PRAGUE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press
reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial
markets on Friday.
ALL TIMES GMT (Czech Republic: GMT + 1 hours)
=========================ECONOMIC DATA=========================
Real-time economic data releases....................<ECONCZ>
Previous stories on Czech data.............[]
Overview of economic data and forecasts..........<CZ/ECON15>
Updates on CEE currencies............................[]
=============================EVENTS=============================
PRAGUE - Czech lottery company Sazka to hold a news
conference with CEO Ales Husak at 1000 GMT.
Related news: []
PRAGUE - US Deputy Finance Minister David Cohen and Czech
Deputy Foreign Minister Jiri Schneider to discuss bilateral
issues.
Related news: []
=============================TOP NEWS===========================
SAZKA DOWNGRADE: Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's cut
Czech betting company Sazka's long-term corporate credit rating
to default on Thursday, after the firm failed to make a full
payment on its mortgage-backed bond.
Story: [] Related news: []
* For TEXT of S&P downgrade: []
M&A: Oaktree Capital Management will this month begin an
auction of Stock Spirits, a $1 billion-plus central European
drinks company, two people familiar with the matter said.
Story: [] Related news: []
ASYLUM GRANTED: The Czech Republic has granted political
asylum to a former Ukrainian economy minister wanted at home
over suspected abuse of office, the Czech Interior Ministry said
on Thursday.
Story: [] Related news: []
CEE MARKETS: The Hungarian forint rose on Thursday, gaining
at the zloty's expense as investors took profit on the currency
pair following the zloty's recent jump on expectations of an
interest rate rise.
Story: [] Related news: []
CEE POWER: Warmer-than-average temperatures helped drive
Czech day-ahead power down nearly 7 percent on Thursday, and
prices further along the curve also fell, following gas down,
traders said.
Story: [] Related news: []
CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE: The Czech current account showed a
1.98 billion crown ($106.1 million) deficit in November due to
deficits on the income balance, the balance of current transfers
and the services balance, the central bank said on Thursday.
Story: [] Related news: []
---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------
Index/Crown Currency Latest Prev Pct change Pct change
close on day in 2011
vs Euro <EURCZK=> 24.379 24.405 0.11 2.48
vs Dollar <CZK=> 18.241 18.321 0.44 2.29
Czech Equities <> 1,247 1,247 0.23 1.81
U.S. Equities <> 11,731.9 11,755.44 -0.2 1.33
Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1500 GMT
==========================PRESS DIGEST=========================
SAZKA DEBT: Prime Minister Petr Necas said it was up to
shareholders -- which are public sport associations -- to solve
lottery group Sazka's debt problems.
Hospodarske Noviny, page 15
SAZKA BONDS: The Luxembourg bourse halted trading in Sazka
bonds after a missed payment.
Mlada Fronta Dnes, page A8
Reuters has not verified the media reports, nor does it
vouch for their accuracy.
For Instant Views of key economic data click on
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For summary of economic data and forecasts <CZ/ECON01>
For diary of forthcoming Czech events []
For calendar of east European economic indicators []
TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets []
TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch []
For an economic indicator diary for the euro zone, the United
States and other Group of Seven countries see <G7TODAY>
For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets:
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News editor of the day: Jan Lopatka on +420 224 190 474;
fax: +420 224 229 935
E-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com
