Spain’s Committee for Competitiveness in Business has had zero influence over this year when the country has been without a government. Set up in 2011 by the heads of the 15 biggest Spanish companies, its aim was to boost the economic recovery and strengthen international investor confidence.
Mr Rajoy has appointed his new cabinet ministers on Friday. When we talk about governance in Spain, with what is clearly a minority government, the socialist party’s participation in this future looks inevitable. And only then will we witness its capacity for reinvention and getting past the slogans.
A few weeks ago Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta let loose and made some harsh comments to the press, complaining that the Inland Revenue is “crushing” her with taxes. And once again everyone is betting the government will implement tax hikes to provide a solution for the 5 billion euros imbalance in the public deficit and comply with the 3.1% target demanded by the European Commission.
Everyone seems to agree that salaries need to be increased in order to activate and maintain economic growth. That said, the differences between trade unions and businessmen is abysmal. And even though Spain’s economy may be growing at 3.1% in 2016, the country’s average wage has barely risen by 232 euros over the last 15 years.
It’s not even four months since the UK referendum on remaining in the European Union, resulting in the successful vote for what is known as Brexit. The questions on which Great Britain wants to base its exit negotations from March 2017 are being able to maintain all the advantages of an EU member, like the freedom of movement of goods and capital, while still controlling its own borders.
The latest figures from Spain’s airports manager AENA, reflecting the importance of the tourism industry, support the estimations given by the Secretary of State for Tourism, which point to a total of 74 million international tourists by end-2016. If the predictions are confirmed, there will be eight million more international tourists visiting Spain in 2016 compared to a year earlier, when there was a record number of 68 million. But can Spain’s tourism regions survive this widespread growth?
After a long wait, as a result of Banco Portugués de Inversiones (BPI) shareholders’ voting restrictions and after improving its initial offer, CaixaBank is on the verge of gaining control of the Portuguese lender.
ACS has recently agreed to sell its environmental services subsidiary Urbaser to Firion Investments, the investment fund participated by China Tianying, for between 2.212 and 2.463 billion euros. This operation will not only allow ACS to reduce its gearing, but it will also put Spain on the world map of Chinese investments.
Would a Spanish housewife buy a hake without looking at its eyes and the colour of its gills beforehand? This question will soon be answered following the alliance reached between US e-commerce giant Amazon and the distribution chain Dia.
Salaries have been stagnating in Spain for the last six years and this has been a basic reason for the increase in competitiveness and the economy’s recovery.