Business News & Financial News

In Spain 19th March 2026

The Indra Soap Opera: Government now demands Chairman’s resignation to authorize purchase of his company

Four years ago, the Government took control of a publicly traded company, INDRA, through SEPI (the State-Owned Industrial Holding Company). To do so, it had the help of the owner of the newspaper El País and two brothers, the Escribanos, owners of a small company dedicated to manufacturing defense vehicles. There was a reshuffle at the top, a change of control without a mandatory takeover bid (OPA)—as required by law—and…

In Europe 19th March 2026

ZEW Economic Sentiment Survey comes in worse than expected in March, reaching lowest level since April 2025

Bankinter | The ZEW Economic Sentiment Survey came in worse than expected in March, reaching its lowest level since April 2025. Expectations fell to negative 0.5 points (compared to the expected 39.2 and the previous 58.3), whilst the Current Situation improved to negative 62.9 (compared to negative 68.0 and the previous 65.9). Bankinter analysis team’s view: Negative reading. The survey, which polls around 350 analysts and investors on expectations and…

In the World 17th March 2026

US industrial production rises 0.2% in February compared with January, capacity utilisation remains stable at 76.3%

Link Securities | According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production in the US rose by 0.2% in February compared with January, slightly less than the 0.3% expected by the consensus of FactSet analysts. Meanwhile, manufacturing output grew by 0.2% in February compared with January, a figure in line with analysts’ expectations. Similarly, mining output rose by 0.8% over the month, whilst utility output fell by 0.6%, with electricity companies remaining…

“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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