A curated selection of links we hope can enlighten us all; some come from our corner, some do from other corners of the net. And as always, our comment widgets are anxious to get your suggestions. Eurocrats, get your financial bazookas right now Markets are fast, but democracies slow –solving the euro crisis How investors can thrive as the eur ipad manual o zone burns Angela Merkel is drawing the…
By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | Merkel, Hollande, Monti and Rajoy. Four names for another crucial meeting in the euro zone, the one held today at Rome to smooth the path of next June 28-29 Summit. Christine Lagarde will not participate in this conversation but her name will surely loom large in the four European leaders’ minds. The International Monetary Fund’s managing director is raising the pressure for the European…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | The results of those independent audits over the Spanish banking sector have come to be summarised in one line, that banks would need up to €62 billion if the economy took a turn for the worst. Now, the published opinion in the country is terribly divided, as it was expected between the optimists and pessimists. To some extent, we cannot exactly be hopeful. There…
MADRID | Abertis said on Monday it had agreed to sell 7% of Eutelsat to China Investment Corporation (CIC) for €385.2 million. The transaction, which generated net capital gains of €237 million, follows Abertis’ January sale of 16% of Eutelsat in a private placement among qualified investors. Abertis will remain a Eutelsat shareholder, with a stake of 8.35%. In compliance with the terms agreed by Abertis in the recent placement of a 16% stake in…
MADRID | As reported on Thursday by El Confidencial, Carlos Dívar, the president of the Spanish Supreme court and the Judicial Council (CGPJ) announced that he will step down from the two positions following criticism over about 30 trips to Marbella and other luxury resorts paid with public funds to a value of about €28,000. Dívar’s decision to resign, which he announced to the members of the council in a plenary…
By CaixaBank research team, in Barcelona | As was expected, Italy saw a considerable drop in its GDP in the first quarter, namely 0.8%, higher than the one recorded in the last two quarters. This suggests that the recession is biting deeper and shows just how deep. The year-on-year rate of change in GDP therefore fell to -1.3%. This contraction in the level of the activity can be explained by…
MADRID | Estimates from consultants Oliver Wyman and Roland Berger show Spanish banks would need capital up to a maximum figure of €62 billion to offset a stressed scenario. The results of the €2-million independent evaluation of the sector were reported in a joint press conference by the deputy governor of the Bank of Spain Fernando Restoy, and secretary of State for more the Economy Fernando Jiménez Latorre. These sums derived…
By Álvaro Mohorte, in Valencia | www.valenciaplaza.com | Spanish banks have had enough of bricks and mortar, and urgently need to sell properties. Up until now, prices of many of the properties coming from developers as well as individuals have been kept over the market’s in order to protect the entitities’ balances, but requirements of further provisions have forced a strategy change. The goal is to get rid of thousands of flats, apartments…
BEIJING | China is very good at persuading the international community. Current Chinese leaders had a great master: the strategist Sun Tzu who left a legacy on the art of seducing and wining. No matter what kind of cooperation Beijing has in mind, their main aim is to ensure that a win-win resolution is reached. Cooperating at the expenses of loosing some advantages is not an option. Therefore, one should not…
LONDON | Unlike the rest of planet? London businesses are more optimistic than six months ago about the prospects for the economy and for their own companies. The CBI/KPMG London Business Survey is conducted twice a year to monitor the views of business on London as a place to do business. Encouragingly in the latest survey of 264 companies, 41% of respondents say they feel more optimistic about the economy during the…