BRATISLAVA, March 19 (Reuters) - 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 weekly meeting in the eastern
Slovak town of Humenne.
PRESIDENT WITH C.BANK GOVERNOR
President Ivan Gasparovic will meet Central Bank Governor
Ivan Sramko, 1245 GMT
OPPOSITION LEADERS
Leaders of the three opposition parties will meet to debate
current political issues, 0800 GMT.
RATES SEEN ON HOLD IN MARCH, BUT CUT LOOMS
The Slovak central bank is likely to keep its benchmark rate
on hold next week, but a cut may come the coming months despite
accelerating inflation as the country readies for euro entry, a
Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
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C.BANK DRAINS SKK 135.6 BLN IN REPO TENDER
The Slovak central bank (NBS) accepted all bids in its
regular two-week repo tender on Tuesday, draining 135.609
billion crowns ($6.62 billion) from the market, NBS data showed.
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JOBLESS RATE FALLS TO 7.84 PCT IN FEB
Slovakia's unemployment rate fell to 7.84 percent in
February, from 8.06 percent the previous month, the Labour
Office said on Tuesday.
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PRESS DIGEST
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MEDIA BILL
The culture ministry has made only minor changes to the
draft media bill after it was criticised by international
organisations, opposition parties and press groups. The
parliament is expected to debate the media draft during upcoming
March session.
Pravda, page 4
BRATISLAVA AIRPORT
Bratislava airport wants to invest 5 billion crowns ($244
million) to build a new terminal, which is needed to boost its
capacity. The airport has asked the finance ministry for a 2.1
billion crown contribution.
Sme, page 7
SLOVANFT PROFIT
Slovak refiner Slovnaft, a unit of Hungary's MOL <MOLB.BU>,
said its net profit had risen by 19 percent to 7.6 billion
crowns last year, while revenues fell by 5 percent 114.6 billion
crowns.
Sme, page 7
HEALTH DEBT
The debt of state-run healthcare institutions rose by 1.4
billion crowns, mainly due to higher utility prices and wage
hikes.
Sme, page 9
RETAIL PARK INVESTMEMT
Czech and Slovak Property Fund, a real estate fund, will
invest some 3 billion crowns to build a new retail center in the
western Slovak town of Trencin.
Hospodarske Noviny, page 17
Reuters has not verified the media reports, nor does it
vouch for their accuracy.
For news on upcoming events in the United States and other
Group of Seven countries, see <G7TODAY>. For a diary of
forthcoming Slovak events, double click [], and a
calendar of east European economic indicators, see [].
News editor of the day: Peter Laca on +421 2 5341 8402; fax:
+421 2 5341 8403
E-mail: editorial@reuters.sk
