Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on May 9

                                
 PRAGUE, May 9 (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.............[CZ-RTRS-LEN-ECI]
                                
 Overview of economic data and forecasts..........<CZ/ECON15>
                                
 Updates on Czech currency.............................[CZK/]
                                
 
========================= EVENTS ===============================
                                
 LONDON, U.K. - Coal mining firm New World Resources (NWR)
<NWRW.L> to start unconditional trading on the London Stock
Exchange.
                                
 Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-COA]
                                
 
======================= TOP NEWS ===============================
                                
 RATES ON HOLD: The Czech central bank (CNB) left interest
rates unchanged on Wednesday, in line with market thinking that
the monetary tightening cycle has peaked with inflation
retreating from nine-year highs.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL0788987] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-INT]
                                
 Highlights: [ID:nL07566510] Forecasts: [ID:nPRA001904]
                                
 
                                
 POWER PLANT SALE: Czech power firm CEZ <CEZPsp.PR> might
consider selling its coal-fired 1,000 megawatt Pocerady power
plant to lignite miner Mostecka Uhelna, CEZ CEO Martin Roman
said on Wednesday.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL07765877] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-ELG]
                                
 
                                
 CEZ REDIRECTS SPENDING: Czech power firm CEZ <CEZPsp.PR>
will redirect about 50 billion crowns ($3.07 billion) in
investments from coal plant upgrades to building new natural
gas-fired power stations, business director Alan Svoboda said on
Wednesday.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL07207137] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-ELG]
                                
 
                                
 VIG PRICING: Austria's Vienna Insurance Group <VIGR.VI>
<VIGRsp.PR> said the subscription and offer price for new shares
sold in its capital increase was 49.50 euros and that it placed
all 23 million new shares.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL08684486] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-ELG]
                                
 
                                
 NEXT EURO JOINER: Slovakia's green light to the euro zone is
a positive signal for other ex-communist hopefuls, but it will
be at least four years before another of these countries wins
the right to adopt the single currency.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL08340408] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-EUR]
                                
 
 ---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------
 Index/Crown Currency  Latest    Prev    Pct change   Pct change
                                
                              close   on day       in 2008
 Czech Equities  <.PX> 1,663.7  1,644.0   +1.20         -8.34
 vs Euro     <EURCZK=>  25.160   25.155   -0.02         +5.33
 vs Dollar      <CZK=>  16.231   16.308   +0.47        +11.94
 U.S. Equities  <.DJI>  12,867   12,814   +0.41         -3.00
 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1500
 
====================== PRESS DIGEST ============================
                                
 AAA AUTO SHARES: Czech used car dealership AAA Auto
<AAAAsp.PR> will not buy back its shares from the market in the
forseeable future, its new CFO Kamil Ziegler said.
                                
 Hospodarske Noviny, page 16
                                
 
                                
 MONEY LAUNDERING BILL: Czech parliament cleared a bill
designed to better combat money laundering by lowering deposit
limits for individuals to provide identification to 1,000 euros
($1,533), from current 100,000 crowns ($6,105). Businesses will
have to report received cash payments of more than 15,000 euros.
                                
 Pravo, page 3
                                
 
                                
 ELECTRICITY PRICES: Czech households have the lowest
electricity prices in central Europe, according to Eurostat, the
EU's statistics office.
                                
 E15, page 4
                                
 
                                
 CAR SALES: Czech new passenger car sales rose 13.6 percent
to 47,808 year-on-year in January-April, the Car Importers'
Association (SDA) said. Domestic maker Skoda Auto, a unit ov
Volkswagen <VOWG.DE>, led the market with 15,127 vehicles sold,
followed by Ford <F.N> and Renault <RENA.PA>.
 E15, page 4
                                
 
                                
 Reuters has not verified the media reports, nor does it
vouch for their accuracy.
 
 For Instant Views of key economic data click on    [CZ/INSTANT]
 For summary of economic data and forecasts          <CZ/ECON01>
 For diary of forthcoming Czech events                [CZ/DIARY]
 For calendar of east European economic indicators  [CONV/DIARY]
 TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets                         [TOP/EMRG]
 TOP NEWS -- Convergence watch                        [TOP/EAST]

 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:
 Warsaw WIG20 <.WIG20>  Budapest BUX <.BUX>  Prague PX <.PX>

                                
 News editor of the day: Mike Winfrey on +420 224 190 477;
fax: +420 224 229 935
                                
 E-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com
 (Reporting by Martin Dokoupil)