CEE Morning Briefing: Slovak, French Talks Eyed

By Leos Rousek

TODAY'S CALENDAR 
Local/GMT 
0830/0730 Magyar Telekom presser on 
          4Q earnings 
0900/0800 Hungary 4Q fixed capital 
          investment 
1200/1100 Slovak, French talks in 
          Bratislava 

Talks between French and Slovak finance ministers on the push by Paris to get more time to meet strict European Union fiscal rules will be in the region's spotlight Thursday.

Michel Sapin will be meeting his Slovak counterpart in Bratislava.

Slovakia, a small eastern eurozone member, has undergone a fiscal diet in recent years to cut its budget deficit, as expected this year, to below the 3% of gross domestic product limit set by the EU.

Citing lackluster growth and low inflation, France has sought to win support from other euro-area member states for its request to receive more time from the European Commission to meet the bloc's budget-deficit requirement.

Unless Brussels grants Paris an exemption, the country may face up 4.20 billion euros ($4.77 billion) in fines for breaching EU regulations.

In Budapest, a post-earnings briefing by Magyar Telekom Nyrt. (MTELEKOM.BU), a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY) will be watched closely.

FOREX 
 
EUR/CZK 
Latest 0350 GMT 27.385-449 
Previous close 27.393-457 
%Chg -0.03 
 
EUR/HUF 
Latest 0350 GMT 304.50-5.04 
Previous close 304.50-5.04 
%Chg 0.00 
 
EUR/PLN 
Latest 0250 GMT 4.1587-603 
Previous close 4.1584-600 
%Chg +0.01 
 
FIXED INCOME 
 
Hungary 
          Wed    Tue 
3 yrs    2.06%  2.12% 
5 yrs    2.58%  2.66% 
10yrs    3.07%  3.15% 
 
Poland 
          Wed    Tue 
3 yrs    1.55%  1.63% 
5 yrs    1.79%  1.83% 
10yrs    2.17%  2.24% 
 
Czech Republic 
          Wed    Tue 
3 yrs    0.06%  0.07% 
5 yrs    0.26%  0.27% 
10yrs    0.64%  0.64% 
 
STOCKS 
 
WIG 20 
2,354.65 -8.96 -0.38% 
 
BUX 
18,567.30 +59.46 +0.32% 
 
PX 
1,028.57 +2.92 +0.28% 
 
OTHER NEWS 

UKRAINE: The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that its expanded bailout of embattled Ukraine will include "heavily front-loaded" cash payments once the board approves the program.

UKRAINE: U.S. assistance that has been provided to Ukraine so far isn't "changing the results" in the ground conflict there, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's top military commander said Wednesday.

UKRAINE: Ukraine's finance minister and central bank chief appealed for calm in the face a free fall in the country's currency, blaming speculators and panic for the hryvnia's near-50% plunge against the dollar this year.

-Margit Feher in Budapest contributed to this article.

Write to Leos Rousek at [e-mail]