Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on April 2

                                
  PRAGUE, April 2 (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 + 2 hour)

=========================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 CEE currencies............................[CEE/]
 
==========================EVENTS=============================
                                
 PRAGUE - Minutes from the central bank March 25 governing
board meeting at 0700 GMT.
                                
 Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-PLCY]
                                
 
==========================TOP NEWS=============================
                                
 FOREIGN TRADE, OUTPUT SEEN BETTER: Czechs probably saw the
country's foreign trade surplus widen in February after demand
for industrial goods kept firm in Germany and other euro zone
countries.
                                
 Story: [ID:nLDE6300PT] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-MCE]
                                
 Table: [ID:nLDE6300XB]
                                
 
                                
 PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES ON THE RISE : The Czech Republic's
total foreign indebtedness rose to 60.07 billion euros at
end-December from a revised 58.21 billion euros at the end of
September, the central bank said.
                                
 Story: [ID:nLDE630151] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-MCE]
                                
 
                                
 BUDGET GAP SWELLS IN Q1: The Czech central state budget
showed a 45.94 billion crown ($2.44 billion) deficit at the end
of March, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.
                                
 Story: [ID:nLDE62U1EQ] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-GVD]
                                
 
                                
 TOPOLANEK QUITS: Former Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek
said on Thursday he would resign as head of the right-wing Civic
Democratic Party, completing a departure from high politics just
two months before a parliamentary election.
                                
 Story: [ID:nLDE6300KY] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-MCE]
                                
 Take a look: [ID:nLDE6301ED]
                                
 
                                
 BUSINESS SENTIMENT GETS BETTER: The Czech Purchasing
Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a two-year high in March, growing
for the fourteenth straight month, Markit Economics data showed
on Thursday.
                                
 Story: [ID:nLDE62U0J5] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-FRX]
                                
 
                                
 2009 PUBLIC SECTOR GAP SURPRISES:The Czech fiscal deficit
widened to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product last year from
a revised 2.7 percent in 2008, the Czech Statistical Bureau
(CSU) said on Thursday in a semi-annual fiscal notification to
the European Union.
                                
 Story: [ID:nPRA005010] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-DBT]
                                
 
                                
 CEE MARKETS: Poland's zloty hit a 16-month high against the
euro on Thursday, while yields rose for the first time this year
at a Romanian three-year bond tender as the leu fell amid
suspected central bank intervention.
                                
 Story: [ID:nLDE6300BG] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-FRX]
---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------
 Index/Crown Currency  Latest    Prev    Pct change   Pct change
                                
                              close   on day       in 2010
 Czech Equities <.PX>   1222,8    1222,8    2,17      9,44
vs Euro   <EURCZK=>     25,315    25,325    0,04      3,81
vs Dollar    <CZK=>     18,659    18,704    0,24     -1,53
 U.S. Equities <.DJI>   10927,07  10856,63  0,65      4,79
 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1500 GMT
========================PRESS DIGEST============================
                                
 CEZ: Power utility CEZ <CEZPsp.PR> may acquire another 25
percent stake in Prazska Teplarenska and raise its stake in the
heating company to 75 percent. It paid on Thursday 12.92 billion
Czech crowns ($686.1 million) for a 50 percent stake in the
heating plant that supplies the capital of Prague with heat to
Czech-Slovak privately-held group J&T and will get a full
control of it after an approval by antimonopoly bodies. J&T is
now trying to buy another 25 percent stake from Germany's EnBW
<EBKG.DE> that it would sell on to CEZ. CEZ proposes to build a
800 MW power plant gas-steam plant for 20 billion crowns for the
city of Prague which has a first option in the EnBW stake.
                                
 Hospodarske Noviny, page 1
                                
 
                                
 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: Jan Lopatka on +420 224 190 474;
fax: +420 224 229 935
                                
 (Compiled by Jana Mlcochova)
                                
 E-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com