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Komercni Banka clients hit by on-line thieves. Czech-Chinese business relations grow. Lithuanian-based bank opens office in Czech Republic. Mountfield records growing sales. Czech breweries increase production.

In Business News: the public finance gap will again exceed euro adoption criteria next year - the outgoing finance minister says that will not impact plans to adopt the currency in 2010; leasing offices and commercial spaces is more profitable in Prague than almost every other capital in Europe; the Czech crown reaches an all-time high against the dollar; and the country is experiencing a boom in the construction of wind power stations.

In Business News this week: the Czech crown reaches a record high against the Euro; the Euro is accepted by half the country's chain stores; RWE Transgas is hit by the biggest fine ever levied by the Czech anti-monopoly authority; home starts grow by 14.2 percent; the world's biggest glass maker is opening a new plant in Teplice; and a family-owned car maker unveils its new model.

In Business News: electricity prices are set to rise sharply in 2007, after an auction held by producer CEZ; Amnesty International criticises arms exports from the Czech Republic; the number of passenger cars in the Czech Republic stands at just over 4 million, with the three most popular models all Skodas; and Czech exchange offices are losing a lot of business as more and more tourists use bank cards.

In Business News: the Czech National Bank raises interest rates by a quarter of a percent to 2.25; more than a a quarter of firms in the Czech Republic bribe officials to secure public orders, says the World Bank; police seize almost 19 million USD from the accounts of three suspected of stealing from the Czech Consolidation Agency; and the national grid is to be improved after the worst blackout since the 1970s; and a Czech bank introduces video bankers.

In Business News: Vodafone has halted plans to launch a UMTS mobile phone network; the Telecoms Office is considering allowing a fourth mobile operator to enter the Czech market; Zdenek Bakala plans to seek a listing for his coal company OKD on the London and Paris stock exchanges; Prague's Ruzyne airport runs into difficulties with plans to build a new runway; and two Czech banks open cashless branches in an effort to combat the problem of hold-ups.

In Business News: the number of applicants per job stands at 5.2, the lowest figure for eight years; the country's biggest steelworks is to let 1,000 workers go, with more redundancies likely to follow; domestic car-production was up a phenomenal 85 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2006; the average size of apartments which received planning permission in May was a full 25 percent bigger than the year before; and Czech bookmakers report June was their best month ever, thanks to the World Cup.

A new report indicates that Czech industrial profits for 2004 to 2004 tripled to 179 billion crowns (over 8 billion USD), as the workforce decreased by 35,000. Business analysts predict a revised trade surplus of 5 to 6.5 billion crowns (223 to 291 million USD) for the month of May. The German company Teleplan will open new Czech branch by the end of July. SPGroup will invest 12 billion crowns (5 billion USD) into the transformation of the Prazsky Veletrzni Areal exhibition facility into an Olympic-class sports facility. New code-share cooperation

In Business News: the minimum wage is to increase slightly from July; Czechs are spending less on household insurance relative to earnings; Plzensky Prazdroj is to invest heavily into its brewing technology; lower VAT on coffee, tea and chocolate takes effect on July 15.

In Business News: over a billion dollars worth of PPPs are planned, says a Finance Ministry official; farmers want the next government to halt the continual decline in output in their industry; Czech tourists spent more money on holidays at home than abroad in 2005; and the biggest factory outlet in the country should open at Prague airport next year.