Ageing is not just a story about declining economic potential,  ING Bank says in their most recent report. The other side of the coin shows rising demand for products and services that are tailored to the needs of the elderly. In this report, we try and find out where demand for elderly care and housing is most promising and we attempt to do this by comparing eleven European countries.

The Czech economy has visibly benefited from strong ties with Germany over the past five years. The German economy grew on average by 1.8%, which is significantly more than in the previous decade (1.1%). That is why it was the driving force behind the growth of the entire euro area - contributing to its performance by about one third. But the favorable climate in Germany is getting worse. We assume that growth in the coming years will be much slower and will have problems overcoming 1%. And that will have its consequences in the Czech Republic.

On Friday, May 24, before a full house, Czech National Bank governor Jiří Rusnok gave a clear thumb’s up to the country’s economic performance, and discussed what could threaten the crown’s stability. 

Economic confidence fell in May, close to a three-year low, mainly due to a decline in confidence in industry and services. Household confidence increased slightly, but also remains close to mid-2016 levels.