Articles by Julia Pastor

About the Author

Julia Pastor
Julia Pastor has broad experience in business writing for Consejeros Media Group at Consejeros, Consenso del Mercado and The Corner. Previously, she worked for the financial news agency GBA and contributed to El País Business. She holds a Master's in Financial Journalism and a degree in English from the Complutense University in Madrid.
panama canal

Game on Sacyr-Panama Canal’s dispute is over… is it?

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The delicate pulse between the consortium led by Spanish construction company Sacyr and the Panama Canal Authority has become so stressful – too many actors, several proposals coming back and forth, mutual finger-pointing, and a two-week-extension that broke into pieces on Wednesday. Or that’s what we thought. The consortium working on Panama Canal’s third set of locks says it will continue to search for a solution to finish the works by foreseen 2015, although the Panamanian administration has cut negotiations. Of course, they denied any responsibility on the breakdown. “Time is over, that is all. We will not accept any blackmail,” PCA’s president said. Is this really the end of discussions or is the game still on?


No Picture

When Spain’s banking sector progresses, Europe Moves Forward Too

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | What is good for Spain is good for Europe. Certainly, while recognising that the country “has pulled back from severe problems in some parts of its banking sector, thanks to its reform and policy actions,” the European authorities’ fifth review does not omit the fact that this has been achieved “with the support of the euro area and broader European initiatives.”


No Picture

An independent Scotland could affect some Spanish Iberdrola’s assets

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | A Downing Street report, elaborated as part of the political campaign before Scotland’s independency referendum, explains that Iberdrola’s subsidiary Scottish Power could lose the regulation advantages that London negotiated with Brussels. Some have understood the issue as a warning or a threat about risks for Iberdrola to be forced to sell its electricity transportation grid at Great Britain’s north. It only would comprise high-tension lines, which means a little portion of 20-25% of Iberdrola’s income coming from Scottish Power.


Lagarde and Draghi

Lagarde and Draghi: train crash at Davos

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund  and Mario Draghi ECB’s president were in the same Davos panel on Saturday. Both talked about signs of recovery across the world and the euro zone. However, as she said that deflation potential risks in the euro zone must not be ignored, he minimized danger and insisted once more that the bank is prepared to deploy a QE’s policy if deflation appeared.


Treasury

Spain Issues Largest Syndicated Deal In Euro Zone History

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The same day  Spanish banking system credit line was officially cancelled, the country issued a record 10-year bond amounting €10 bn. The syndicated bond sale was strongly oversubscribed by almost four times the sum on offer,  just beaten by €44bm of EFSF first issue.


No Picture

Spanish midcaps Colonial and Realia trend real state market upwards

MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja and Julia Pastor | The depressed Spanish real state sector wakes up slowly, and hopefully, steady thanks to Inmobiliaria Colonial and Realia, two midcap construction companies, which went through the sorrows of housing markets crash. The first is involved in a €1 billion capital increase; the second is said to be bought a major stake by Amancio Ortega, Inditex chairman and third world’s wealthiest businessman.


In-depth: Panama Canal and Sacyr discuss new financing proposal

 

MADRID| By Julia Pastor| Far from resolving the strife over additional costs to finalise Panama Canal’s third set of locks, actors involved are apparently working on different positions.  Spanish company Sacyr, which leads the consortium undertaking the expansion bet on an agreement since the beginning, but the Panama Canal Authority has not smoothed the path, even rejecting EU’ mediation. Last Sacyr’s offer considers to cofinance the project. PCA’s  answer has been a different proposal for using the infrastructure’s insurance as a guarantee to get external financing and terminate the works. The deal remains blocked then.


Francoise 2

To Fulfill New Year’s Wishes, France Needs to Boost Revenues

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | France just started to go through its new year’s checklist. President Hollande announced last week budgetary cuts of €50 billion for 2015-2017, in addition to those €15bn revealed in September. The country urgently needs to increase revenues and it could do it via the sale of state-owned companies stakes such as a French and European reference like Airbus.


Algoritmical

Algorithms examiners in the EU to avoid a flat crash

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The European Parliament and the EU’s governments have just signed an agreement to develop a law that reinforces controls over high frequency computerized stock exchanges trading, in order to avoid sudden collapses of markets. To minimize the systemic risk, the algorithms will have to be examined and authorised by regulators.


No Picture

European Sovereign Debt, Again No Risk Asset

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The  ECB confirmed on Wednesday that held-to-maturity sovereign exposures portfolios will not be punished, and consequently marked-to-market, in the financial system stress test to be performed at the end of 2014.