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In Business News this week: the Czech public debt reaches a new high; Czechs buy less food, clothes and home appliances; Albania is set to withdraw ČEZ’s licence to operate in the country; up to 40 percent of retailers violate trade regulations during post-Christmas sales; and the popular Czech butter spread will undergo an EU-enforced name change by mid 2013.

In the past weeks in the Czech business world: Almost 3700 businesses had to close in 2012; the state deficit for the last year was lower than the government had expected by 4 billion crowns; online stores had big profits in December thanks to Christmas shopping; the crown may will most likely take a hit in 2013; the Czech Telecommunication Office wants to help more mobile phone operators enter the local market.

In Business News this week: Czech real wages continue to fall; few Czechs plan to join a new pension system; Qatar Airways and Korean Air are interested in acquiring Czech Airlines; apartment prices expected to decrease next year; Czech spas going through hard times, and Czech architects win competition to build monument to victims of slavery in Senegal.

In Business News this week: MPs debate draft budget for 2013; OECD cuts Czech growth forecast for this and next year; Prague Stock Exchange introduces new trading system; how much would ČEZ’s exit from Albania cost? Car maker Škoda to introduce four new models next year; and the east Bohemian town of Přelouč is ranked as the country’s best place for business.

In Business News this week: the Czech cabinet approves a draft budget for next year; CEZ has problems in Albania – and a bid for a power plant at home; the Czech Republic buys into the Transalpine Pipeline, with a view to reducing reliance on Russian oil; e-tailers in the Czech Republic are to join forces next Tuesday for a day of sales with free delivery; and the “Absurdity of the Year” is announced.

In Business News this week: The Czech economy is in recession for the fifth quarter in a row; every other Czech household has no system for organising its monthly budget; government bond sales exceed expectations; a new transformer facility should help protect the Czech power grid against Germany’s green electricity; the organizers of the Davis Cup final say they will make 10 million on the event; and the Czech football association plans to buy the world’s largest stadium.

In Business News: energy giant ČEZ posts a 27 percent increase in profits in first three quarters of 2012; government savings bonds selling fast; unemployment in the Czech Republic rises to 8.5 percent; the first Czech branch of the Bank of Investment and Development of Vietnam opens in Prague.

In Business News this week: The percentage of workers in industry and construction aged 40 or less in the Czech Republic is the highest in the European Union; in its new economic forecast, the Czech National Bank has downgraded the GDP estimate for next year; Czech household debt increases.

This week in business: PepsiCo may sell its Central European division to Karlovy Vary Mineral Waters; electricity prices will rise next year, partially thanks to a new government proposal; the Czech Confederation of Industry publishes a bleak outlook for Czech businesses; a new computer system that would detect rigged public tenders is undergoing testing; RWE Transgas will not have to pay major fines to Russia’s Gazprom; the Czech potato harvest is down this season with uncertain consequences on consumer prices.

In Business News this week: the fate of the government-proposed tax hikes for 2013 remains uncertain, Iraq is considering buying small arms from Česká zbrojovka, Czech exporters seek to reduce their dependence on EU markets and IKEA plans to open more stores in the Czech Republic.