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.
madrid property bubble 1

In Spain, Spanish economy 10th March 2023

Spanish house prices fall -0.8% in 4Q22, first drop since 4Q20

Bankinter | House Prices fall -0.8% in Q4 (quarter-on-quarter) vs. +1.7% previously. It is second-hand housing that has suffered the most in this quarter (-1.4 q/q), while new housing continues to increase prices (+1.9% quarter-on-quarter). In year-on-year terms, prices have slackened to +5.5% in 4Q 2022 (year-on-year) vs +7.6% in the previous quarter. Analysis team’s view: This is the first quarter that prices have fallen in Spain since 4Q20 (a…

VIdrala

Spanish economy 10th March 2023

Vidrala to join Stoxx Europe 600 on March 20

Bankinter | On 20 March Vidrala (VID) will join the Stoxx Europe 600, according to the changes announced on March 1. The glass packaging company has a market capitalisation of €3,020m and accumulated a 22.3% revaluation in the year. 2022 results showed sales of €1,345.6m (+24.1% YoY), while EBITDA amounted to €270.4m (+1% year-on-year) and EPS 4.97% (+6.9% year-on-year). Net financial debt amounted to €167.2m and although it increased by…

Haruhiko Kuroda

World economy 10th March 2023

Kuroda’s farewell

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) early this morning left its key short-term interest rates unchanged at -0.1% and its 10-year bond yields near 0% by a unanimous vote at its March meeting. The central bank also made no tweaks to its yield control curve, which includes a 0.5% cap on bond purchases, tempering views that monetary policy side effects need to be addressed soon. Meanwhile, BoJ board members signalled their…

Madrid Gran Via2

Spanish economy, Spanish Politics 10th March 2023

Spain has lowest absorption rate of EU funds (54%)

Scope Rating | Slow take-up of approved EU funds could also jeopardise future EU disbursements, as these will increasingly depend on governments’ ability to deliver on investment projects (mostly ‘targets’) rather than implement reforms (mostly ‘milestones’). Indeed, the low disbursement of EU funds received to date is common among some of the largest beneficiaries of EU recovery funds, such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Croatia, given the energy crisis, rising…

adidas kanye west

Companies, In the World 10th March 2023

Breaking with rapper Kanye West and drop in Chinese sales cause Adidas to lose €724M in 4Q22

Norbolsa : The company publishes pre-announced results. It registers an operating loss in Q4 of €724M due to the effect of breaking the agreement with the rapper Kanye West and with sales in China falling by 50% in the quarter. Gross margin was 39.1%, affected by higher supply costs and higher discounts. It estimates an operating loss of €700m in 2023 due to inventory provisions and extraordinary costs. It considers…

Spain industrial production

Relevant News Item 9th March 2023

Spain’s industrial output contracts in January, confirming weakness in sector

Tuesday’s session had few major macroeconomic releases. In Spain, industrial production in January contracted and confirms the weakness of the sector. Industrial sector activity fell by -0.9% on a monthly basis, which means that in year-on-year terms industrial production fell by -0.4% compared to +0.7% in the previous month. This negative figure confirms that the rise in production costs and the lower demand continue to punish the industrial sector.

gas natural almacenamiento

European economy 9th March 2023

Gas prices plummet following mild weather conditions

Caixabank Research | Natural gas prices have decreased almost 45% since the beginning of the year, but the outlook remains challenging. The warm start of the year alongside the uptick in LNG imports in Europe since Q4-22, have left European natural gas storages at historical maximums at the end of February (60% vs 40% last 5-year February average). Looking ahead, we have revised prices down for 2023 (to €113/MWh average…

caixabank2

Spanish economy 9th March 2023

Caixabank obtains banking licence in Italy and opens branch in Milan

Link Securities | Caixabank (CABK) has obtained a banking licence in Italy and has opened a branch in the country, located in Milan, with which the entity strengthens its international banking business, according to the Efe agency. The bank now has seven branches operating worldwide, located in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Morocco.The banking licence in Italy will allow the bank to offer multiple financial and…

Curve

World economy 9th March 2023

Market sees recession: 2/10 year US bond curve inverted by more than one percentage point for first time in 40 years

Ana Racionero (Intermoney) | A Fed rate hike to 6%, a level whose risks have long been hedged in the options market, is starting to look less and less far-fetched. Powell’s appearance before the Senate yesterday unleashed a tsunami that sent bonds on both sides of the Atlantic tumbling, causing traders to recalibrate rate levels. The swap market raised the interest rate for the Fed’s September meeting to 5.60% and,…

LNG regasification ship

Spanish economy 9th March 2023

Russian gas imports are 19.2% of total, compared with just 5.8% a year ago

Imports of natural gas from Russia soared by 192.5% in January, from 2,178 gigawatt hours (GWh) to 6,372 GWh. This sharp rise has meant that Russian imports have gone from representing 5.8% of total imports in January a year ago to 19.2%, making Russia the fourth largest supplier of natural gas to Spain after Algeria, the United States and Nigeria, although much of this gas is destined for other countries….