"A hot real estate market in the Slovak capital is pushing its suburbs into Hungary and Austria, and easier cross-border movement is making it possible", starts a Business Week article.
Source to the image: maps.google.com
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Top 10 Slovak Companies
Are not really that Slovak after all :)
Ranked according to sales in 2007:
Ranked according to sales in 2007:
1. Volkswagen Slovakia, automotive, € 5.73 billion
2. Slovnaft, oil refining, € 3.34 billion
3. Samsung Electronics, electronics, € 3.29 billion
4. U.S. Steel Košice, metallurgy, € 2.87 billion
5. SPP, gas distribution, € 2.17 billion
6. Kia Motors, automotive, € 1.60 billion
7. PCA Slovakia, automotive, € 1.54 billion
8. Slovenské elektrárne, energy production, € 1.38 billion
9. Tesco Stores, retail, € 927 million
10. Sony Slovakia, electronics, € 864 million
Note: Fortune's 500th world's largest corporation (Fluor) had revenues of € 12.19 billion last year.
Top 3 in Value Added:
1. U.S. Steel Košice, metallurgy, v.a. € 1.03 billion
2. Slovenské elektrárne, energy production, v.a. € 822 million
3. SPP, gas distribution, v.a. € 541 million
Top 3 in Employment:
1. Železnice SR, railways, 17 982 employees
2. Slovenská pošta, postal services, 15 849 employees
3. U.S. Steel Košice, metallurgy, 13 342 employees
For top CEE companies in 2006, visit our earlier post.
Friday, July 4, 2008
How good will be Slovakia's monetary policy?
When Slovakia adopts the euro, monetary policy decisions affecting its economy will no longer be taken in Bratislava. Many think that is good news since the European Central Bank is an enormously credible institution that has been performing really well - so well, in fact, that even EU's critics lack facts to criticize it. Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president and a well-know "EU skeptic" wrote this in June: "Ten years have passed since the founding of the European Central Bank ... a major celebration of this anniversary is being planned by ECB and I admit that there is a reason for it."
There is little doubt that ECB's success has a lot to do with its independence but recent developments show that not all are happy with the present arrangements. Clearly, politicians must care about the short-term state of the economy (even at the expense of medium-run price stability) if they seek popularity and reelection. But, for some, it now includes "a more open discussion about the motivations behind interest rate decisions" (Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the European affairs minister of France). Another French official said that Paris only wants "a voice on monetary policy" and José Luis Zapatero, prime minister of Spain, asserted that he expects the ECB to "behave responsibly." No, he didn't mean the was ECB is paying too little attention to rising prices, he merely hinted at the bleak state of the Spanish housing market.
When the financial crises is over (or becomes less severe), one might hope that attempts to undermine ECB's independence will evaporate. Strong euro and higher-than-America's interest rates will hopefully no longer be big, politically attractive issues. Slovak officials now have an opportunity to impress: all they have to do is to look at some of their western colleagues and not repeat their comic behavior.
There is little doubt that ECB's success has a lot to do with its independence but recent developments show that not all are happy with the present arrangements. Clearly, politicians must care about the short-term state of the economy (even at the expense of medium-run price stability) if they seek popularity and reelection. But, for some, it now includes "a more open discussion about the motivations behind interest rate decisions" (Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the European affairs minister of France). Another French official said that Paris only wants "a voice on monetary policy" and José Luis Zapatero, prime minister of Spain, asserted that he expects the ECB to "behave responsibly." No, he didn't mean the was ECB is paying too little attention to rising prices, he merely hinted at the bleak state of the Spanish housing market.
When the financial crises is over (or becomes less severe), one might hope that attempts to undermine ECB's independence will evaporate. Strong euro and higher-than-America's interest rates will hopefully no longer be big, politically attractive issues. Slovak officials now have an opportunity to impress: all they have to do is to look at some of their western colleagues and not repeat their comic behavior.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
