Slovakia - Factors To Watch on Feb 21

    Here are news stories, press 
reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial 
markets on Wednesday. 
     
    GOVERNMENT MEETING 
    The government will hold its regular weekly meeting, 10 a.m. 
(0900 GMT). 
     
    AIR TRAFFIC NEWS CONFERENCE 
    Air traffic controllers will hold a news conference on the 
planned strike, 10 a.m. (0900 GMT). 
     
    PM FICO VISITS LIBYA 
    Prime Minister Robert Fico will start his two day visit to 
Libya. 
     
    CBANK ACCEPTS ALL BIDS IN 2-WK REPO TENDER 
    The Slovak central bank (NBS) accepted all bids at its 
regular liquidity-draining tender on Tuesday for the second week 
in a row, a signal that the bank is satisfied with the crown's 
current levels. 
    [ID:nL20585458] [RTRS-MMT-FRX-CEN-SK] 
     
    AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS TO STRIKE THURSDAY 
    Almost half of air traffic controllers in Slovakia will go 
on strike later this week, demanding a lower work load to 
maintain flight safety, officials said on Tuesday. 
    [ID:nL20480830] [RTRS-AIR-JOB-POL-SK] 
     
    CROWN EASES FROM 7-WK HIGHS, SEEN IN RANGE 
    The Slovak crown erased early gains on Tuesday, easing from 
seven-week highs against the euro on a quick profit taking, and 
traders said the unit was likely to float in a range in the 
short term. 
    [ID:nL20552167] [RTRS-MMT-FRX-SK] 
     
    JANUARY JOBLESS RATE RISES TO 9.45 PCT 
    Slovakia's unemployment rate edged up to 9.45 percent in 
January, backing further away from record lows as corporate 
layoffs and seasonal factors hit, the Labour Office said on 
Tuesday. 
    [ID:nL20427215] [RTRS-MCE-JOB-ECI-SK] 
     
    PRESS DIGEST 
    ------------ 
    POSTOVA BANKA PRIVATISATION 
    The government will try to sell its 37 percent stake in the 
small Postova Banka, despite Prime Minister Robert Fico's pledge 
to stop all privatisations. 
    Pravda, page 1 
     
    GABCIKOVO DAM 
    The main power producer Slovenske Elekrarne (SE), owned by 
Italy's Enel , considers the contract under which it 
uses the hydro power plant Gabcikovo regular and valid. The 
government aims to cancel the contract. 
    Pravda, page 13 
     
    TELECOM OFFICE BACKS MOBILE PHONE TENDER 
    The Slovak Telecommunication Office stands behind the result 
of the tender in which it had awarded the third mobile phone 
network operating licence to Spain's Telefonica . The 
tender had been challenged by the Bratislava district attorney. 
    Hospodarske Noviny, page 4 
     
    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: Alan Crosby, on +421 2 5341 8402; 
fax: +421 2 5341 8403 
    E-mail: editorial@reuters.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] 
 
 ((Compiled by Martin Santa; Bratislava Newsroom; Email: 
editorial@reuters.sk; +421-2-5341-8402)) 
  

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]