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In a surprise move, the Czech National Bank cut all key interest rates by 50 basic points last Thursday. The Central bank's board decided to reduce the repo rate to 3.75 percent, the discount rate to 2.75 percent and the Lombard rate to 4.75 percent.

The Czech Republic is interested in participating in the construction of Bulgaria's second nuclear plant, the country's ambassador said on Monday. The Bulgarian government recently announced it would resume construction of a second nuclear power plant near the Danube port of Belene, 250 kilometers northeast of Sofia. Bulgaria has already invested 1.2 billion USD in the project, which was frozen in 1990 after pressure from environmentalists. A Czech-built 1,000-megawatt reactor is already stored at the Belene site.

A temporary electricity shortage threatened the stability of the Czech power transmission system last week. Some power stations in the country are not in operation, reportedly due to a lack of customers.

The Czech Republic's light truck producer Daewoo Avia is facing the threat of losing a major foreign customer, the Russian bus producer Golaz, which failed to renew a contract with Avia after three weeks of talks in late March.

The Czech foreign trade deficit decreased by 4.1 billion CZK year-on-year to 7.2 billion in March, in line with expectations.

The Czech government has appointed the dominant fixed-line telephone operator Cesky Telecom as the national carrier, whose tasks will be to provide the state with telecoms services during emergencies or crises.

This week the Business Leaders Forum, an organisation that represents many of top corporations in the Czech Republic, held its 11th annual ceremony for the Health, Safety and Environment Award. The awards are handed out to companies and municipalities whose projects contribute to exceptional improvements in the local environment and the health of employees and the general public. By .

Retail prices in February accelerated to 4.3 percent year-on-year, up from 3.5 percent in January...