Czech Republic - Factors To Watch on May 7

                                
 PRAGUE, May 7 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press
reports and events to watch which may affect Czech financial
markets on Wednesday:
                                
 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 ===============================
                                
 PRAGUE - Czech central bank governing board to meet on
interest rates. Most analysts polled by Reuters expected the key
two-week repo rate to stay flat at a six-year high of 3.75
percent.
                                
 An announcement is expected sometime after 1000 GMT with a
news conference to follow at around 1330 GMT.
                                
 Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-INT]
                                
 
                                
 PRAGUE - Power firm CEZ <CEZPsp.PR> CEO Martin Roman and
Trading Director Alan Svoboda to address an energy conference.
                                
 Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-ELG]
                                
 
                                
 PRAGUE - April foreign exchange reserves data at 0800 GMT.
                                
 Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-COA]
                                
 
======================= TOP NEWS ===============================
                                
 NWR PRICING: Czech coal miner New World Resources (NWR)
<NWRW.L> <NWRSsp.PR> priced an initial public offering at the
top of its range on Tuesday, raising 1.1 billion pounds in a
heavily oversubscribed issue of new and existing stock.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL06713122] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-COA]
                                
 
                                
 TRADE SURPLUS NARROWS: The Czech foreign trade surplus
narrowed unexpectedly in March with exports sliding for the
first time in four years, and analysts said the reading
indicated a bigger economic slowdown in the first quarter.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL06905329] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-TRD]
                                
 
                                
  RATES ON RISE: Romania's central bank hiked rates on
Tuesday to counter a surge in inflation and shore up its
currency, a move analysts said other policymakers in central and
Eastern Europe may consider in the coming months.
                                
 Story: [ID:nL0590229] Related news: [RTRS-LEN-CZ-PLCY]
                                
 
 ---------------------- MARKET SNAPSHOT ------------------------
 Index/Crown Currency  Latest    Prev    Pct change   Pct change
                                
                              close   on day       in 2008
 Czech Equities  <.PX> 1,644.0  1,646.2   -0.13         -9.43
 vs Euro     <EURCZK=>  25.180   25.205   +0.10         +5.24
 vs Dollar      <CZK=>  16.234   16.195   -0.23        +11.93
 U.S. Equities  <.DJI>  13,021   12,970   +0.40         -1.84
 Pvs close or current levels vs prior domestic close at 1500
 
====================== PRESS DIGEST ============================
                                
 OIL TALKS: The Czech Republic is in early talks to buy a 2
percent stake in the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL), which
transports crude oil to Austria and Germany, aiming to boost
security of oil supplies to the country, Deputy Industry
Minister Tomas Huener said.
                                
 TAL is a venture of eight oil companies: OMV <OMVV.VI>,
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, ExxonMobil <FXON.PA>, BP <BP.L>, ENI
<ENI.MI>, ConocoPhillips <COP.N>, Total <TOTF.PA> and Ruhr Oel,
which is a joint venture between BP and Petroleos de Venezuela.
                                
 E15, page 1
                                
 
                                
 CAR PRICES PROBE: The Czech Antimonopoly Office is
investigating whether car manufacturers are not artificially
boosting prices of new cars in the country as they are
significantly higher than in other European countries.
                                
 Mlada Fronta Dnes, page A1
                                
 
                                
 CHURCH RESTITUTION BLOCKED: Several Civic Democrat (ODS) MPs
blocked a law designed to pay 83 billion crowns ($5.11 billion)
in damages to churches, triggering a dispute with Christian
Democrats (KDU), a junior government party.
 Mlada Fronta Dnes, page A2
                                
 
                                
 CSA PASSENGER NUMBERS RISE: Czech national airline Ceske
Aerolinie (CSA) checked out 7.1 million passengers last year at
its home Prague airport, a nearly 3 percent rise from 2006.
                                
 E15, page 13
                                
 
                                
 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 +420 224 190 477;
fax: +420 224 229 935
                                
 E-mail: prague.newsroom@reuters.com
 (Reporting by Martin Dokoupil)