Top Stories

Articles by The Corner

About the Author

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.
red electrica cableado

In Europe 18th October 2023

European agreement on electricity market leaves essentials untouched: gas to continue to set prices with same marginalist system

There are no major surprises with the agreement reached yesterday by the EU energy ministers on the reform of the common electricity market. It follows in the wake of the European Commission’s proposal, with hardly any changes, maintaining the marginalist system and leaving gas to move prices according to the vagaries of the international context. The ministers have broken the months-long stalemate between France and Germany over disagreements on the…

ntermoney | El Gobierno italiano ha decidido no oponerse a la OPA lanzada por los Benetton y Blackstone sobre la concesionaria Atlantia, según informa el diario Cinco Días; en teoría, el ejecutivo transalpino podía haber invocado poderes especiales que mantiene sobre Atlantia y otros sectores estratégicos, algo que ha renunciado a hacer. La oferta tiene un precio de 23 euros en efectivo, lo que valora la concesionaria en unos 19.000 millones de euros. Los Benetton, a través de su vehículo Edizione, ya poseen más de un 30% del accionariado originalmente. Atlantia posee un 15% de Hochtief, de la que ACS (Comprar, Precio Objetivo 40 euros) mantiene un 53%; la concesionaría consolida globalmente Abertis, al detentar un 50% del capital, mientras que ACS mantiene el resto, del que un 20% lo hace a través de la propia Hochtief. Valoración: Esta noticia no es ninguna sorpresa, pues nos parecía que, claramente, los Benetton nunca hubiesen lanzado la OPA sin, al menos, una autorización siquiera tácita del Gobierno italiano. Pensamos que la operación tendrá éxito, por lo que hay que pensar en los pasos siguientes de la relación entre Atlantia y ACS. Creemos que uno de los acuerdos ine

In the World 18th October 2023

Abertis wins four toll roads in Puerto Rico for $2.85 billion

Abertis has been chosen by the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority for the contract to rehabilitate, maintain and operate four free-flow toll roads. The ACS and Mundys-owned company’s bid has reached $2.85 billion (almost €2.691 billion at the current exchange rate) for the four highways: PR-52, between San Juan and Ponce, PR-53, between Humacao and Fajardo, PR-66, between Carolina and Río Grande, and PR 20, between San Juan and Guaynabo….

Alemania Exportaciones

In Europe 18th October 2023

Eurozone generates €6.7 billion trade surplus in August compared with €54.4 billion deficit in same month last year

Link Securities | According to Eurostat yesterday, the Eurozone generated a trade surplus of €6.7 billion in August compared to a deficit of €54.4 billion in the same month last year. In August, imports in the euro zone fell by 24.6% to €214.9 billion, while exports fell by 3.9% to €221.6 billion. Between January and August (8M2023) the Eurozone’s trade surplus was €8.1 billion, compared to a deficit of €242.9…

Antonio Costa Pedro Sanchez

In Spain 18th October 2023

“Portugal is growing in investment three times faster than Spain, and they are left-wing”

“The history of Spain is always associated with public debt crises. You can always stumble over the same stone, but you should not fall in love with it”, says economist José Carlos Díez – always identified as a “progressive” economist – at the end of a talk with Lorenzo Bernaldo de Quirós, always identified as a liberal economist. At the end of the talk, Bernaldo de Quirós asked Díez what…

poor

In Europe 17th October 2023

Germany calls for EU-wide “Universal Basic Income” to be approved

The German Permanent Secretary of State for Labour and Social Affairs, Rolf Schmachtenberg, yesterday called for the EU-27 to pool their social protection policy, in order to improve its reception and cover the shortcomings of the European labour market. And the representatives of Spain and Belgium (which will hold the next rotating presidency of the EU) showed their support for the idea. Spain, Germany, Belgium and the EU are committed…

RBI

In the World 17th October 2023

Indian assets shine even as higher rates and geopolitics rattle global risk assets thanks to investors’ appetite for portfolio investment

Trinh Nguyen (Emerging Asia, Natixis) | Once known for its fragility, India stands tall as not only for its best economic growth in Asia in H1 2023 but also robust asset performance year-to-date, from equity to fixed income. The resilience of its economy and financial markets, amidst the global sell-off from markets’ indigestion of the Fed’s “higher-for-longer” reflects not just India’s economic fundamentals and external balance resilience but also investors’…

aena airport

Spanish economy 17th October 2023

Aena passenger traffic to September remains above pre-pandemic levels

Intermoney | Aena (AENA) (Hold, Target Price €150/share) released last Friday, with the market open, the Spanish passenger traffic data for September. Some 27.5 million passengers transited through Aena’s airports last month, +1.5% above 2019 levels. The dichotomy was again observed between Madrid and Barcelona on the one hand, which remain below pre-pandemic levels, -3% and -10%, respectively, and the rest, which exceed this threshold, highlighting Valencia (+20%) and Malaga…

nadia calviño 2

In Spain, Spanish economy 17th October 2023

Government’s 2024 Budget Plan improves this year’s forecast by 3/10 of a percentage point, but cuts next year’s by 4/10

CdM| The government has updated its macroeconomic picture for the next two years, and now expects the Spanish economy to grow by 2.4% this year – compared to the 2.1% estimated in spring – and by 2% the following year – compared to the 2.4% first estimated. This is included in the 2024 Budget Plan that the Executive sent yesterday to the European Commission, which stresses that the Spanish economy…

inflationCM copia

In Spain 16th October 2023

Inflation in Spain up almost one point to 3.5%, core inflation at 5.8%

The National Statistics Institute (INE) published on Friday that, according to the final estimate of the data, the consumer price index (CPI) rose in September by 0.2% compared to August. In year-on-year terms, the CPI rose by 3.5% in September (2.6% in August). In the month and in year-on-year terms, the groups that most pushed up inflation were Housing, which increased its variation by almost five points, to -13.1%, mainly…

alemania industria2

In Europe 15th October 2023

Aggregate industrial production in Germany falls -0.2% in August and -2% year-on-year, fourth consecutive decline

Banca March: Weakness in German manufacturing sector continues in August. This is the fourth consecutive month of declines in industrial production in the face of high energy prices, weak global demand and worsening financial conditions. Aggregate production is down -0.2% in the month and -2% on a year-on-year basis. The main drag is energy production and the construction sector, with monthly declines of -6.6% and -2.4% respectively.