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Articles by The Corner

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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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Spanish economy 21st January 2012

Weekend long read: Spain’s finance and economy ministers open their portfolios to Wall Street and Frankfurt

By Ana Fuentes in New York, and Julia Pastor in Madrid | Right before the three crucial meetings (Eurogroup, Ecofin and European Council) that will take place in the next 10 days, the Spanish government is deploying its best arguments in order to regain markets’ trust. Rajoy’s economic team, the Finance minister Luis de Guindos (left) as well as Cristóbal Montoro, minister of the Treasury, appear in the weekend edition of…

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Companies 20th January 2012

Bankinter’s results are so much better than expected, even competitors are surprised

By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Bankinter, with €59bn in assets, is the smallest of the Spanish listed banks but it has surprised everyone with its brilliant results. Net profit at the end of 2011 amounted to €181.2mn with an improvement of 20% compared to 2010. The gross margin was of €1,104.48mn, an increase of 0.20% year on year. Its income before provisions grew by more than 2.9% compared to…

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Companies 20th January 2012

Manchester gets the Meliá treatment

LONDON | CEO and Vice Chairman of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer signed an agreement for what will become the third hotel for the Majorca-based company in the UK: the Innside Manchester Hotel. Meliá Hotels International is the world’s largest resort hotel company and the largest hotel chain in Spain, and is third in the European ranking. The deal confirms its interest in the UK, “one of the most important markets…

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Markets 19th January 2012

A 68% haircut for Greece’s bonds? And the CDS?

By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | The markets are looking very closely at Greece after the negotiations for the bailout froze due to issues involving the private sector participation. The press is now speculating over a possible 68% haircut to bear by creditors as reported in the Financial Times on Wednesday. As Nordkapp analysts explain this is the road toward a deleveraging frame “upon which the solutions to the European…

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Interviews 19th January 2012

“Euro recession in 2012 is inevitable, but euro breakup isn’t”

It provides trade credit insurance, surety and collections services, and has a presence through 160 offices in 42 countries. Atradius has access to credit information on 60 million companies worldwide and says that the consequences of a breakup of the Eurozone would be highly damaging for a country that leaves the euro as well for those that remain within the currency union. A breakup should therefore be perceived as highly…

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Markets 19th January 2012

Spanish debt challenges the agencies’s ‘implicit’ ratings

By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | The rating agencies never rest, much less when they talk about those countries suffering the most. Specifically, Fitch and S&P have been looking at Spain. The first has warned that it will probably downgrade Spain’s solvency rating by one or two notches by the end of January. According to Fitch, and even though its analysts admit the good will of the new government’s fiscal…