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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.
telefonica logo nuevo

Spanish economy 27th January 2025

STC now controls 9.97% of Telefónica and requests a seat on its Board of Directors

The Saudi group STC is now the owner of 9.97% of Telefónica’s share capital and will engage in discussions with the operator to obtain a seat on the Board of Directors, according to a communication sent by its investment vehicle Luxco to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The STC group, which previously held 4.9% of Telefónica directly, received authorization from the Spanish government last November to control up…

Employment November

In Spain 27th January 2025

Minimum cost of hiring workers in Spain rises 62% since 2018

The government plans to finalize this week the increase in the minimum wage for 2025, with no signs of reaching an agreement on a figure with employers in the last meeting, having rejected the business offer to raise it by 3% as they deemed it “insufficient.” All indications suggest that the Ministry of Labor, led by Yolanda Díaz, will implement a 4.4% increase according to the highest recommendation from experts…

Ferrovial construcción

In the World 25th January 2025

Ferrovial warns of risks of uncertainty of Donald Trump’s government for business in US

Link Securities | The Spanish construction company, in a prospectus sent to investors in a €500-million bond issue, warns that politics in the US remains highly polarised and there is uncertainty about potential changes in federal, state and local regulation, which could increase the risks to its activity in the country, the newspaper Expansión highlights in its edition today. Likewise, Ferrovial also pointed out that diplomatic tension and social unrest…

grifols blood bags

In Spain 25th January 2025

Grifols brothers linked to investigation by CNMV into accusations by bearish fund Gotham City Research

Link Securities | Judge José Luis Calama of the National Court, who is investigating the Grifols case, has asked the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) to send him a document supporting Gotham’s accusations, arguing that the Catalan pharmaceutical company omitted relevant data in its accounts and provided the market with inaccurate information, as reported yesterday by the digital newspaper ElConfidencial.com. The regulator’s report, which analyses the accusations of the bear…

telefonica logo nuevo

Spanish economy 25th January 2025

Telefónica completes elimination of Huawei technology from 5G core in Spain by awarding this to Nokia

Norbolsa | Telefónica España has awarded the second phase of the replacement of the core of its 5G network to the Finnish company Nokia. With this award, and after awarding another part to Ericsson in 2021, it has completed the elimination of Huawei technology from its 5G core. This change is part of a strategy of supplier diversification, as well as the withdrawal of Chinese technology. The core network is…

BanqueFrance

In Europe 25th January 2025

Bank of France says country needs to save €15-20 billion a year to bring deficit down to 3% by 2029

Banca March | The governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy, confirms that the plan to reduce the deficit to 5.4% this year is going in the right direction. Last week the new French prime minister set the deficit target for 2025 at 5.4%, compared to the 5% set by his predecessor. Villeroy had previously warned of the need to reduce the fiscal imbalance to below 5.5% and bring…

Acciona

In Europe 24th January 2025

Acciona to build 87-km motorway in Poland for €71.3 million

Intermoney | Acciona (Buy, PO €185) announced yesterday, while the market was open, that it had been awarded, through its Polish subsidiary to Mostostal Warszawa, the 7.94 km section between Niemcza and Ząbkowice Śląskie. This section forms part of the S8 motorway between Wrocław and Kłodzko, which runs for 87 km along the western fringe of the country. The contract is worth PLN305.7 million (€71.3 million). The Group has been…

Aena

Spanish economy 24th January 2025

Ryanair calls on Aena to sell ‘failed’ regional airports

Link Securities | The cross accusations between Ryanair and Aena (AENA) continue, after the Irish airline took the decision to eliminate routes in Spain due to ‘excessive fees and the lack of effectiveness of incentive plans’ by the airport manager, as reported on Tuesday by Bolsamanía.com. Now, the airline is going one step further and is asking Aena to sell its regional airports. ‘Minister Puente has two options: he can…

spain tourism

In Spain 24th January 2025

Spain breaks new record by surpassing 100 million international air passenger arrivals

Link Securities | According to data published by Turespaña, in December 2024 the good trend of previous months continued, and passengers from international airports amounted to 7.2 million, 8.6% more than in December a year ago, Of the total of more than 100 million passengers, 86.1% came from Europe, followed by the Americas, with a share of 8.9%. Asia was the geographical area of origin with the highest year-on-year growth…

Repsol nueva

In Europe 23rd January 2025

Repsol and Italian EVO Auto to jointly promote use of LPG as alternative and ecological fuel

Link Securities | The Spanish company and EVO Auto, the car brand of the Italian group DR Automobiles, have signed a framework collaboration agreement in Spain to promote the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), as reported by both companies through a joint statement, Expansión reported yesterday. Thanks to this alliance, Repsol and EVO Auto are committed to promote the use of LPG as an alternative and environmentally friendly fuel,…