Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on June 28

...ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 2 hours) 
 
 ======================== ECONOMIC DATA ======================== 
 
    * No economic data are due out until Friday, 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 STORIES ========================= 
 
    C.BANK MEETS ON POLICY 
    Central bank (CNB) policymakers meet at a monthly meeting to 
review interest rates . 
    The CNB usually announces policy decisions at around 1000 
and holds a news conference at 1330. 
    All but one analyst in a Reuters poll expected the CNB to 
take a break from raising interest rates this month following a 
quarter of a percentage point hike in May. One predicted another 
25 basis point hike on Thursday, bringing the main policy rate 
to a near 5-year high of 3 percent. 
    Related story: [ID:nL22628428] 
    TABLE of analysts' forecasts: [nL22263839] 
    Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-INT] 
    FACTBOX on east European rate-setting meetings: [nL22203868] 
     
    FINMIN THREATENS TO QUIT 
    Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek will step down if the 
parliament prevents him from presenting a deficit-cutting 
budget, a news agency quoted him as telling a business weekly 
newspaper. 
    Story: [nB679306] 
    Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-POL] 
 
 ==================== ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS ==================== 
 
    BIRD FLU 
    The Czech Republic reported a second outbreak of bird flu at 
a poultry farm and detected the virus in a dead swan on 
Wednesday, about a week after the country's found the deadly 
form of the virus in poultry. Supermarkets noticed no impact on 
local poultry sales. 
    Story: [nL27362992] 
    Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-HEA] 
     
    CROWN UP FROM 15-MONTH LOWS 
    The crown edged higher against the euro in morning trade on 
Wednesday, recovering from 15-month lows as weaker investor 
appetite for the carry trade relieved selling pressure on the 
regional funding currency. 
    Story: [nL27362992] 
    Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-FRX] 
    Regular updates on crown moves: [CZK/] 
     
    EU TO EXTEND VAT EXCEPTION 
    The European Commission will most likely allow the Czech 
Republic in July to keep a lowered 5 percent value-added tax 
(VAT) rate on housing construction until 2010, writes the daily 
Mlada fronta Dnes. 
    Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-REA] 
     
    ELECTRICITY IMPORTS 
    State-owned power grid operator CEPS is boosting 
transmission capacity to get ready to possibly import 
electricity from Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet 
states, writes the daily Hospodarske Noviny. It reports the firm 
is concerned the country may become reliant on imports to meet 
domestic demand for electricity around 2012. 
    Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-ELG] 
     
 
 (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] 
 
 For an economic indicator diary for the euro zone, the United 
 States and other Group of Seven countries see          
 
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