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In this week's Business News: Škoda cuts production as the economic slowdown bites; local police offer jobs to laid off Škoda employees; despite woes, confidence in Czech businesses remains high; the state budget is burdened by pension costs and industrial production decreased by 7.6 percent in October.

In Business News this week: Czechs are spending much less on their Christmas shopping this year than last; the US has put the Czech Republic on a pirate-goods blacklist; unions claim that Škoda Auto is to cut back operations by three percent, and Czech sport is feeling the effects of the global financial crisis.

In Business News this week: the IMF says GDP growth in the Czech Republic is likely to fall below 2 percent next year; the Czech finance minister says if that happens the government has a plan; wage growth in the Czech Republic could be at its lowest level ever in 2009, with a survey suggesting nearly half the country’s firms will not increase wages at all; and real estate sales fall by almost a third.

In Business News this week: the EU has agreed on new agricultural policy, which Czechs do not support; Russian oil firm Lukoil wants to buy a stake in several Czech refineries; a packaging firm scoops the title of Business of the Year; over a half of Czechs find it difficult to get by on their current income, and Czech hoteliers are registering a decline in the number of guests.

In this week's Business News: Is the Czech Republic bucking the trend of the global economic slowdown? The Czech electricity company ČEZ has seen profits go up by forty percent compared to last year; employees of the troubled Karlovarský Porcelán porcelain maker are to go without pay for the month of October; the Prague bourse responded to an upward turn for world markets on Thursday by showing strong gains in early trading of Friday and Czech companies have set aside around 750 million crowns during 2008 for charitable spending.

In this week's Business News: the Czech Central Bank slashes interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, while downscaling its GDP growth forecast again; the majority French-owned Czech bank Komerční Banka has posted profits of 9.94 billion crowns for the first nine months of 2008; a new survey suggests that Czechs are likely to spend significantly less during the Christmas period than last year; the Czech government is seeking to write-off the majority of a nearly one billion crown debt owed by Russia since the Soviet era and Czechs

In this weeks Business News: Czech car makers have announced that they may have to cut jobs in the first quarter of 2009; Škoda has just posted figures that reveal an 8.6 billion crown and nearly 25% fall in profits; the Czech Central bank has formally rejected the idea that a fast-track adoption of the euro may help the Czech Republic fight against the effects of the global financial crisis; a new prognosis from the Finance Ministry puts economic growth in 2009 at just 3.7%; Czechs are increasingly looking for bargains on the Czech stock exchange

In Business News this week: the Czech crown falls significantly against the US dollar, while also losing value against the euro; the Prague Stock Exchange seesaws again; a sharp decline in the volume of mortgages provided by Czech lenders slows considerably in the third quarter; and Czech betting companies are fighting for a slice of the lucrative on-line gambling business.

In Business News this week: as the financial crisis continues, analysts predict lower GDP growth in the Czech Republic in 2009; a marked fall is seen in investment in commercial property; the Czech Republic doubles bank deposit guarantees, while the central bank begins offering loans to banks guaranteed by government bonds; the head of the Confederation of Industry says the government should suspend discussions about euro adoption; and big privatisation projects are going ahead despite the financial crisis, with Aeroflot reported to be the favourite

In this week's Business News: The Czech Republic leads the EU in the percentage of plastic packaging being recycled; Friday’s early trading saw the Prague bourse slump by 14 percent; the head of one of the companies building a new Hyundai factory in Northern Moravia has accused the company of cutting corners in construction; the seemingly endless Czech housing boom appears finally to be slowing down, according to experts in the industry; Czech trust funds are in their worst condition since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and Czech anti-corruption