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In business news this week: Labour Minister Petr Necas promises to reform the "demotivating" unemployment benefit system; a new report shows a sharp increase in the number of foreign-registered Czech companies; figures show the Czech antique market booming; the jewellery business records rising fortunes for gold after years of decline; and Czech insurers join forces against drivers with accident records.

In Business News this week: the profits of large industrial companies in the Czech Republic grow by 31 percent; the country falls in an international Doing Business survey - and is warned to reform its tax and legal systems; most construction firms in the Czech Republic admit to hiring illegal workers; Czechs get paid the second most per hour of all the countries which have joined the EU since 2004; and Skoda Auto opens the country's biggest company educational complex in Mlada Boleslav.

In Business News this week; the cost of electricity is set to rise by 10%; the Czech crown has a record-breaking week against both the euro and the dollar; the Czech Republic lags behind when it comes to claiming EU funds, and Czech Airlines has started offering low-cost tickets on many of its European flights.

In Business News this week: the EC recommends Czechs to slash deficit in public finances; Ceske Aerolinie records loss of 175 million crowns in the first half of this year; the Czech government launches privatisation of Letiste Praha; the energy power giant CEZ is to build power station in Vietnam in deal worth 3 billion dollars; and the number of Vietnamese doing business in Czech Republic is on the rise.

In Business News this week: the Labour Minister unveils plans to part-privatise the pension system; has the government started selling off shares in CEZ? The Finance Ministry predicts that next year's budget deficit will be below 3%; revenue from tourism rises in the first six months of this year; and Czech dairies have a tough time squaring up to foreign competition.

In Business News: uncertainty remains about when the Czech Republic will introduce the euro, after the government approved an adoption plan - without a target date; the central bank surprised many with a second quarter-point interest rate hike in two months; the average salary was 7.4 percent higher in the second quarter than in the same period in 2006; changes to the labour code are intended to increase flexibility; power giant CEZ hooks up with Hungary's MOL; and Ikea plans to double its regional presence over the next decade.

In Business News this week: the Chamber of Deputies passes an extensive public finance reform bill; Czech banks say the reforms will mean more expensive mortgages; the governor of the Czech National Bank says the international mortgage crisis has not affected the Czech economy; the successful Czech anti-virus producer Grisoft buys out its UK and Ireland distributor; and a huge increase is seen in the consumption of soft drinks in the Czech Republic.

In this week's business news Irish low-cost airline Ryanair arrives in Prague; a growing number of companies have problems finding employees; the price of cigarettes expected to rise; the Czech mineral water producer buys stake in Austrian soft-drink company and the poultry meat prices are expected to rise considerably.

In Business News: Heineken - Krusovice merger okayed by the anti-monopoly office; Czech foreign trade heading for a record surplus; an unexpected fall in inflation; a downturn in the consumption of electricity; Czechs busted claiming sick-leave; road tolls might apply to vans; and Czechs' tipping habits explored.

In Business News: small breweries accuse Plzensky Prazdroj of preventing them supplying beer to some restaurants; Skoda cars are set to enter the Australian market; Czech portals Seznam and Atlas combine their search engines in an attempt to fight Google; Volny enters the digital TV via phone-lines market; and Ceska sporitelna boss Jack Stack makes an unusual swan song.