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The rise in apartment prices in the Czech Republic, which has been extremely rapid in recent years, has come to a halt or at least decelerated, due to Czechs reaching the limits of their purchasing power as well as new mortgage regulations, iDnes.cz reported. However, things are rather different in Prague, the news site said.

The Carlsbad based Jan Becher company, which produces the iconic Czech liquor known as ‘Becherovka’, has announced record export numbers for the fiscal year between July 2017 – July 2018, with eight percent growth. In a press release on Wednesday, the company said it intends to focus more on exports to western countries in the future.

The Czech government will increase the minimum wage by 1,150 crowns to 13,350 crowns a month from January 2019, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jana Maláčová tweeted from an early morning cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The European Commission has agreed to review the terms of sale for the Czech Republic’s biggest steelmaker, the ArcelorMittal plant in Ostrava, and Brussels could impose additional conditions before allowing it to trade hands between one Indian-backed owner to another.

Twice a year Prague’s New Town Hall hosts the city’s biggest antique fair. This year´s autumn edition of the traditional event, held from November 15th to November 18th, is dedicated to the centenary of the birth of Czechoslovakia. The main theme is transformation of Czech design in the course of the past century.

Consumption of beer among Czech men is among the lowest registered in 14 years, suggests a survey carried out by CVVM agency. The weekly consumption of beer among Czech men has dropped to 7.6 half-litres, which is more than one half-litre less than last year.

Czechs are borrowing more than ever to buy Christmas presents for their relatives and friends, suggests a survey carried out among the country’s non-banking consumer lenders. In the months preceding the festive season, loan firms are traditionally recording an increase in the number of loan applications.

Despite the Czech school system maintaining a relatively strong position in international testing, the ratio of what the country’s teachers earn in comparison to other university graduates is among the lowest in the OECD. The government’s manifesto promises to increase the amount of investment in schooling, but it will likely be a long time before the effects become evident.

Unemployment in the Czech Republic again declined in October, falling to 2.8 percent. The number of jobless last month was 215,622, the lowest figure since July 1997, according to information released by the Czech Statistics Office on Thursday.

Second-hand booksellers in the Czech Republic and several other countries have lost a significant outlet to sell their books abroad after an Amazon subsidiary AbeBooks announced it would no longer support them. In reaction to the announcement, more than 450 antiquarian booksellers from all around the world pulled their books off the website in solidarity with those affected.