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 leos.rousek@wsj.com