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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.
Spains productivity

Spanish economy 19th January 2024

Productivity in Spain falls by 7.3% in 20 years, after rising by 2.8% after Covid

Between 2000 and 2022, Spain accumulated a reduction in productivity of 7.3%. The fall is even more surprising when compared with other countries such as the United States and Germany, where in the same period this indicator rose by 15.5% and 11.8%, respectively. The accumulated fall is evidence of “a deficient use of the resources used” and places Spain at a “disadvantage” compared to the productivity of other countries. “A…

Heathrow Ferrovial 777x400 1

European economy 19th January 2024

Heathrow shareholders exercise right of first refusal and complicate sale of Ferrovial’s 25% stake in Heathrow

Bankinter| Some Heathrow shareholders have exercised their right of first refusal. The sale of the 25% stake held by Ferrovial has run into difficulties. Some Heathrow shareholders have exercised their right of first refusal on 35% of the capital. They are Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (12.62%), the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC (11.2%) and Australian Retirement Trust (11.18%). Although the agreement to sell the 25% stake held…

Tourism

Spanish economy 18th January 2024

Tourism sector increases contribution to Spain’s GDP to record high of 12.8% and emerges as main engine of growth

Banca March: In the absence of data from the INE (National Statistics Institute), Exceltur has published its outlook for tourism: compared to an average contribution to GDP of 11.9% between 2015-2019 and after registering highs of 12.8% in 2023, in 2024 the employers’ association expects these levels to be exceeded, reaching values of 13.4%. It is also estimated that tourism was the main contributor to the growth of the Spanish…

Grifols

Spanish economy 18th January 2024

ECB reportedly asks some European banks to detail credit exposure to Grifols: Santander, BBVA and Caixabank in Spain

Alphavalue /Divacons| According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, the ECB has reportedly asked some European banks to detail their credit exposure to the Catalan blood products company. Grifols had a net financial debt of €9.5 billion, according to data published in September, with a maturity of €1.8 billion in 2024. According to LSEG data, banks with credit exposure to Grifols in our coverage include BNP Paribas, Santander,…

OPEC post mortem

World economy 18th January 2024

OPEC maintains its 2024 demand growth estimate of 2.2 mbd to 104.4 mbd on strong air travel demand and healthy road mobility

Link Securities | According to OPEC’s monthly report, global oil demand will grow by 2.2 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2024, which means that the cartel’s analysts have maintained their estimates from the previous month unchanged. Thus, demand for crude oil will reach 104.4 mbd in 2024. In that year, according to OPEC, demand will be driven by strong demand for air travel and healthy road mobility, including diesel…

Lai Ching te

In the World 18th January 2024

Taiwan’s elections: key takeaways for the European Union

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | On 13 January, Taiwan showed the world the vibrant nature of its democracy. Over 70% of people turned out to vote for the next President of Taiwan and the country’s legislative body, the Yuan. Lai Ching-te, leader of the liberal Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won the presidential election. However, his party which was in government for eight years, did not secure enough votes to control…

Sanchez

Spanish economy 18th January 2024

Spanish public debt rises to €1.58 trillion, €68,751 million more per year

The Bank of Spain (BdE) reported yesterday that the debt of Spanish public administrations as a whole increased by 0.2% in November compared to October, to €1.58 trillion. In year-on-year terms, debt increased by 4.6% in November, equivalent to €68.751 billion. In November, central government debt amounted to €1.41 trillion, an increase in the month of 0.35%. In addition, the debt of the autonomous communities grew by 0.26% to €324,456…

BCE noche

European economy 17th January 2024

Some ECB Council members indicate inflation projections could be revised downwards

BancaMarch: Members of the ECB Council expect the new inflation projections published next March to be revised downwards. The current December forecasts foresee 2.7% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025, without breaching the 2% red line until 2026 with expected inflation of 1.9%. However, the ECB indicates that these data could be more favourable, reaching the target level as early as 2025. While this is good news, the monetary authority…

china precios 2 1

World economy 17th January 2024

China’s 5.2% growth disappoints, population shrinks for second year running

Bankinter : China: poor growth and adverse demographics – GDP 4Q 2023 was 5.2% rather than the 5.3% expected and the 4.9% previous. Retail Sales in December were up 7.4% against the 8.0% expected while Industrial Production was up 6.8% against the 6.6% expected and previous. Analysis: GDP over 2023 has been +5.2%., which is slightly below market expectations, although above the government’s formal target of +5.0%. The weakest indicators…

Ferrovial

Relevant News Item 17th January 2024

Spanish airport traffic grows 16.2% in 2023 to 283.2 million passengers, exceeding 2019 traffic by 2.9%

Renta 4 | Passenger traffic figures for 2023 have shown an excellent performance, mainly in the last quarter of the year, when they have comfortably exceeded the figures reached before the pandemic. The rest of the year the figures were slightly above 2019 (the exception was June where they were slightly below the pre-pandemic traffic). Overall, there was a growth of +16.2% compared to 2022, reaching a 2.9% higher traffic…