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The current ruling Social Democratic party won the general elections last weekend and is most likely to form a coalition government with the centrist Christian Democrats and Freedom Union. According to economic analysts, the election results do not suggest any significant changes in the government's economic policies, nor are they expected to affect the exchange rate or the stock market. However, experts agree that there are certain important tasks ahead of the government, such as a fiscal and pension reform.

Sales of new passenger cars in the Czech Republic dropped by almost 2 per cent in the period from January to May this year. The most popular Czech brand Skoda recorded a more than 8 percent fall, although it still dominates the market, holding a 52-percent market share with over 32,000 cars sold.

Industrial production in April accelerated significantly by 8.2 percent year-on-year, up from 4 percent in March, surpassing market expectations which hovered around 6 percent.

The Czech unemployment rate in May decreased to 8.6 percent from 8.8 the previous month.

On Tuesday, Czechs celebrated the so-called day of tax freedom. That means that until then, everyone worked just to pay taxes. All the rest of wages as of now until the end of the year, is net income. Liberal economists calculate this date every year to show people that nearly half of their earnings goes to the state coffers as taxes, social and health insurance and other payments.

Czech inflation in May slowed down to 2.5 percent year-on-year from 3.2 percent in April, which is the lowest figure since 1999.

The Czech state-run airline CSA has reported that its net profit dropped 57 percent in 2001 as a result of reduced demand following the terrorist attacks on the United States.

The town of Rokytnice nad Jizerou, a ski resort in North-Eastern Bohemia, has entered history as the first municipality to go bankrupt. The municipality ranks among the most heavily indebted in the country and is the first town whose debts are being resolved through a public auction of its property.

The average monthly wage in the Czech Republic accelerated sharply in the past three months. In the first quarter, the average monthly wage in the Czech Republic amounted to slightly over 14,000 CZK, a year-on-year growth of 7.0 pct in nominal terms. In the same period, consumer prices grew by less than 4 percent.

Fixed-line telephone operators, the dominant operator Czech Telecom and one of the major alternative carriers, Aliatel, launched a pilot project of call-by-call carrier selection on Moday. The test is being carried out in the Jihlava region, South Moravia.