Slovakia - Factors To Watch on Dec 18

...  The central bank will hold its monthly monetary policy 
meeting. Decision on rates is expected between 1015-1200 GMT, 
news conference scheduled for 1300 GMT. 
    All analysts polled by Reuters predicted the key two-week 
repo rate to stay unchanged at 4.25 percent. 
     
    REPO TENDER 
    The central bank will hold its regular liquidity-draining 
two-week repo tender. 
     
    CURRENT ACCOUNT 
    The central bank will publish preliminary January-October 
current account data, by 1500 GMT. 
     
    FOREIGN DEBT 
    The central bank will publish end-September fereign debt 
data, by 1500 GMT. 
     
    COALITION MEETING 
    Leaders of the three ruling coalition parties will hold a 
regular meeting, 0800 GMT. 
     
    HEATING PRICES 
    The energy market regulator (URSO) will announce heating 
prices for 2008. 
     
    SLOVAKS START ROAD TENDER WORTH AT LEAST $672 MLN 
    Slovakia has launched a tender to pick an investor for a 
highway project worth at least 15.43 billion crowns ($672 
million) under its public-private partnership scheme, the 
transport ministry said on Monday. 
    [ID:nL17126383] [RTRS-CON-BUS-REGS-SK] 
     
    CROWN AT 3-WK LOWS ON FADING RISK APPETITE 
    The Slovak crown traded at three-week lows against the euro 
on Monday as emerging currencies remained under pressure 
following last week's U.S. inflation data, analysts said. 
    [ID:nL17295039] [RTRS-MMT-FRX-SK] 
     
    HOPES, CONCERNS AS EU LIFTS BORDERS ON DEC. 21 
    A minute after midnight on Thursday, the EU will lift border 
checks with nine of its newest members, setting aside the last 
remainders of the Iron Curtain in a move some fear could make 
life easier for criminals. 
    [ID:nL16666670] [RTRS-EU-DIP-POL-SK] 
     
    PRESS DIGEST 
    ------------ 
    HIGHER FOOD PRICES 
    Food prices are expected to continue rising in the coming 
months, but the increase should be slower than in October and 
November, analysts said. 
    Sme, page 1 
     
    SMER KEEPS LEAD IN POLL 
    The Smer party of Prime Minister Robert Fico has maintained 
dominant popularity position, booking 45.2 percent support in a 
December opinion poll. The SDKU party of former Prime Minister 
Mikulas Dzurina took 13.5 percent and Fico's coalition partner, 
the Slovak National Party, had 11.2 percent, the poll by the 
Statistics Office showed. 
    Sme, page 2 
     
    GDP PER CAPITA 
    Slovakia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita accounted 
for 64 percent of the European Union's average in 2006, up from 
60.4 percent recorded in 2005. Analysts said the booming economy 
would continue driving real convergence. 
    Pravda, page 18 
     
    ELECTRICITY IMPORTS 
    The Slovak Electricity Transmission System (SEPS) has a 
project aimed at boosting electricity power imports from Ukraine 
to Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania in the next 15 years. 
    Pravda, page 18 
     
    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: Peter Laca 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 
 
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[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]