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In Business News this week, car producers rev up at the Geneva auto show; a major arms contract is finally sealed; the government’s anti-crisis programme drives on; the mobile phone market slows; but the only way is up for power giant ČEZ.

In Business News this week: an extraordinary media intervention by the national bank; Škoda Auto steps up a gear; Green Cards look less rosy; another high speed rail link is mooted; a new contender is linked to Czech Airlines’ sale; and farmland disappears fast from the map.

In Business News this week: the government presents its anti-crisis plan hot on the heels of a shares and currency meltdown; the home loans market shows deeper signs of suffering; a potential rival to ČEZ shapes up; and the energy giant seeks to change its image.

In Business News this week: the labour minister unveils plans to make it easier to sack workers; the Czech EU presidency organizes a summit on unemployment in Prague; Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek says he will not raise tax on cigarettes and alcohol; supermarket chain Billa starts to sell its customers package holidays, and the country’s oldest tour operator posts its biggest profits ever.

In this week’s business news: the Czech central bank predicts a recession; the country’s trade surplus plunged by a quarter in 2008; government unveils plans to boost the economy; Škoda car maker profits from German car subsidies; and Russia’s Aeroflot eyes Czech Airlines.

In Business News this week: the Czech Republic’s richest man Petr Kellner gains influence over the most valuable parts of Czech-Slovak group J&T; the Czech government sees no reason to bail out the country’s banks; Czech firms say they are experiencing a sharp fall in orders, and waiting longer for payment; and the Buddha Bar chain opens its first ever hotel in Prague.

In this week's Business News: the Czech crown is continuing a remarkable slide; the Finance Ministry has confirmed that plans to sell off Ruzyňe Airport in Prague are being placed on ice; the leader of the main opposition party has accused the government of “doing nothing” to fight the economic woes that are facing the Czech Republic; Czech beer production fell in 2008, following record-breaking levels in 2007 and the country's chief gas provider says that renewed gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine are now fully meeting the needs of Czech

In Business News this week: with Czech industrial output falling by 17.4 percent, the vice-governor of the central bank says growth this year could slow to as low as 0.5 percent; over two thirds of Czech firms say they are finding it harder to get bank loans; the number of foreigners joining the Czech workforce falls by 20 percent; the head of IKEA says the firm will open two new stores in the Czech Republic, including one of its biggest in Europe; and more Czech banks are to introduce smart ATMs.

In this week’s Business News: The Czech Republic’s state debt currently stands at almost one trillion crowns, the prime minister unveils an economic council to help steer the country through the global economic crisis and the gas supplier Česká Plynárenská secures extra deliveries from Norway to offset the impact of the gas crisis.

In this week's Business News: despite economic woes, budget deficit lowest in 11 years; nuclear plant generated record power in 2008; Czechs lured by weak pound, London sales; agriculture in the black and Czechs good at handling money, says report.