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The Czech National Bank’s decision to depreciate the crown through interventions on international currency markets has surprised many, from analysts to the country’s industrial sector. The bank argues that it had run of out ways to combat looming deflation that could undermine the Czech economy’s nascent recovery. But critics question the effectiveness, the timing and the costs of the move.

A new film sharing project that has just been launched in the Czech Republic hopes to become a game-changer in distributing movies on the internet. The project, entitled 31s, works in a way similar to illegal file sharing – but offers film fans a chance to pay for the content they download from the web. The start-up project has been backed by some players in the film industry – but others, including anti-piracy campaigners, remain highly sceptical.

The weekend’s general election delivered a slap in the face to the established Czech political parties. Indeed, much of the electorate seemed to use their ballots as a protest against austerity and perceived corruption, with 40 percent of the vote going to either new populist parties or the Communists. But will the new lower house, with the untested ANO 2011 as a key player, yield a stable and transparent government?

The Czech Republic is said to have one of the highest levels of slavery in Europe. According to the first edition of the Global Slavery Index, compiled by Australia’s Walk Free Foundation, the country ranks third in Europe with some 38,000 persons believed to face severe exploitation. The authors of the survey admit the figures are just rough estimates, but many Czech experts agree the country needs to address forced labour, human trafficking and similar issues much more effectively.

One of the front-runners in the upcoming Czech lower house elections is the newly-formed grouping ANO which polls suggest might take as much as 14 percent of the vote. Founded by the Slovak food magnate Andrej Babiš, the group only revealed its detailed policies rather late in the race. In this edition of Marketplace, I discuss ANO’s economic programme with Ivan Pilný, the party’s economic expert and former Microsoft CEO for the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I began by asking him if he agreed with Andrej Babiš’ view that the Czech Republic needs

A recent survey of shopping habits by the KPMG agency suggests that organic food products have lost their initial attraction: shoppers find them too expensive and often question their superior quality. According to the results of the poll only 4 percent of Czechs buy organic food on a regular basis. 37 percent of respondents said they did so occasionally and approximately the same number of people said they had tried organic products in the past but no longer shopped for them. So are Czechs losing interest in organic food and should organic farmers

Difficult times lie ahead for the Prague Public Transport Company. The largest municipally-owned firm in the country is in massive debt, and hamstrung with huge contracts virtually impossible to cancel. Its new director, appointed earlier this week, is faced with the challenging task of increasing the company’s revenues and cutting costs while maintaining its operations and keeping the prospect of privatization at bay.

The Social Democrats top all election surveys ahead of the upcoming early general election. The party, which has spent the last seven years in opposition, promises voters economic growth; they want to icrease government spending and invest more into health care, education and other fields. All this is to be paid for by, among other things, higher taxes. In this edition of Marketplace, I discuss the Social Democrat’s economic policies with the party’s economic expert and shadow finance minister Jan Mládek.

Czech households’ electricity bills will be lower next year as the country’s dominant electricity producer ČEZ has announced it will slash its prices, and its rivals are expected to follow suit. ČEZ said that its most popular tariff will be 15 percent cheaper, and it has also offered its clients a two-year fixed tariff at an even lower price.

A boutique butcher’s called The Real Meat Society was established last year in Prague’s New Town. Since then, the small shop has become a popular stop for carnivores looking for meat from “happy” animals. With only three employees, the butcher’s sells one cow, some five pigs and two lambs a week that are processed from nose to tail, a concept that many Czech butchers seem to have forgotten. I sat down with one of the Real Meat Society’s founders Michaela Jorgensen and asked her about the shop’s philosophy.