MADRID | By Javier Flores (Asinver) | For some, BitCoin is a bubble, even a pyramidal fraud. For others it’s the future of a free market economy. Worst case scenario, BitCoin could be a bubble, even a scam like Afinsa and Forum Filatélico, the two stamp ponzi schemes that imploded in Spain some years ago. 16,000 people lost their savings.
LONDON | European traffic performed well, up 7.4%, despite the continuing weakness of the European economy. Amongst the countries where traffic increased were Italy, France and Germany.
Spain has been hit hard by the Eurozone crisis, with unemployment levels pushing towards 27 per cent. Vicente Navarro writes on the role that Germany, the most powerful EU state, has played in the Spanish crisis. He argues that German banks must also share some of the responsibility for perpetuating Spain’s housing bubble.
LONDON | City-based fund manager Pawel Morski (pseudonym) believes the EU is recognising it is moving towards a new regime of bailing in banks. For a non-template, he points out, the Cyprus solution drops some cracking clues as to Brussels’ priorities.
By Inigo Arzac, Business Development Director for Latin America and Spain for Globalscape Software | The Basques offer us an ancient example that provides lessons for today that should be studied and remembered.
BARCELONA | The Catalan clothing company Mango posted a €1.69 billion turnover for last year and plans expansion in Europe and Latin America.
MADRID | As a consequence of the current crisis, small players cannot be available everywhere and many distributors prefer well-known names because it is easier to pick up a strong brand recognised by investors.
MADRID | Enterprise will now be integrated into the UK Ferrovial Services’ subsidiary, Amey, creating one of the most diverse companies in the sector.
By David Denton | The Richter Scale | The UK QE has merely allowed the banks to off load UK government debt and replace this with other government debt, helping to keep bond prices high but having no impact on the real economy, other than to keep interest rates artificially low.
LISBON | The Portuguese Constitutional Court’s rejection of some proposed austerity measures is the latest setback for Portugal’s government. However, this is an opportunity truly to reform the state and end the current impasse.