By Veronika Gulyas
TODAY'S CALENDAR
Local/GMT
0900/0800 Richter briefing on 3Q results
1130/1030 Hungary T-bond auction
1400/1300 Polish inflation expectations
N/A BRE Bank 3Q Results
N/A Czech Social Democrat party meeting
The post-elections political brawl in the Czech Republic and
third-quarter company earnings will be the main points of focus for
the regions investors on Thursday.
In Prague, the Czech Social Democratic Party will hold a special
meeting of its senior leadership to clarify whether its members and
President Milos Zeman tried to overthrow party Chairman Bohuslav
Sobotka and replace him with a person closer to Mr. Zeman.
Despite winning the most votes during last weekend's election,
its 20.5% share was the Social Democrats' worst showing since the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
Any comment from Mr. Zeman on his role in the power struggle in
the Social Democrats will be crucial for the outlook of a future
Czech government. The President alone has the authority to decide
who will lead coalition talks, and it is uncertain if the CSSD or a
competing party will get the nod.
In Warsaw, BRE Bank SA (BRE.WA), the Polish unit of German
lender Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) will publish its third-quarter
results amid increasing risks stemming from slow economic growth in
the region's largest economy.
Hungary's debt management center will seek to sell a total of 45
billion forints ($212 million) worth of bonds at an auction,
offering three-, five- and 10-year bonds in the process.
FOREX
EUR/CZK
Latest 0150 GMT 25.686-798
Previous 2150 GMT 25.689-760
%Chg +0.07
EUR/HUF
Latest 0150 GMT 293.44-4.60
Previous 2150 GMT 293.59-4.30
% Chg +0.03
EUR/PLN
Latest 0150 GMT 4.1765-886
Previous 2150 GMT 4.1775-854
% Chg +0.03
FIXED INCOME
Hungary
Wed Tues
3 yrs 4.15% 4.15%
5 yrs 4.57% 4.53%
10yrs 5.36% 5.32%
Poland
Tues Mon
3 yrs 2.97% 2.95%(1)
5 yrs 3.44% 3.40%
10yrs 4.11% 4.10%
(1) 2 yrs
Czech Republic
Wed Tues
3 yrs 0.37% 0.37%
5 yrs 1.01% 1.02%
10yrs 2.23% 2.24%(1)
(1) 11 yrs
STOCKS
WIG 20
2,553.51-21.09-0.82%
BUX
3,885.04+3.98+0.10%
PX
1,017.10-0.19-0.02%
OTHER NEWS
POLAND: There is no rush for Poland to adopt the euro and more
work is needed in both the country and the European Union's
single-currency area before the move, Dutch Finance Minister and
Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Wednesday.
"My position is that both the euro zone and Poland have work to
do," said Mr. Dijsselbloem, who chairs the group of euro-zone
finance ministers, at a press conference at the Polish finance
ministry. "There is no pressure."
CZECH REPUBLIC: Czech Social Democrats are facing a schism after
a worse-than-expected showing in weekend parliamentary elections,
further complicating government-building talks in a fragmented new
legislature.
Chairman Bohuslav Sobotka faced calls from other politicians to
resign immediately after the vote. Those calls came after a secret
meeting on Saturday between President Milos Zeman and members of
Mr. Sobotka's party. The chairman and others in the party's
leadership weren't made aware of the meeting, which took place
while the chairman was on a live televised debate.
HUNGARY: Hungary wants the U.S. to clarify if Budapest has
served as a location for National Security Agency monitoring
equipment, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.
According to a map published by WikiLeaks, the Hungarian capital
is among the 74 cities that have been home to NSA eavesdropping
equipment. The map suggests Budapest was a staffed
location--meaning that agents of the Special Collection Service, a
joint unit of the NSA and the CIA--were active there.
HUNGARY: Hungary's largest home-grown drug maker Richter Gedeon
Nyrt. (RICHTER.BU) saw its net profit rise significantly above
analysts' expectations in the July-September period, by 26% versus
a year ago helped by a stabilizing Hungarian regulatory system and
only slightly widening financial loss on foreign currency rate
fluctuations, figures published by the company showed Thursday.
Write to Veronika Gulyas at veronika.gulyas@wsj.com
Go to http://blogs.wsj.com/new-europe for the new Dow Jones blog
on Central and Eastern Europe, covering business, politics, society
and more, written by our correspondents across the region.