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Czech spas are crying foul as cuts to public insurance payments threaten to put them out of business. The Health Ministry has reduced both the number of conditions eligible for treatment and the number of days patients can stay at a spa. On top of budget cuts implemented by health insurers, this has had a dramatic impact on many of the Czech Republic’s 37 spa facilities. I discussed the situation with Martin Plachý of the Czech Spa Association.

A survey of shopping habits by the KPMG agency published this week 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

A new study by the Czech branch of the anti-corruption group Transparency International looks at how Czech courts deal with bribery. The study, which analyzed some 250 bribery-related cases over the last three years, follows up a similar analysis from three years ago, and suggests that some improvement has been made. One of the authors of the study, Martin Novák, says that by the far the highest number of bribery cases that made it to court relate to police road checks.

After years of growth, the real estate market in the Czech capital has seen a slow but steady decline, with decreasing prices and many more new listings having turned Prague property into a buyer’s market. One factor behind the change is waning interest from foreigners to invest into real estate in the Czech capital. However, some parts of Prague have become more attractive for Czechs and foreigners alike, while others remain popular primarily with foreign clients.

Unemployment in the Czech Republic hit a record high at the start of the year. January saw close to 590,000 people out of work, the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression in the 1930s. The government says this is largely the result of external factors, but critics and trade unions claim the government’s ill-conceived austerity measures have undercut growth.

Czech banks are facing a major confrontation with dozens of thousands of their clients that could cost them hundreds of millions of crowns. Over 40,000 people have now signed up to class actions to reclaim the fees banks charge for loan and mortgage accounts. The clients say the practice is illegal, and want their money back. The banks, meanwhile, remain defiant, saying all their charges are in line with the law.

2012 was another record-breaking year for the Czech art market, with collectors having auctioned some 881 million crowns – or over 46 million US dollars – worth of artefacts. That’s a 36-percent increase compared to the previous year. Interestingly, the market received a significant boost from Chinese collectors buying up pieces from their part of the world. I discussed the latest trends with Jan Skřivánek from the magazine Art and Antiques, one of the editors of the Art Plus yearbook which sums up developments on the Czech art market.

The Czech state-controlled energy giant ČEZ is looking at bids in one of the biggest investment projects in Czech history – the construction of two new blocks at the Temelín nuclear power plant. However, dropping electricity prices have raised questions over the project’s long-term profitability. To ensure the 300- or-so-billion-crowns investment pays back, the Czech government is now considering introducing fixed electricity prices.

The Czech Republic is struggling to maintain its position on the global tourist market. With some 8.7 million visitors in 2011, the country ranks below other destinations in central and Eastern Europe, such as Austria, Poland and Hungary. What’s more, most tourists rarely venture outside Prague during their relatively short stays. The government says this is partly because the country’s travel industry lacks a clear structure when it comes to marketing and promotion. To address the issue, it has come up with a new bill on tourism.

The Czech president is to a great extent a ceremonial figurehead with limited executive powers. But his informal influence can go a long way in shaping the government’s policies. In a couple of days, Czech voters will choose between Miloš Zeman and Karel Schwarzenberg for the next head of state. But, from the economic point of view, how would a President Zeman differ from a President Schwarzenberg?