Hungary’s parliament in focus again; Czech markets in a wait-and-see mode ahead the key CNB meeting

Events in Central European markets are usually determined by the behaviour of the core markets; nevertheless, from time to time, economic policy makers in Central Europe are temporarily able to influence the behaviour of the regional markets. This may happen in the coming week, with Czech National Bank set to have a very interesting meeting (Thursday) and another major event being the session of the Hungarian Parliament, which will today start to discuss legislation related to the 2003 budget bill.

In Hungary, the focus will be on Parliament as the 2013 budget law might be modified to incorporate the governments 'employment defence program' that will cost about 1% of GDP. The controversial financial transaction tax is planned to cover this additional expense, but taxing the central bank will not be supported by the ECB and thus may have to be replaced by other measures. Still there is a good chance that the ruling party might risk a negative market reaction and the transaction tax against the MNB will be confirmed.