Final Word from Wednesday, September 9, 2009
It remains a mystery why coal baron Zdeněk Bakala paid an estimated 20 times pre-crisis earnings for Economia publishing house, which owns HN business daily and Ekonom weekly. The numbers just don't add up. It begins to make some sense, though, if you analyze the coverage Economia's publications give to entities close to Bakala, such as TOP 09, ČSOB, and the businesses of Gabriel Eichler of Benson Oak. In most cases, the full extent of these relationships isn't revealed, so readers are either kept in the dark or left to speculate about the political and commercial implications. In contrast, coverage of Bakala's own NWR coal company seems quite balanced and straightforward, which only adds to the mystery. Ekonom and HN recently did exposés on anonymous companies and lawmakers' pay; some sunshine on Economia's own undisclosed relationships could also be enlightening.[Czech Republic Hospodářské noviny New World Resources]
Glossary of difficult words
earnings - Economia reported net earnings for 2007 of Kč 96.1m, down from Kč 127.3m in 2006; there is media speculation that Bakala paid Kč 2bn for a near-90% stake in Economia a.s.;
to be kept in the dark - to be kept in a state of ignorance;
sunshine - (in this sense) light or openness.