Luis Alcaide | In the Romanised Spain of the first two centuries, the so-called Silver Age, an Aragonese, Quintilian, whom his countryman Martial would call “summus mo¬de¬rator juven¬tae”, called for “men of talent, capable of living in a cordial world and participating in public affairs”. Centuries later, in a Spain that was already moving towards modernity, the poet of the upper classes, Campoamor, described those men of talent as “a…
Luis Alcaide | A British parliamentary spokesman and former development minister, Andrew Mitchell, has declared it in no uncertain terms: “The UK is losing its reputation as a credible jurisdiction. Our (British) companies have become vehicles for the laundering of money. The vulgarity of the internal market, the weakness of regulations and the pathetic response to organised crime are being used to facilitate all kinds of misdemeanours. Many EU Europeans…
Luis Alcaide | Angela Merkel’s departure from the German chancellery raises the question of the attitude of the Symaphoric coalition (Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals) towards the European integration process. In the meantime, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron signed an extensive bilateral agreement in Rome (60 pages, including both foreign policy and defence policy and a series of concrete economic agreements). This strengthens the role…
In September 2021, Spanish exports grew by 21.9% year-on-year to 28.337 billion euros, a record for the last decade. The figure exceeds by 5 billion euros the peak in sales to the rest of the world recorded in September 2019. In turn, imports also show the highest figure since 2012, with a year-on-year increase of 24.2% to 30.730 billion euros. An increase that is not unrelated to the price of…
Luis Alcaide | In Rome, at the G20 meeting, the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi was confident about the success of the conference: “We put coal behind us”. Nothing of the sort. The headlines in the previous editions of the Hungarian press on 1 November read: “Scarce coal restrictions leave a big gap”. A big difference. The leaders of the 20 major economies of the planet have agreed to “halt…
Luis Alcaide | Spanish exports of goods recorded a historic rise of 71.8 % in April to 25.841 billion euros, and imports rose by 63.9 % to 27.138 billion, compared to April 2020, which was marked by the restrictions of the pandemic. n the cumulative January-April period, Spanish exports recorded a rise of 16.9%, (a growth exceeding that of Germany with 11%, and France with 9.6%) totalling 98.149 billion euros, and imports of 10.3%, with 102.709 billion. This leaves in a trade deficit of 4.560 billion euros, 50.3% lower than a year earlier.
Luis Alcaide (Capital Madrid) | Spanish exports increased in June by 29.3% when compared with May and even higher when compared with March. However, in year-on-year terms, foreign sales fell by 9.2% compared with June 2019. We are still far from the figures before the coronavirus hit, but they mark an improvement when compared to the ones of the three months prior to June 2020, the period of confinement. On the other hand, in terms of purchases from the rest of the world, imports are also up on the previous months, confirming a recovery in demand. However, in year-on-year terms, imports fell by 20%. So in this import-export game, Spain’s traditional trade deficit turned into surplus in June.
Luis Alcaide | Spanish government with its parliamentary minority has administered, but without exposing itself to dangerous risks difficult. It has pushed its budget, with its own proposals, knowing it will not be approved. But as Groucho Marx said “here is another one”. The increase in the minimum wage has already shown their socialist colours. We need to continue to take care of the economy. It is not that easy, but not that hard either.
Luis Alcaide | Pedro Sánchez will be monitored from every corner to see if he can count on the collaboration of a Spanish administration more independent than in the past. He will have to manage budgetary imbalances and growth of public debt. Furthermre, his fellow citizens rate corruption, after unemployment, their greatest concern.