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In Business News this week: the Czech Republic’s current account posts a surprise surplus of 4.8 billion crowns; Škoda Auto’s sales are up by nine percent; thirteen percent of Czech firms are planning foreign expansion this year; guest numbers at luxury Czech hotels rose in 2007, and public broadcaster Czech Television generated more than it expected from license fees last year.

In Business News this week: the Czech economy grew by a record 6.5 percent last year; as the crown sets even more record highs to the dollar and euro, the governor of the central bank says he is puzzled by the Czech currency’s strength; Czech firms paid out record dividends in 2007, with over two thirds going abroad; Petr Kellner is now among the richest 100 people in the world; food exports have grown considerably; and a food quality system is proving beneficial for Czech producers.

In Business News this week: power giant ČEZ sees its net profits rise by almost 50 percent; Czech agriculture shows record profits thanks to EU subsidies and higher prices; CzechTrade mediates CZK 3 billion worth of exports; after four years in the red Czech Airlines makes a profit; and a quarter of inspections of chain store outlets last year uncovered shortcomings.

In Business News this week: Czech retail sales rise by almost 7 percent; is the disappearance of 100 million litres of milk due to illegal smuggling?; Czech drinks maker Rudolf Jelínek buys a fruit brandies plant in Chile; Czech wind power stations more than double their output; and CSA comes first among 26 European airlines in terms of punctuality of departures.

In Business News this week: Analysts predict economic growth this year unlikely to surpass that of 2007; Prague is found to be the twelfth richest region in the EU; the European Commission advises the Czech Republic to cut its number of public service employees; Czech ships transport more than 2 million tonnes of freight in 2007, and the country’s shoemakers produced over 5.5 million pairs of shoes last year.

In Business News this week: the Czech Republic has posted record trade surplus in 2007; shopping space in the country is expected to expand by 50 percent; Czechs want to include Olomoucké tvarůžky on EU’s list of protected foods; a pint of Pilsner Urquell beer is cheaper in Germany than in the Czech Republic and Czech soft-drinks producer has launched a sugar-free version of Kofola.

In Business News this week: Martin Jahn has been appointed general director of the Volkswagen Group in Russia; the American company which bought Čedok is also interested in buying Czech Airlines; Prague stock exchange has lost record 17.4 percent in January; the number of Romanian and Bulgarian workers is increasing and the Czech Republic raises its production of solar panels.

In Business News this week: following panic selling earlier in the week, the Prague Stock Exchange sees its biggest rise in almost 15 years; the number of credit cards issued rises by a whopping 40 percent in one year; Czech Railways begins selling Sky Europe flight tickets at selected train stations; and cinema takings reach record figures, with a third of viewers attending Czech movies.

Share-prices on the Prague Stock Exchange have slumped to their lowest level since November 2006, Škoda car sales around the world increased by 14.5 percent last year and Visa has apologized for a glitch in its transaction system in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary that left an unspecified number of customers with duplicated withdrawals on their accounts.

In Business News this week: state-owned brewer Budvar will probably not be privatised during the term of the current government, says the minister of agriculture; top managers at ČEZ are set to take home phenomenal amounts under a share option incentive scheme; with a rise in the number of second-hand autos imported, some are suggesting the Czech Republic is Europe’s car graveyard; ČT24 will soon begin broadcasts from the Prague Stock Exchange; and the Czech makers of a hit computer game are bought out by a US firm.