Business News & Financial News

In Spain 5th February 2026

AIReF reports 60% surge in medical leave over last decade

The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) asserts that temporary disability leave in Spain has grown by 60% since 2017. Furthermore, the average duration of medical leave has increased from 40 to 46 days. In cases regarding mental health, the extension is even more pronounced, jumping from 67 to 99 days. These are some of the conclusions from its Spending Review 2022-2026 report, which analyzes the Social Security’s second-largest expenditure…

In Europe 5th February 2026

Factory orders in Germany see two consecutive increases: up 13.0% year-on-year in December against 10.6% previously

Bankinter | Factory orders in Germany surprise upwards for the second consecutive month in December: 13.0% year-on-year against an expected 1.2% and a previous 10.6% (revised from 10.5%). In month-on-month terms, 7.8% against a drop of 2.2% and 5.7% (revised from 5.6%). The improvement is again explained by growth in orders for metallurgical products (30.2% month-on-month against 25.3% previously) and capital goods (11.5%). Capital goods were up 10.5% against 7.9%….

In the World 3rd February 2026

Trump confirms Kevin Warsh as Jerome Powell’s successor at helm of Fed

Renta 4 | We have finally received confirmation from Trump that Kevin Warsh will replace Powell at the helm of the Fed starting next May, something that the market had already been anticipating since Thursday afternoon. For his confirmation, approval by the Senate Banking Committee and then by the Senate itself is required. We recall that Republican Tillis, of the Banking Committee, said he would not approve any candidate until…

“We need to approach negotiations with the U.S. on terms that are completely different from those currently being proposed”

Says Antonio Bonet, president of the Club of Spanish Exporters and Investors. He points out that “Europe has a single tariff applied by all member states, but the U.S. applies a tariff to each country, meaning it can decide that the tariff applied to Spanish black olives is higher than that for Italian olives, as it did at one point. So there is a part of the negotiation between Europe…

“Fifteen years ago, the European economy was larger than that of the U.S. Today, the U.S. economy is one and a half times that of Europe”

“It is a shame that we are able to mobilize economic resources for large-scale projects abroad, but not in our Spanish market”

In an interview with Consejeros magazine, Sacyr’s coordinating advisor, Elena Jiménez de Andrade, explains that now “We have great capacity to win projects, a capacity that until now contrasted with a series of financial limitations and balance sheet size. However, in this strategic cycle, we are going to eliminate those barriers. That is why we have set an ambitious goal for 2033: to triple the value of our assets. We…

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