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☆ A major ammo supplier to Ukraine says poor quality parts are impacting half the shells it's trying to deliver
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewCentral Europe's largest ammunition supplier said that quality and cost issues meant that half of the shells it's sourcing for Ukraine can't be sent directly to the country, according to the Financial Times. In January, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the war in Ukraine had "become a battle for ammunition." Ukraine has been forced to limit itself to firing 2,000 shells per day for much of this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. AdvertisementAnd it's only been since mid-May that its forces have started to breathe more easily over their ability to expend shells, Zelenskyy said.

Persons: —, Michal Strnad, Strnad, Strnad's, Jens Stoltenberg, Sinéad Baker, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Financial Times, Czechoslovak Group, Business, CSG, Radio Free, NATO, Reuters Locations: Ukraine, Czech, Asia, Africa, Prague, Russia

In Hungary, central bank governor Gyorgy Matolcsy is under pressure from Viktor Orban's government to cut rates further ahead of local and European Parliament elections next year. Reuters GraphicsTANGIBLE BENEFITSA 2021 World Bank survey found that political meddling in central bank policy led to sustained periods of high inflation in emerging market economies such as Turkey and Argentina. "Attempts to bring the president of the NBP before the State Tribunal can be directly interpreted as an attack on the independence of the central bank," the spokesman said. How those premia evolve will depend partly on how politics in Poland and Hungary is perceived by investors to influence the central banks in the months to come. "Everything else being equal, the less independent the central bank, the more real yield you need to have to be compensated for the risk," said Arif Joshi at Lazard Asset Management.

Persons: Adam Glapinski, Gyorgy Matolcsy, Viktor Orban's, Donald Tusk's, Karen Vartapetov, Paul Gamble, Glapinski's, Glapinski, Marta Kightley, Orban, Peter Virovacz, Arif Joshi, Karol Badohal, Gergely, Mark John, Toby Chopra Organizations: WARSAW, Law and Justice, U.S . Federal Reserve, EU, Sovereign, Investor, Emerging, Fitch, Local, ING, Lazard Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Hungarian, Poland, Hungary, BUDAPEST, Europe, Turkey, Argentina, WARSAW

UKRAINE DIVERSIONReuters spoke to around a half dozen Czech and Polish defence companies and government officials who described renewed efforts to carve out a bigger share of the African arms market as the Ukraine conflict diverts Russia's attention. Privately-held defence and civil manufacturing company Czechoslovak Group - the biggest Czech defence company - said its ability to maintain and modernize armoured vehicles using Soviet-era standards has helped it win business in Africa. ...in Poland where our stand was visited by numerous delegations from African countries that appeared here for the first time," WB Group spokesman Remigiusz Wilk said. The effort to supply Ukraine has pushed Czech companies to boost production and expand supply lines, something Czech-based independent defence analyst Lukas Visingr said has burnished the region's reputation. "The Czech arms industry is stepping up its efforts towards certain African countries still using Soviet-style equipment but who start to see Russia as a problematic supplier," Visingr said.

Persons: David W Cerny, Jiri Hynek, Filip Kulstrunk, Andrej Cirtek, Pieter Wezeman, Sebastian Chwalek, –, Remigiusz Wilk, Petr Fiala, Tomas Pojar, Tomas Kopecny, Kopecny, Lukas Visingr, Visingr, Michael Kahn, Anna Koper, Alex Richardson Organizations: Aero Vodochody, REUTERS, Western, Central, Russia Czech, Defence, Western NATO, Warsaw, Defence and Security Industry Association of, Reuters, Aero, Privately, Czechoslovak Group, CSG, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, WB Group, WB, Ivory, Thomson Locations: Odolena Voda, Czech Republic, Russia, Africa, PRAGUE, WARSAW, European, Western, Czechoslovakia, Czech, UKRAINE, Polish, Ukraine, Stockholm, China, Saharan Africa, Poland's, Poland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Prague, Mozambique

☆ Take Five: War and peace of mind
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in August as a surge in gasoline prices boosted receipts at service stations. Bar chart with data from LSEG I/B/E/S show the projected year-over-year growth in Q3 2023 earnings of S&P 500 industries. There have been reports the government is looking to increase its budget deficit to meet this year's 5% growth target. That said, inflation is still over three times the BoE's 2% target and growth isn't exactly stellar.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Kevin Buckland, Lewis Krauskopf, Naomi Rovnick, Karin Strohecker, Amanda Cooper, Goldman Sachs, Johnson, Philip Morris, It's, Banks, Amundi, BoE, it's, Sumanta Sen, Prinz Magtulis, Vineet, Pasit, Jayaram, Mark Potter Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Hamas, Bank of America, Johnson, Netflix, Philip Morris International, Investors, HK, Law, Justice, Reuters, The Bank of England, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Israel, Palestinian, China, Britain, Tokyo, New York, London, LSEG, Beijing, Europe's, Brussels, Europe

☆ Battered industry may find clean power refuge in Central Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

CENTRAL EUROPE'S PERKSMuch of Central and Eastern Europe has a reputation for being home to outdated heavy industry that once powered former Soviet enterprises and churned out low grade machinery and appliances. A more recent draw is the emissions profile of some of Central Europe's power sectors. Share of electricity from clean sources in select European countriesThose high proportions of clean power are well above the average for Europe as a whole, and are also above the average for the richer nations within the European Union. Power sector emissions from select Central & Eastern European CountriesHungary's power system is also primarily clean, with nearly half coming from nuclear and over 15% from solar. Comparatively low power sector emissions are expected to trend steadily down as the region rolls out more renewable energy supplies.

Persons: Italy's Enel, Ember, Gavin Maguire, Lincoln Organizations: CENTRAL, Warsaw, Central Europe's, Europe, European Union, Gross, Eastern, International Energy Agency, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Mochovce, LITTLETON , Colorado, Central, Germany, Ukraine, Europe, Eastern Europe, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, China, France, Eastern, Russia, Power, Czechia

BUDAPEST/PRAGUE, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Robert Fico's election win in Slovakia after he had campaigned to end military aid to Ukraine shows creeping discontent in Central Europe over the war with Russia, but analysts do not expect a major policy turn-around by Bratislava or Warsaw. Fico's victory in Saturday's election prompted concerns that his new government would see NATO-member Slovakia joining Hungary in challenging the European Union's consensus on support for Ukraine. However, analysts do not see a big policy switch regarding Ukraine in Slovakia and Poland. MODERATING EFFECTIn Slovakia, Fico's SMER-SSD party won the election with 23% of the vote. "The bigger challenges are not Slovakia, or Hungary but the U.S. election cycle and the impact that has on support for Ukraine."

Persons: Robert Fico's, Fico, Viktor Orban, Roger Hilton, Fico's, Peter Pellegrini, Samuel Abraham, Robert Fico, Zuzana Caputova, Radovan Stoklasa, Pellegrini, Abraham, legitimise, Orban, Mujtaba Rahman, Rahman, Krisztina, Jan Lopatka, Angus MacSwan Organizations: NATO, SNS, Republika, REUTERS, EU, Russia, Ukraine, Reuters, Eurasia, Thomson Locations: BUDAPEST, PRAGUE, Slovakia, Ukraine, Central Europe, Russia, Bratislava, Warsaw, Hungary, Russian Poland, Saturday's, Poland, GLOBSEC, SMER, Brussels, Budapest, Kyiv, Europe, Prague

The company has also begun offering retired workers meals at the canteen so they can share knowledge of recently re-started lines producing Soviet-era ammunition for Ukraine, he added. Jiri Hynek, president and executive director of the Defence and Security Industry Association (DSIA) of the Czech Republic, told Reuters a lack of workers could push production out of central Europe. The association, which represents more than 160 companies, said exports accounted for around 90 percent of the industry's production of weapons and military-related supplies. Of that, Hynek estimated that supplies of military equipment to Ukraine accounted for 40% of exports. PITCHING PATRIOTISMOther sectors in Poland – emerging Europe's biggest economy – and the Czech Republic have struggled in recent years to find workers: a situation that has driven up labor costs and dampened growth.

Persons: David Hac, Hac, Jiri Hynek, Hynek, Lukas Visingr, Artur Zaborek, Zaborek, Michael Kahn, Anna Koper, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Europe's, STV, Reuters, European Union, Defence and Security Industry Association, WB Group, Central, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Thomson Locations: PRAGUE, WARSAW, Europe, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Policka, Prague, Czech, Central Europe, Stockholm, Poland's

☆ Czechs cancel Soviet-era decrees giving Russian embassy free land
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRAGUE, May 17 (Reuters) - The Czech government on Wednesday cancelled Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in Prague and other cities, a further step in a more than two-year diplomatic spat with Moscow worsened by the war in Ukraine. The Russian embassy in Prague did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Russia will now have to pay leases to use of the land, the foreign ministry said. Prague has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 2022 and has supplied it with military aid. The Czech parliament designated "the current Russian regime as terrorist" in November.

☆ Central Europe's policymakers double down on hawkish message
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As central Europe's central banks were faster than their major peers to hike rates, they had also been expected to lead the way in easing. That message was underlined on Thursday when February data showed industrial wage growth in the double digits. "We do not expect a rate hike," it said after the Czech policy meeting last week. CEE inflation pushing past a peakThe Polish central bank also struck somewhat hawkish tones at its news conference on Thursday after holding rates steady. Romania's central bank left rates unchanged on Tuesday and said inflation may come down faster than previously thought.

☆ Retired general, ex-PM lead the field in Czech presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Presidential candidate and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and Czech Army General Petr Pavel arrives at a rock club to meet his supporters, ahead of a direct presidential election that will start on January 13, in Prague, Czech Republic, January 9, 2023. Retired General Petr Pavel, 61, running as an independent, led two out of four final polls. Former prime minister Andrej Babis, 68, a billionaire heading the biggest opposition party in parliament was ahead in the other two. While there are eight candidates, only Pavel, Babis and economics professor Danuse Nerudova, 44, have a chance of making it to the second round, polls show. There pollsters give Pavel and edge, expecting him to gather more votes from other candidates than Babis.

The Romanian central bank said slower economic growth and cheaper energy would help bring inflation down to single digits this year from over 16% now, earlier than previously forecast. "So the main question is when inflation in the region will fall enough that central banks will be willing to start normalising monetary conditions." Inflation is still expected to rise in early 2023 in some central European countries, based on central bank forecasts, before returning to single-digit territory by year-end. "This will help to improve external positions and lower inflation pressures in Central and Eastern Europe." "Given the dovish bias around the growth-inflation trade-off at Poland's central bank, we think the risk of premature policy easing is greatest there."

☆ Hungary cenbank leaves base rate steady at 13%, as expected
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Gergely Szakacs | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Base rate remains at 13%, quick deposit at 18%Follows government move to cap bank deposit ratesOne might ask what representative rate is in Hungary -analystBUDAPEST, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) left its base rate unchanged at 13% (HUINT=ECI) on Tuesday, as expected, with inflation on track to scale a 26-year-high in 2023 and exceeding the bank's 2% to 4% policy target range even a year later. read moreAt 1301 GMT, the forint was trading at 408 per euro, unchanged from levels before the announcement. Economists at brokerage Erste Investment said Monday's government move could channel funds from institutional investors and wealthy private clients towards government bonds. "The measure can be slightly positive for OTP (OTPB.BU), however this step impairs the monetary transmission of the central bank," the analysts said. Reporting by Gergely Szakacs and Krisztina Than; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We need all channels of monetary transmission, and especially the exchange rate channel, to curb inflation," Deputy Governor Barnabas Virag told an online briefing. On Monday, however, the government capped deposit rates for certain large institutional and private investors at the three-month Treasury bill yield until March, which some analysts said would harm the efficiency of monetary transmission. read moreWhen asked about the government's move, Virag said there was no alternative to curbing inflation and the bank needed all channels of monetary transmission for that. Economists project Hungary's average inflation will rise to 16% next year from 14.3% expected in 2022, while economic growth is seen grinding to a halt. "The measure can be slightly positive for OTP (OTPB.BU), however this step impairs the monetary transmission of the central bank," the analysts said.

☆ Analysis: Central Europe's policymakers try to call time on rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Jason Hovet | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Czech Crown coins are seen in front of a displayed logo of Czech central bank (CNB) in this picture illustration taken April 1, 2017. Whether it can do so will depend much on wage pressures subsiding and how much a weakening market mood will hurt its currencies. "In Hungary, I think there is still road ahead (for rate hikes)," Juraj Kotian, an economist with Erste Group Bank, said. read moreAnalysts, though, see further rate hikes even after Tuesday. In August, the inflation rate slowed to 17.2% - the first sign of a price peak in central Europe.

A view of the entrance to the National Bank of Hungary building in Budapest,Hungary February 9, 2016. Central European policymakers are seeking to end a cycle of interest rate hikes running since last year even as inflationary pressures remain and the world's major central banks keep pursuing higher rates. "It is likely the end of the rate hike cycle," Peter Virovacz, an analyst at ING in Budapest said. "The question is whether this is a halt – or a just a pause in rate hikes, leaving the door open to potential further tightening." Economists polled by Reuters last week forecast the base rate rising to 14% by the end of this year.

☆ Hungary central bank could end rate rise cycle after September -deputy governor Virag
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A view of the entrance to the National Bank of Hungary building in Budapest,Hungary February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Laszlo BaloghSZEGED, Hungary, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Hungary's central bank could consider ending its more than one-year-long cycle of interest rate rises after next Tuesday's meeting when rates will increase again, Deputy Governor Barnabas Virag told reporters on Thursday. Central Europe's rate setters were the quickest last year to begin raising rates and accelerated the pace this year as inflation surged, but some are starting to slow, or possibly end, tightening cycles. The National Bank of Hungary (NBH) raised its base rate by 100 basis points to 11.75% last month, but Virag has since raised the prospect of a halt to the bank's rate rise cycle, which totals more than 1,100 basis points since June 2021. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We need to assess ending (the cycle) each month," Virag told reporters on the sidelines of an economics conference.

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