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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.
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Markets 9th May 2012

How easy is for hedge funds to destabilise financial markets in Spain

By Carlos Díaz Guell, in Madrid | Spain, its public debt as much as its equity markets remain a paradise for investors on short positions who bet demand will go down, while investors interested in the long term just abandon the country because of the lack of reasonable expectations. They are not necessarily evil speculators but simply professionals representing many investors who seek higher returns to their capital and now Spain…

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Markets 9th May 2012

First exchange traded funds to provide targeted exposure on euro debt

LONDON | The exchange traded funds or ETF platform of global investment company BlackRock on Wednesday announced the launch of eight funds that will provide targeted exposure to the sovereign debt of eight euro zone countries. The launch pushes on the expansion of iShares’ fixed income range to meet growing interest in fixed income ETFs, and to satisfy demand for more specific exposures within the asset class, iShares said. iShares…

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Companies 8th May 2012

Spain’s construction company ACS records €207 million profit in 1Q 2012

MADRID | Grupo ACS said Tuesday that the company recorded a net profit in the first quarter of 2012 of €207 million. The Spanish firm published its consolidated results today, showing that net sales of ACS in the first quarter of 2012 totaled €9,035 million, 144.8% more than last year. Growth in comparable terms, also considering the sales of Hochtief in the first quarter of 2011, accounted for a 4.9%. ACS…

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Companies 8th May 2012

FCC-led joint venture to be awarded €498-million contract in Los Angeles

MADRID | The joint venture team headed by FCC Construction, Shimmick Construction Company and Impregilo won the bid for the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project design-build contract, Port of Long Beach and Caltrans officials announced. Major participants in the proposal included Arup North America  and Biggs Cardosa Associates. A decision by the Port’s Board of Harbor Commissioners on the actual award of the contract is expected in late June, with construction kickoff…

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Markets 8th May 2012

Foreign private equity funds feed on Spain’s real estate crisis

MADRID | The severe crisis in Europe and especially in Spain, Italy and Portugal has attracted some of the main actors of the private equity scene. According to Capital Madrid, one of the biggest firms in the sector, Apax Partners, has put its focus on the financial assets accumulated by the Spanish banks and that will shortly be going out for sale. Indeed, the difficult time many Spanish banks go through…

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World economy 8th May 2012

Growth in salary costs in the US not what it looks like

MADRID | Employment creation figures in the US disappointed Wall Street expectations for April, with 115,000 versus 165,000 and a fall of the jobless rate of 0.1 percent to 8.1 percent. Afi analysts in Madrid checked deeper into the subject and concluded in an investor’s note that income per working hour and working hours per week have both been flat, so growth recorded in salary costs was the consequence of…

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In Europe 7th May 2012

Comparing pension systems in Spain, Germany: getting closer

MADRID | The reform of the pension system in Spain is planned to help to improve the outlook for sustainability of the system by reducing pension expenditure as a share of GDP. It should weigh in towards reducing the public deficit, too. At BBVA, analysts have drawn some basic comparisons between the Spanish and the German pension systems. “Given uncertainties about employment, productivity and demographics, it is appropriate for the…

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Companies 7th May 2012

Disney goes more Spanish via Repsol

MADRID | Repsol reached an agreement with Disney Spain which will see the entertainment multinational sell its products in the Spanish oil company’s shops through its network of service stations. Following an initial test in 62 stores, Repsol and Disney decided to extend their partnership to a further 770 shops. A Disney Area has been created in shops, which is a specific area for products with pictures of Disney characters and…

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World economy 7th May 2012

Euro area’s hopeful graph: retail trade up

In March 2012 compared with February 2012, the volume of retail trade rose by 0.3% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU. In February, retail trade fell by 0.2% and 0.5% respectively. In March 2012, compared with March 2011, the retail sales index dropped by 0.2% in the euro area, but grew by 1.0% in the EU. These first estimates came from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In March…

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aggregation line 5th May 2012

Weekend link fest

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. Facebook? That was something for my father Will we miss Sarko? Neither religion, nor philosophy: physics, I tell you Germany doesn’t show any respect The euro, that sentiment Hollande is a menace for you, too…