Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on Jan 2

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PMI, BUDGET DATA

Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December is due out at 9:30 a.m. (0830 GMT).

The Finance Ministry should release end-December budget balance sometime in the afternoon.

- For real-time economic data releases and consensus forecasts, double click on the code in brackets:

POLITICS

President Vaclav Klaus meets Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek for lunch at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT). A news briefing is scheduled to follow.

- For most recent stories on Czech politics, double click on [RTRS-LEN-CZ-POL].

CEZ IN KOSOVO

Power utility CEZ and its American partner AES are one of the four groups shortlisted by the administration of Serbia's Kosovo province to modernise the country's energy sector, including the construction of a power plant with a capacity of around 2,000 megawatts, according to a report carried by the daily Hospodarske Noviny. The other shortlisted bidders are German RWE Power, the alliance of German EnBW and American WGI, and the consortium of Italian Enel and Greek-American Sencap.

Overview of past economic data and market forecasts 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

For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX

News editor of the day: Alan Crosby on +420 224 190 477; fax: +420 224 229 935

E-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com

Reuters Messaging: alan.crosby.reuters.com@reuters.net

((Compiled by Marek Petrus; Reuters Messaging: rm://marek.petrus.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com or marek.petrus@reuters.com; Tel: +420 224 190 477))

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]