five minutes off that journey, while rail links between the capital and České Budějovice will speed up even more.

Czech companies regard a shortage of qualified staff as the biggest threat to their growth potential. In response they are looking to make hires in other countries and are boosting salaries and benefits in a bid to poach staff from rivals, Hospodářské noviny reported.

The town of Humpolec, in the Czech-Moravian highlands, has come first in an annual competition called Město Pro Byznys (Best Town for Business) organized by the weekly Ekonom, published by Economia. This year, the eighth inception saw 205 towns and cities take part. The data, the Czech News Agency reported was processed by the firm Datank.

The share of foreign supermarkets on Czech retail market has exceeded two thirds, which is the highest figure among all central European countries. The overall number of small and medium-sized grocery stores in the Czech Republic in 2015 dropped by two percent compared to the previous year.

The average mortgage rate in the Czech Republic has reached a new record low, falling below the 2.0 percent mark for the first time. At the same time, the price of apartments sold in Prague has hit a fresh high, with the average per square metre cost of properties breaking through the CZK 60,000 barrier.