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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.
ECB night

European economy, In Europe 8th February 2023

ECB more hawkish: risk of over-tightening seems overshadowed by risk of doing too little

On Monday we once again had statements from ECB council members after last week’s appearances following last week’s meeting. There are few novelties, except for the reaffirmation of similar broad movements for March. According to Committee member Robert Holzmann, inflation must be actively combatted until the citizens of the Eurozone feel that price stability is part of their daily lives. Holzmann did make an interesting point in explaining that the…

LNG regasification ship

Spanish economy, Spanish Politics 8th February 2023

Spanish imports of Russian gas up 54% in 2022

Natural gas imports from Algeria to Spain plummeted by 40% in 2022, with Algeria falling to second place among suppliers and representing 23.9% of Spain’s total. These figures, according to sources in the sector, will continue to fall during this year, 2023, as “orders placed during the first months of 2022 for natural gas, before relations between Moncloa and Algiers broke down, have yet to be deducted”. And if this…

repsolatardecer

Companies, Ibex, Spanish economy 8th February 2023

Repsol continues to accelerate growth of self-consumption business through Solmatch

Renta 4| Repsol (REP), through Solmatch, has more than 350 installations in Spain. Solmatch is a sustainable energy service focused on distributed or decentralised generation in Spain that was launched by the company in 2020. Repsol has agreements to develop solar communities (collective self-consumption). One of these agreements is with the Lasalle Schools, where the entities have committed to developing a total of 29 self-consumption parks in different schools located…

germany factory workers

European economy 7th February 2023

German industrial production falls by -3.9% year-on-year in December vs. -1.6% estimate and -0.5% previously

Banca March : There was a mixed bias in the German activity data released yesterday. On the one hand, factory orders grew by 3.2% month-on-month in December, accelerating the growth trend -the highest recorded by the indicator in thirteen months- and beating forecasts. The series is down, however, on a year-on-year basis (-10.1%), reflecting lower activity after the start of the war. In contrast, this morning we have learned about…

china sculpture dragon house sky clouds

World economy 7th February 2023

The positive spillover of China’s revenge outbound tourism

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | The grand comeback in Asia is taking shape, but there is one missing piece. Although China, the world’s largest international travel spender, is still on its recovery path, it will eventually return to global prominence. Before the COVID pandemic, Chinese tourists had become an integral part of the global tourism sector with their spending share rising from 8% in 2010 to 16% in 2019. The…

Renfe CAF

Spanish economy, Spanish Politics 7th February 2023

New commuter trains for northern Spain too big for tunnels

Renfe is delaying by up to three years the construction of 31 commuter trains for 258 million euros, to be used on ‘Cercanías’ lines mainly in Cantabria, but also in Asturias, Euskadi, Galicia, Castilla y León and Murcia. The thirty or so trains that Renfe promised in 2020 will be delayed by at least three years due to a miscalculation in the dimensions of the convoys, which means that they…

US jobs

World economy 6th February 2023

US labour market strength (unemployment 3.4%) hinders Fed’s roadmap

Bankinter: Non-agricultural job creation (January) reaches 517K vs 188K estimated and 223K previous. The unemployment rate stands at 3.4% vs. 3.6% estimated and 3.5% previous. Wages increase +4.4% vs. +4.6% previously (+4.3% estimated). Analysis: The data reflect the strength of the labour market, but may hinder the Fed’s roadmap. The future evolution of interest rates depends, to a large extent, on the evolution of inflationary pressures, including those coming from…

germany growth

European economy 6th February 2023

German factory orders rise more than expected in December, easing recession fears

CoM | German factory orders last December registered a 3.2% increase over the previous month, when they fell by 4.4%, thus surpassing market consensus expectations and removing fears that the “European locomotive” will enter recession this winter. According to data released by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), German factory orders experienced a 10.1% decline compared with December 2021, although they were 1.2% above the level recorded in December 2019, before…

Spanish public debt

Spanish economy 6th February 2023

Mutual funds in Spain last 15 years: from +334% for Caixabank Multisalud to -71% for BBVA Megatendencia Demographia

Pablo Fernández | The average return of mutual funds in Spain over the last 15 years (1.1% p.a.) was lower than the investment in 15-year Spanish government bonds (4.4% p.a.). The average return of the IBEX 35 was 0.5% p.a., that of the Eurostoxx 50 was 2.8% p.a. and that of the S&P was 8.8% p.a. Some 31 funds out of the 580 with a 15-year history outperformed 15-year government…

green new deal

European economy, European politics, Relevant News Item 4th February 2023

EU seeks to emulate one of IRA’s advantages, simplicity of access, by streamlining green investment tax credits

Banco Sabadell: According to press reports, the EU plans to respond to the US $369 billion (€340 billion) Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by relaxing state aid rules on tax credits for green investments. A portion of the €800 billion NGEU fund could also be directed towards tax credits. By relaxing restrictions on tax credits, the EC seeks to emulate one of the advantages of the IRA, simplicity of access. The…