Czechs forecast to hike spending via online shops by up to 18% in 2018

Czechs have embraced online shopping: Czechia has the highest number of e-shops per capita in the EU, and more than 43% of non-food products are now sold via e-shops in the Central European country.

Czech industrial PPI growth slightly slowed down to 3.3% y/y in August, but stayed strong

Czech industrial producer prices index (PPI) for August increased by 0.1% m/m and by 3.3% y/y. That represents a slight slowing in inflation growth from the month before: in July, the growth accelerated to 3.4% y/y - the fastest since February

Romania’s hourly labour cost rises fastest in the EU in second quarter

The annual rise was supported by a number of salary hikes in the public sector and a rise in the minimum wage. However, compared to other EU member states, labour remains cheap.

Romania and Slovenia show EMEA's strongest hiring confidence for 4Q

Employers in two Southeast European economies report robust hiring intentions, as global picture remains positive despite looming trade wars and Brexit uncertainty, ManpowerGroup survey shows.

Czech PMI falls to 54.9, but the overall conditions remained strong

The Czech IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 54.9 in August from 55.4 in July, the weakest result since August 2017, figures released by IHS Markit show.

Average salary in Czechia hits all time high with 8.6% y/y increase in second quarter

IBM report reveals small CEE/SEE nations’ success in attracting FDI to create jobs

Serbia holds top spot worldwide in terms of jobs created by foreign direct investors relative to its population size, with fellow Central and Southeast European countries dominating the top 10 locations, IBM's Global Location Trends report shows.

Estonian GDP growth accelerates tiny 0.1pp to 3.7% y/y in Q2

Growth moderated for the second consecutive quarter, as domestic demand expanded a modest 4.5% y/y, held back by a 0.8% annual fall in investment.

Latvian retail sales continue losing growth pace in July

Retail sales grew a calendar-adjusted 4.3% y/y in July, slowing down the annual growth rate by 1.3pp in comparison to June.

Lithuanian retail sales experience slight slowdown of growth in July

Slowdown ends mini-series of faster growth figures, but in broader terms strong retail sales coupled with rebounding investment are poised to keep the Lithuanian economy on a steady growth path in 2018.

Poland’s government shrugs off talk of slowdown, points to rapidly rising investment as growth driver

Poland has turned in a raft of strong results recently, and PM Mateusz Morawiecki says rising investment will continue to drive the country’s robust growth, despite structural limitations.

Polish retail sales continue to surge, up 9.3% in July