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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.
Talgo diferente

Spanish economy 17th April 2024

Government asks Criteria to put together Spanish counter-bid for Talgo to avoid Ganz Mavag’s

Alphavalue/ Divacons | The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, said yesterday that “we must wait for other players”, referring to the takeover bid by the Ganz Mavag consortium for Talgo, which the government is rejecting. Among these “players”, Puente wants Criteria, the investment arm of La Caixa, which, according to government sources, has been contacted to put together a counter-bid with a Spanish stamp. In fact, the newspaper Expansión suggests…

Naturgy edificio 640x420

Spanish economy 17th April 2024

Industrial investor like Taqa could take over from one or more of Naturgy’s financial investors

Santander Corporate & Investment | After a week of rumours in the press about a reorganisation of Naturgy’s (NTGY) shareholding structure (Baa2 e, BBB e, BBB e), Naturgy’s main shareholder, Criteria (with a 26.7% stake), announced a relevant fact on Monday. Criteria affirmed its long-term commitment as an investor in Naturgy and expressed its explicit support for the company’s transformation plan. Criteria also acknowledged that it has continued talks with…

Xi Jinping

World economy 17th April 2024

China’s ‘new productive forces’ risk overcapacity bubble

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | China’s Two Sessions – the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – took place from March 4-11 in Beijing. This year, the Two Sessions have been particularly important for understanding where the Chinese economy is heading, as new Premier Li Qiang delivered his first “Work Report,” which marked the beginning of a new economic era….

SpanishBanks

Spanish economy 17th April 2024

Spanish Banks 1Q24 | What to Watch for?

Jefferies Equity Research | Spanish Banks’ 1Q24 earnings season kicks off later this week. We expect focus to remain on the NII print/guidance in a context where rates expectations have moved up YTD. Loan growth still not helping, but in-check asset quality is an offsetting factor. Outside Spain, Mexico’s numbers came relatively solid into early Q1 24 as per CNBV data. In Brazil, loan growth is now flat in real…

spain foreign policy

Spanish economy 17th April 2024

Investment and productivity in Spain remain stagnant, according to McKinsey

In the report entitled “Investing in Productivity Growth”, the consultancy points out that data for Spain shows that since 2012, labour productivity growth has been 0.4%, compared to an average of 0.5% in the rest of the major European economies, and 1% in the United States. Spain, the report points out, has had a sustained low productivity growth for a quarter of a century – only in Italy has it…

bancoespana

Spanish economy 17th April 2024

Bank of Spain warns public debt to soar with no consolidation plan

Banca March: The Bank of Spain warns that public debt will soar in the medium and long term in the absence of a consolidation plan. At the end of 2023, the debt ratio was 107.7% of GDP and a structural deficit balance (excluding the cyclical part) of -3.7%. In the absence of fiscal policies, debt would reach 108% in 2026 and 120% in 2024. The institution estimates that, with an…

Telefónica

Spanish economy 16th April 2024

Government now controls more than 5% of Telefónica

The Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI) has informed the National Securities Market (CNMV) that its stake in Telefónica’s share capital has now reached 5%, half of the established target. SEPI thus complies with the Council of Ministers’ agreement ordering the purchase of Telefónica shares up to 10%, “minimising the impact on the share price and complying with the notifications of significant shareholdings established in the regulations”, the public holding…

talgos

Spanish economy 16th April 2024

Government promotes counter takeover bid for Talgo

The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, assures that the takeover bid for Talgo by the Hungarian consortium led by the Magyar Vagón group, which in the past had corporate links with Russian companies, enters the geopolitical scene, since TALGO’s movable axle patent is “critical” in areas such as the Baltic countries where the main concern is “military mobility”. “The context is not easy and Talgo has very sensitive material…. “It…

Iberdrola guapa

Spanish economy 15th April 2024

Iberdrola generates 10,489 GWh with renewable energy in Spain in 1Q2024, 19.4% up on last year

Link Securities| According to data from the energy balance sheet at the end of March reported by the company to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), summarised by Europa Press, Iberdrola (IBE) generated 10,489 GWh with renewable energy in Spain in 1Q2024, representing an increase of 19.4% over the same period and the highest in the last decade. This figure for the group’s renewable generation in Spain was driven…

Eurozona PMIs

European economy 15th April 2024

Eurozone industrial production rises by 0.8%, EU’s up 0.7% in February

CdM| Industrial production rose by 0.8% in the eurozone in February and by 0.7% in the European Union (EU) as a whole compared with the previous month, according to initial estimates from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office. Compared with the same month last year, the indicator fell by 6.4% in the euro area and by 5.4% in the EU. In detail, and on a month-on-month basis, industrial production in the…