Slovak tomato growers report a 20-30% drop in output due to extreme heat. The problem isn't a lack of water but prolonged high temperatures, including at night, which limit growth and fruit formation. Lower yields and worse fruit quality are already pushing prices up, though growers and retailers alike are resisting price hikes given limits on consumers' purchasing power. Investments in greenhouse cooling are seen as hard to recoup. (sme.sk) Heat waves are cutting egg-laying

China’s Geely announced plans to assemble models of its luxury brands at Volvo’s European plants starting in 2028. A candidate for production is the new €1.2bn plant in Košice, which will launch production late this year. Media reports indicate it will build the Volvo EX60 and Polestar 7 models, and it could later add Zeekr and Lynk & Co models. The group aims to reduce Europe’s reliance on imports of Chinese‑made cars subject to tariffs. (pravda.sk)

Personal data protection authority ÚOOÚ initiated proceedings against the Justice Ministry over the Business Register's new IT system delivered by Tempest, which since August 17 publicly exposes birth identification numbers, addresses, ID card numbers, and signature samples of corporate executives without requiring a login. Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák's signature, for example, is thus publicly available. The authority emphasizes the data should have been anonymized. Justi

Japan’s Panasonic agreed to sell its European Power and Battery Control Solutions business, including its manufacturing operations in Slovakia, to US investment firms Midas Atlantic Partners and The Najafi Companies. The carve‑out will allow Panasonic to focus on its core business portfolio. The company has plants in Trstená and Stará Ľubovňa, which generated €567m in sales last year and produce electronics and battery components. Panasonic stressed that it is not closing its

UK’s Jaguar Land Rover is considering producing its Defender model in the United States, in one of Stellantis’s plants. The reason is the 15% US tariff applied to car imports from the EU. The Defender is currently manufactured only in Nitra, and of last year’s 115,000 units, about 30,000 were sold in the US. JLR has not yet specified when it will make a decision or how the move would affect capacity utilization at the Nitra plant. (trend.sk)

The new online Business Register, supplied by Tempest, allows the public to access sensitive personal data in company documents, sources told zive.sk. Anyone can gain access to addresses, birth numbers, signatures and ID numbers simply by altering a verification code. The previous system required digital verification and delivered documents only to an electronic mailbox. Personal data could thus be easily misused for fraud. (zive.sk)

Rapidly rising apartment prices and slowly growing rents in Bratislava are reducing the appeal of investment apartments. New build prices reach €5,300/sqm and older apartments €4,400, while rent is around €16-19/sqm/month. The mortgage payment for an average apartment is €233 per month higher than comparable rent, according to CBRE. Rental yield cannot compensate for the high price, interest, or other costs. Analysts expect no quick change to this situation. New and older apa

Radar cameras used by Soitron to test its €22m traffic‑violation detection system were Russian‑made devices containing a hidden 3G/4G communication module, according to an analysis by the National Security Authority. The module enabled commands from 12 phone numbers with Russian area codes and allowed remote control of the camera. The device’s security feature designed to ensure the use of trusted software had been disabled. Both cameras have now been dismantled. (zive.sk)

Furniture maker Ikea Industry, with five plants in Slovakia, signed an agreement with the tax authority FS and paid millions of euros in additional income tax following a successful lawsuit against FS regarding transfer pricing. The company generated a profit only twice between 2015 and 2025, posting a cumulative loss of €213m. It only sells to sister Ikea plants in other countries. The legal dispute pertained to 2010-11, for which FS originally levied a tax surcharge of €3.3

Nippon Steel is considering the closure, sale, or modernization of its Košice steelworks, according to HN sources. "If it cannot find a way to modernize the plant in cooperation with the state, it will consider whether to keep it operating," confirmed Environment Minister Tomáš Taraba. Following its acquisition of U.S. Steel, the Japanese owner is prioritizing its American operations. It previously outlined a plan in Košice to build a new electric arc furnace with an annual c