National Bank says economy will slow in wake of global crisis

The deputy governor of the Czech National Bank, Miroslav Singer, says the turmoil on world markets will lead to a marked slowing of the Czech economy and a drop in demand. In an interview for Wednesday’s edition of Hospodařské noviny, Mr Singer said some Czech brokerage firms could have problems in the wake of the financial crisis that began in the United States. He said, however, that Czech banks did not appear to be threatened. Shares on the Prague Stock Exchange have fallen to a near-three-year low, and at points trading was suspended due to sharp losses. In a two-day period over 100 billion crowns was wiped off the value of shares.