Slovakia - Factors To Watch on Feb 24

                                
 BRATISLAVA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press
reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial
markets on Thursday.
                                
 
                                
 ECONMIN ON U.S. INVESTMENT ROAD SHOW
                                
 Economy Minister Juraj Miskov and the government's agency
for foreign direct investments (SARIO) will hold a news
conference about the ministry's planned road show in the U.S.,
aimed to meet new possible investors, 1200 GMT
                                
 
                                
 SLOVAKS SEE NEW ECB HEAD COMING FROM GERMANY
                                
 The successor to European Central Bank President Jean-Claude
Trichet will most likely come from Germany, Slovak Finance
Minister Ivan Miklos said on Wednesday.
                                
 [ID:nLDE71M0WL] related news [RTRS-ECB-EZC-GVD-DBT-SK-LEN]
                                
 
                                
 SLOVAK GOVERNMENT SEEKS SOFTER MEDIA LAW
                                
 Slovakia plans to soften its media law to redress what
critics at home and abroad see as infringement of freedom of
speech, a draft legal amendment showed on Wednesday.  
                                
 [ID:nLDE71M1SF] related news [RTRS-SK-HU-CEEU-LEN]
                                
 
                                
 SLOVAK DEC CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT 308 MLN EUROS 
                                
 The Slovak current account showed a preliminary deficit of
308 million euros ($422 million) in December, compared with a
514 million euro deficit in the same period of 2009, the central
bank said on Wednesday.
                                
 [ID:nBSD002439   ] related news [RTRS-MCE-GVD-DBT-SK-LEN]
                                
 
                                
 HUNGARY POWER EXCHANGE EYES RAPID EXPANSION IN 2011
                                
 The Hungarian Power Exchange HUPX on Wednesday said it
planned to expand traded electricity volume vastly in 2011 as it
launches longer-term and intraday products and swells the ranks
of its membership.
                                
 [ID:nLDE71M1NB] related news [RTRS-ENG-HU-SK-LEN]
                                
 
======================== ECONOMIC DATA ========================
  Real-time economic data releases....................<ECONSK>
  Previous stories on Slovak data.............[SK-RTRS-LEN-ECI]
  Overview of economic data and forecasts.......... <SK/ECON04>
======================== PRESS DIGEST =========================
                                
 
                                
 SHORTER LAY-OFF PERIOD IN LABOUR CODE
                                
 The ministry of labour wants to introduce a shorter lay-off
period according to the length of working years, a step in a
series designed to boost the code's flexibility. 
                                
 Hospodarske noviny, page 1
                                
 
                                
 PASSENGERS' VOLUME AT BRATISLAVA AIRPORT DROPS
                                
 Volume of passengers at Bratislava airport continued to fall
in January with a 14 percent drop on the year, to some 79,000,
as Slovak major airport suffers from an ongoing declined on
in-land flights.
                                
 Hospodarske noviny, page 14
                                
 
                                
 Reuters has not verified the media reports, nor does it
vouch for their accuracy.
                                
 News editor of the day: Martin Santa on +421 905 602 845
fax: +421 5341 8403 e-mail: martin.santa@thomsonreuters.com,
martin.santa@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters Messaging:
matin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net
                                
 
                                
 For real-time index quotes, double click in brackets:
Warsaw WIG20 <.WIG20>  Budapest BUX <.BUX>  Prague PX50 <.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 in Bratislava)