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E-books have been slow to take off in the Czech Republic with taxes, a local penchant for piracy, and caution from some of the traditional print publishers some of the factors in its slow roll-out. But the optimists are still sticking to the script that e-books can elbow themselves a much greater share of the market.

Breaking down traditional stereotypes of what jobs should be done by males and females is not a mainstream issue or priority in the Czech Republic. So while there seems to have been some progress in getting women in traditional male sectors, and vice versa, the advances have not been dramatic. In this week’s marketplace, we look at the very different ways Norway and the Czech Republic have tackled the problem.

Jan Roháč and Martin Jůza are the co-founders of Ironing Ladies, a project launched over year ago employing women part-time who (for health reasons or the care of disabled family members) otherwise find it impossible to hold down a regular job. The project went from being ‘just an idea’ to becoming a sustainable business.

Uprooted earth, ruined fields, leftover bits of corn, beetroot and wheat gobbled up: each year, wild boars in the Czech Republic cause extensive damage. Legally, game keeping associations are responsible for the regulation of population levels; in the case of wild boar, many argue, new steps need to be taken. Last year, 185,000 specimens were hunted, yet damage remains in the millions of crowns.

Czech authorities have streamlined the system of support for exporters, creating a joint network of services for companies trying to enter foreign markets. The new system, which includes a central Prague-based client centre, comes after the ministries of foreign affairs and industry and trade agreed to coordinate their activities in support of Czech exporters. But the country’s main association of exporters remains sceptical about the move and is calling for a more hands-on approach.

The Czech Republic is slowly re-establishing itself as a prime destination for international film and TV productions, mainly thanks to an increasingly generous incentives programme. TV and film producers spent some five billion crowns in the Czech Republic last year, the highest amount in nearly a decade.

The draft budget for next year, approved this week by the Czech government, projects a deficit of some 2.3 percent of the country’s GDP. Government officials say the budget will allow for higher public investments and hikes in public sector salaries and pensions. But critics argue the budget is unambitious, and a missed opportunity to narrow the Czech public finance deficit at a time of an economic recovery.

A Czech business delegation has visited Iran on a fact-finding mission, the first of its kind in recent decades. Some 20 Czech firms, from machinery companies to pharmaceuticals producers, took part in the trip which could herald future closer cooperation between Iran and the Czech Republic, provided that sanctions imposed on Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme are lifted.

American Jeffrey Zamoff has been living in Prague for six years, earning his living as an English teacher and collecting and selling old vinyl records for pleasure. Two years ago, he decided to enlarge his offer with used English books for kids and discovered a hole in the market. His hobby soon turned into a small business, and besides running an internet shop, he has just opened a brick and mortar shop in the city. When I met Jeffrey Zamoff, I asked him how he came up with the idea in the first place:

Plans to expand the Czech nuclear power plant in Temelín have been put on hold, with a previous tender cancelled over the project’s dubious viability. A Russian-led bid competed with a US-Japanese offer for the multi-billion deal. The Czech government is set to decide by the end of the year whether the project will be revived – and with the Russians now presumably out of the game, Chinese and Korean firms are eyeing the lucrative contract.