Slovakia - Factors To Watch on March 16

...    
    CENTRAL BANK RESERVES 
    The central bank will publish weekly foreign currency 
reserves data, 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) 
     
    PM MEETS EU AMBASSADORS 
    Prime Minister Robert Fico will meet ambassadors from EU 
countries. 
     
    OPPOSITION LEADERS 
    Leaders of the three largest opposition parties will meet 
and debate current political issues, 9 a.m. (0800 GMT). 
     
    INFLATION FALLS TO RECORD LOWS IN FEBRUARY 
    Slovakia's annual inflation rate fell to record lows in 
February, data showed on Thursday, boosting market expectations 
for lower interest rates this year. 
    [ID:nL15259009] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-CEN-SK] 
     
    FEB EU-NORM CPI SLIGHTLY BELOW FCAST 
    Slovak consumer prices rose 0.1 percent month-on-month in 
February, according to EU-norm methodology, putting the annual 
inflation rate at 2.0 percent, data from the Statistics Office 
showed on Thursday. 
    [ID:nL15114101] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-SK] 
     
    SLOVAKIA'S SE MULLS BORROWING 840 MLN EUROS 
    Slovakia's main power producer Slovenske Elektrarne (SE), 
owned by Italy's Enel , is considering borrowing 840 
million euros ($1.1 billion) to finance a nuclear project, a 
senior official said on Thursday. 
    [ID:nL15132905] [RTRS-ELG-LOA-SK] 
     
    CROWN NEAR RECORDS, TESTS CBANK TOLERANCE 
    The Slovak crown moved near record highs on Thursday as the 
fast-growing economy continued to attract investors, and dealers 
said the market looked poised to test central bank tolerance of 
the unit's strength. 
    [ID:nL15454883] [RTRS-MMT-FRX-SK] 
     
    PRESS DIGEST 
    ------------ 
    SMER KEEPS LEAD IN POLL 
    The Smer party of Prime Minister Robert Fico maintained its 
popularity lead and registered 39.6 percent support in an 
opinion poll in March. The poll was conducted by a private 
polling agency MVK. The centre-right SDKU party of former Prime 
Minister Mikulas Dzurinda was second in the poll with 13.1 
percent. 
    Sme, page 1 
     
    HEALTH INSURANCE PROFITS 
    Prime Minister Robert Fico insists that health insurance 
companies should not create profits. He said the insurers have 
to return their profits back to the health care system. 
    Sme, page 6 
     
    WORKERS SHORTAGE 
    Germany's car parts maker Kuster Holding says it is facing a 
risk of shortage of skilled workers for its central Slovak 
plant, despite high unemployment rate in the region. 
    Sme, page 8 
     
    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DEPUTIES SLAM FICO 
    A group of European Parliament deputies, led by Czech MP 
Jana Hybaskova, has asked Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to 
apologize for his comments on Bulgarian nurses detained in 
Libya. 
    Pravda, page 2 
     
    ANTONOV IN ARMY TENDER 
    Ukrainian plane maker Antonov has entered a Slovak Defence 
Ministry tender for new army transportation planes. Lockheed 
Martin of the United States, Italy's Aeronautica and Spain's 
EADS CASA are also among interested bidders. 
    Hospodarske Noviny, page 1 
     
    For news on upcoming events in the United States and other 
Group of Seven countries, see . For a diary of 
forthcoming Slovak events, double click [SK/DIARY], and a 
calendar of east European economic indicators, see [CONV/DIARY]. 
     
    News editor of the day: Peter Laca, on +421 2 5341 8402; 
fax: +421 2 5341 8403 
    E-mail: editorial@reuters.sk 
    Reuters Messaging: pater.laca.reuters.com@reuters.net 
     
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