Final Word from Thursday, February 14, 2013
Today's most important Czech news is buried on Page 12 of HN. CEO Henri Bonnet of KB said his bank now expects the first signs of economic recovery to come in the second quarter. The optimism, he said, is based on the ZEW economic-sentiment indicator, which has reached its highest level since May 2010. Bonnet's comment should be considered in combination with what his counterpart at ČS, Pavel Kysilka, told HN last week: "Everything that European politicians are during is just camouflaging the problems and postponing the solutions." Which raises a philosophical question. If things are only going to keep getting worse, except for a few blips of optimism, should even responsible people stop devoting their time to a futile effort to change things? Should they instead blissfully enjoy life while they can? And irresponsibly spend, spend, spend, just as the financial markets and politicians want us all to?[Czech Republic maximum growth Komerční banka Česká spořitelna]
Glossary of difficult words
to the max - to the maximum amount possible;
counterpart - a person or thing holding a position or performing a function that corresponds to that of another person or thing in another place;
blip - an unexpected, minor, and typically temporary deviation from a general trend;
futile - pointless; incapable of producing any useful results;
blissful - providing perfect happiness or great joy.