Articles by Ana Fuentes

About the Author

Ana Fuentes
Columnist for El País and a contributor to SER (Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión), was the first editor-in-chief of The Corner. Currently based in Madrid, she has been a correspondent in New York, Beijing and Paris for several international media outlets such as Prisa Radio, Radio Netherlands or CNN en español. Ana holds a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University in Madrid and the Sorbonne University in Paris, and a Master's in Journalism from Spanish newspaper El País.
stock market

2020 dividends: European companies will offer another record year for investors

CdM | Allianz Global Investors expects dividend payments of approximately 359 billion euros from European companies in 2020. This sum exceeds the 2019 record by 3.6% (12 bn euros). Dividends have contributed an average of 38% to the performance of European equities since 1974. On the contrary, 60% of government bonds in the euro zone have a negative nominal return.


The agreement on the minimum wage and the relative success of the trip to Catalonia encourages the new government

The new all or nothing government for Spain

Ana Fuentes | The recently appointed coalition government is facing the biggest constitutional crisis of Spanish democracy. With almost half of the parliament against, in addition to criticism within his own party, PM Sanchez has launched an all or nothing bet. If he manages to take a part of Catalan pro-independence supporters to the constitutional path, and ERC renounces unilateralism as Basque separatism did, this will be an achievement for posterity. But the play may go wrong for the Socialists, and it would not be the first time.


glovo

Glovo becomes Spain’s second unicorn

Ana Fuentes | The home delivery start-up has become the second unicorn in Spain after obtaining 150 million in an investment round. This brings the four-year-old company’s total funding up to €460m. Only ride-hailing giant Cabify had reached that status before.


Thomas Piketty

Piketty: “We are reinforcing social inequality with public money”

Ana Fuentes | The inequality trap lies in the fact that, thanks to globalization and the market economy, inequality between countries has been reduced in recent decades, but nevertheless it has increased internally in most of them. For Thomas Piketty, one of the most respected economists by the European left, the first thing is to recognize that inequality is not economic or technological, but essentially political. There is much talk of meritocracy and equal opportunities, but the gap does not stop growing and comes from public policies. And he sets his own country as an example.


Safe assets

“If we want a euro with more weight and a normal perception of risk, we need safe assets”

Ana Fuentes | After various decades in the private and public sector, Josina Kammerling, responsible for regulation at the CFA Institute, knows in detail the ins and outs of the financial market and its rules. She can therefore indicate its pros and cons. And do so in fluent English, Dutch, French or Italian … And also in perfect Spanish learnt as a girl in Burgos, where she moved when she was two: “My father opened the Heineken factory there” she recalls with a smile.


Thomas Cook.

Thomas Cook Bankruptcy: Losses (and opportunities) for the Spanish tourism sector

Ana Fuentes | On Sunday, hours before the giant Thomas Cook announced his bankruptcy, several Spanish businessmen in the tourism sector tried to avoid the fall of the British operator with an injection of 107 million. It was not enough. The Spanish employer Exceltur estimates the losses at 200 million euros and thousands of jobs are at risk. Direct competitors such as Tui, shareholder of the Riu Group, AIG and Internet platforms, however, will benefit.

 


pedro sanchez preocupado

No joke: 4th Spanish elections in 4 years on November 10

Ana Fuentes | New Spanish elections: the political parties have been incapable of reaching agreement and the Spanish will have to vote again. They will be the fourth elections in four years. A period in which the credibility of the politicians, the patience of the voters and the economic muscle of the country have been worn thin, due to both internal and external factors.


diada cat

Perhaps a thaw between Madrid and Catalonia has begun

Ana Fuentes | A tense autumn was expected between Madrid and Catalonia, but perhaps it will not be so bad. With the Supreme Court´s sentence on the Catalan separatist leaders only weeks away, and the anniversary of the illegal referendum on 1 October, Thursday´s demonstration in Barcelona was seen as a key measure of the temperature of Catalan separatism. Finally the figures show that the tension has (apparently) reduced: according to the local police, 600,000 people took to the streets. It was a massive, peaceful and colourful demonstration, but with the lowest turnout in 7 years, when the strongest drive for independence began.


sancheziglesias TC

Spanish politics: Fatigue and perplexity weigh in

Ana Fuentes | Spanish politics has settled on a disturbing calendar. This week the government of the social democrat Pedro Sánchez must clarify whether he will reach an agreement with Unidas Podemos or if he will call elections on November 10. It would be the fourth general election in five years. Time plays against and the feeling of uncertainty weighs more and more each day.


euco

The battle for EU’s top jobs is on- What are Spain´s chances?

Ana Fuentes | The musical chairs for top institutional renewal in Brussels has begun. At stake are the presidencies of the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Central Bank, as well as the representative for Unión diplomacy. For Spain, opportunities may open up. Yet the government has to deal with the after effects of the Catalan conflict, which has not questioned its democratic legitimacy, although it may compromise its margin of maneuver.