Slovakia - Factors To Watch on Dec 13

    Here are news stories, press 
reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial 
markets on Wednesday. 
     
    RETAIL SALES  
    The Statistics Office will release October retail sales 
data. The market expected retail sales to have risen by 8.6 
percent year-on-year in October. (0800 GMT) 
     
    INDUSTRIAL WAGES  
    The Statistics Office will release October average  
industrial wage data. (0800 GMT) 
     
    GOVERNMENT MEETING 
    The government will hold its regular weekly meeting (0900 
GMT). 
     
    MPS PASS DEFICIT-CUTTING 2007 BUDGET 
    The Slovak parliament approved on Tuesday the 2007 state 
budget, which cuts the public finance deficit ceiling to 2.9 
percent of GDP to meet the fiscal condition for adopting the 
euro as planned in 2009. 
    [ID:nL12618588] [RTRS-POL-GVD-DBT-SK] 
     
    PM SAYS 2007 BUDGET GAP MAY BE BELOW PLAN 
    Slovakia's fiscal gap may be lower next year than the 2.9 
percent of gross domestic product approved in the 2007 budget 
earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Robert Fico said. 
    [ID:nL12917482] [RTRS-PLCY-POL-GVD-SK] 
     
    CROWN HITS RECORD, UPSIDE SEEN OPEN 
    The Slovak crown strengthened above the key psychological 
level of 35.0 against the euro  on Tuesday as 
London-based investors continued to pour capital into central 
European assets. 
    [ID:nL12878747] [RTRS-MMT-FRX-SK-LEN] 
     
    EU PURSUES POLAND, SLOVAKIA OVER TELECOM WATCHDOGS 
    Poland and Slovakia must make their national telecom 
regulators independent or face court action, the European 
Commission warned on Tuesday. 
    [ID:nBRU005226] [RTRS-TEL-REGS-JUDIC-SK] 
     
    CZECHS THREATEN TO START CHECKS AT SLOVAK BORDER 
    The Czech Republic may erect a guarded border with Slovakia, 
ending free travel inside former Czechoslovakia, unless 
Bratislava tightens controls on its frontier with Ukraine, a 
Czech official said on Tuesday. 
    [ID:nL12322138] [RTRS-EU-SECUR-[PL-SK] 
     
    OCT TRADE GAP SHRINKS, CROWN AT RECORD HIGH 
    Slovakia's foreign trade gap narrowed in October, 
preliminary data showed on Tuesday, and 
analysts expect the improvement in the external balance to 
continue due to rising output by the automotive industry. 
    [ID:nL12859599] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-TRD-SK-LEN] 
     
    OCT TRADE GAP SHRINKS TO SKK 4.98 BLN 
    Slovakia's foreign trade balance showed a deficit of 4.98 
billion crowns ($185.7 million) in October, compared with a 
revised gap of 9.87 billion crowns in September, the Statistics 
Office said on Tuesday. 
    [ID:nL12844135] [RTRS-MCE-ECI-TRD-SK-LEN] 
     
    C.BANK REPO DRAINS SKK 112.8 BLN FROM MARKET 
    The Slovak central bank (NBS) accepted all bids at its 
regular two-week repo tender on Tuesday, draining 112.763 
billion crowns ($4.25 billion) from the money market, NBS data 
showed. 
    [ID:nL12824508] [RTRS-MMT-CEN-FRX-SK] 
     
    PRESS DIGEST 
    ------------ 
    SLOVAKIA EYES ENERGY IMPORTS VIA UKRAINE 
    Slovakia will test next year whether Ukraine could move 
Caspian oil via Odessa-Brody pipeline. 
    Sme, page 9 
     
    For an economic indicator diary for the euro zone, the ed 
States and other Group of Seven countries, see . For a 
diary of forthcoming Slovak events, double click [SK/DIARY], and 
for 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: reuters@editorial.sk 
    Reuters Messaging: peter.laca.reuters.com@reuters.net 
     
 For real-time index quotes, double click in brackets: 
 Warsaw WIG20   Budapest BUX   Prague PX50  
 Other related news: 
 Slovak equities      [SK-E]  E.Europe equities           [.CEE] 
 Slovak money         [SK-M]  Czech debt                  [CZ-D] 
 Slovak Indicators  [SK-ECI]  Emerging forex          [EMRG/FRX] 
 Eastern European     [EEU]   All emerging markets        [EMRG] 
 Hot stocks           [HOT]   Stock markets                [STX] 
 Market debt news     [DBT]   Forex news                   [FRX] 
 TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets                         [TOP/EMRG] 
 TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch                        [TOP/EAST] 
 ((Bratislava Newsroom; Email: editorial@reuters.sk; 
+421-905-602-847)) 
 ($1=26.73 Slovak Crown) 
  

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]