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Czech arms companies appear to have fallen on hard times. But the promise of increased defense spending at home and abroad and the fact that companies appear to be circumventing a law aimed at squeezing out the arms middlemen gives them cause to hope for more bountiful bottom lines.

Economists are saying that the standard of living should improve for many Czechs based on the state of the economy, which is in surprisingly good shape. Numbers released by the country’s statistics office on Monday suggest there are several reasons to be optimistic.

Companies, state institutions and insurance companies have been busy tabulating potential losses for Czech businesses due to EU sanctions as well as restrictive measure taken by Russia.

Czech farmers are predicting a slight increase in the hop harvest this year. Hop production is set to go up by five to nine percent, reaching up to 5,800 tonnes. One of the factors that has contributed to the favourable outlook is the fact that the overall area of hop fields has expanded for the first time in 14 years. The traditional Czech crop is now being grown on 4,460 hectares of land.

The Czech government is sending a business delegation to Iran, the first such visit ever to take place. The trip should pave the way for boosting trade and facilitate agreements on investment protection and the abolition of double taxation by both Prague and Tehran.

Czech Railways has two years, writes daily Mladá fronta Dnes, to adapt long-term strategies to ensure continued profits and growth. Until now, the state-owned firm relied heavy on the sale of property as a financial buffer but that "well" will soon run dry at a time when debts at the firm are on a rise.

Commercial reverse flows of natural gas from Slovakia to Ukraine were officially launched on September 2 with Slovak prime minister Robert Fico and his Kiev counterpart, Arsenij Jaceňuk in attendance at the border site.

The state-owned postal firm Czech Post is seeking 1.7 billion crowns in state compensation for losses incurred through unprofitable services it is required to provide by law, the daily Hospodářské noviny reports. Part of the compensation should be covered with contributions from Czech Post’s competitors according to existing law. But they complain the sum is exaggerated, and say the payments would put their businesses at risk.

Friday saw major producers of spirits in the Czech Republic announce their half year results. While for many sales and profits have gone up, the general echo of the methanol scandal, during which 47 Czechs died of alcohol poisoning and the subsequent short-term prohibition two years ago, left marks that can still be felt. Czechs are wearier of buying hard alcohol and liquor producers have been forced to adapt to the change in demand.

Czech textiles firms have benefited significantly from the Czech National Bank’s intervention to weaken the country’s currency the crown last November. According to a report in Thursday’s edition of the financial daily Hospodářské noviny, manufacturers in the sector saw 12-percent year-on-year growth in the first half of 2014.