Newspaper item 13: Bush Vows to 'Do What it Takes' for Economy

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President George W. Bush took his message on the economy to the Midwest yesterday, telling a Wisconsin audience he would do whatever it took to ensure the economy remained strong.

Mr. Bush sought to strike a positive note, acknowledging that corporate scandals and market turbulence had led to 'a little shaking in our confidence', but he said the fundamental strength of the economy outweighed the challenges.

Mr. Bush said he left Tuesday's economic forum in Waco, Texas, 'confident about our economic future, but not content with the progress we're making'.

Stressing the need for responsibility in Congress at a time when the war on terror and the recession had led to deficits, Mr. Bush said excessive would be a drag on growth.

He claimed he had tried to help' on Tuesday by refusing to release $5. bn (€ 5.2bn) in emergency cash demanded by Congress for homeland security because most of it had been earmarked for other purposes.

On the day the deadline for chief executives to certify their financial statements, Mr. Bush said he had been disappointed in the performance of some, whom he described as liars', who had fudged the books and shaken confidence in the economy. He said corporate reforms sent a 'strong signal' to potential wrongdoers.

Newspaper item 14: Privatisation in Doubt

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The privatisation of Unipetrol, the Czech petrochemicals and refinery group, was thrown into doubt yesterday when Agrofert, its intended purchaser, insisted on a renegotiation of the sale contract's conditions.

The Czech privately held agrochemicals group won a tender for the government's 63 per cent stake in Unipetrol last December when it bid €36lm. But antimonopoly proceedings were delayed for months as Agrofert failed to supply requested documentation, prompting speculation it had lost interest.

Now Agrofert wants to complete the transaction in concert with PKN Orlen, the Polish refinery group, through a joint venture, even though Agrofert had won the original tender on its own.

Agrofert also wants changes in the sale contract's conditions because of unstable supply relations between Unipetrol's 51 per cent owned refinery subsidiary Ceska Rafmerska and its petrochemicals arm Chemopetrol. The sale contract signed at the start of the year between Agrofert and the National Property Fund includes heavy penalties if supplies are not maintained for eight years.

Andrej Babis, Agrofert general director, said he was unwilling to complete the deal under the current conditions. 'The nature of the transaction has changed since we first made the bid,' he said.

Long-term supply agreement between Cheska Rafmerska and Chemopetrol were not renewed after their expiry at the end of last year. Supplies are being made on the basis of monthly contracts.

But a dispute over prices between Unipetrol and shareholders owning the other 49 per cent of Ceska Rafmerska led to a temporary freeze in supplies to Chemopetrol in May.

A Fund source said: 'It would be an extremely complicated process to change the conditions: the sale contract has already been signed and the privatisation approved by the government.

Wordlist

refinery		очистительный завод
to insist		настаивать
stake		доля, часть; участие; ставка
to bid (bid, bid)		предлагать цену
bid		предложение цены, предложенная покупателем цена
proceedings		поступки, действия, дела
to delay		задерживать
joint venture		совместное предприятие
subsidiary		дочерняя компания; филиал
expiry		окончание, истечение срока