Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on June 26

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ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 2 hours)

======================== ECONOMIC DATA ========================

* No economic data are due out until June 29, when first quarter foreign debt and May money supply figures will be released.

Real-time economic data releases...................

Previous stories on Czech data............[CZ-RTRS-LEN-ECI]

Overview of economic data and forecasts.........

========================= TOP STORY ===========================

SKODA EXPANDS

Skoda Auto plans to increase production by nearly half by 2010, with most of that growth coming from newly set-up foreign operations, Chief Executive Detlef Wittig said.

Story: [nL25650690]

Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-VOWG.DE]

==================== ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS ====================

NEWS CONFERENCES:

New World Resources (NWR) and mining company OKD hold a joint news conference at 0900. OKD's board chairman and CEO Klaus-Dieter Beck and OKD and NWR's board member Zdenek Bakala speak on 2006 results and 2007 outlook.

Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas holds a news conference on his pension reform plan at 1100.

CORRUPTION

Corruption is considered a normal part of the economy in the Czech Republic, showed a survey carried out by the business daily Hospodarske Noviny and the Chamber of Commerce among 1,166 business representatives.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTIVITY, WAGES

Labour productivity rose by 9.8 percent at industrial firms in the first quarter, while wages grew by 6.3 percent year-on-year, writes the daily Pravo. Roughly every third employee in the Czech Republic works in industrial sector.

RATE OUTLOOK: HIKE SEEN IN JULY

The Czech central bank will take a break from raising interest rates at its June 28 policy meeting, but a build-up in price pressures will bring another policy tightening in July, a Reuters poll showed.

Story: [ID:nL22628428]

TABLE of analysts' forecasts: [nL22263839]

Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-INT]

FACTBOX on east European rate-setting meetings: [nL22203868]

(Reuters has not verified any of the newspaper reports that may be quoted above and does not vouch for their accuracy.)

For Instant Views of key economic data click on [CZ/INSTANT] For summary of economic data and forecasts For diary of forthcoming Czech events [CZ/DIARY] For calendar of east European economic indicators [CONV/DIARY] TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets [TOP/EMRG] TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch [TOP/EAST]

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