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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.
FCC2

Companies, Spanish economy 1st March 2023

FCC initiates contacts to refinance Environment subsidiary bond for €600 million

Link Securities | FCC (FCC) has initiated contacts with financial institutions and investors to refinance the bond of its Environment subsidiary for an amount of 600 million euros that matures next December, as reported on Monday by the newspaper elEconomista. The construction and services group is exploring different alternatives given the current market circumstances, with the rise in interest rates as the main conditioning factor. The first option is to…

Hong Kong

In the World, World economy 1st March 2023

Hong Kong’s new budget bets on growth to reduce ballooned fiscal deficit

Alicia García Herrero (Natixis) | Hong Kong has experienced three years of recession within the last four. The ripple effect is painful with a persistent fiscal deficit. The recent budget does not change the trend as the fiscal account (excluding bond issuance) will remain in deficit at 3.9% of GDP in FY 23/24, despite an improvement from -7.3% of GDP in FY 22/23. Hong Kong’s fiscal reserves also depleted from…

Ferrovial

In Spain, Spanish economy, Spanish Politics 1st March 2023

Podemos effect drives Ferrovial out of Spain

Ferrovial, the large Spanish construction company owned by the Del Pino family, one of the 35 companies that make up the Ibex 35, is moving to the Netherlands and the Spanish press is talking in its editorials about “Unrest in the government over Ferrovial’s flight to the Netherlands” (Vozpópuli), “The possible domino effect of Ferrovial” (El Economista) and “The Podemos effect pushes Ferrovial out of Spain” (El Español)…. Given that…

Vocento

Companies, Spanish economy 1st March 2023

Vocento to pay interim dividend of €0.046 gross per share for 2022 financial year

Link Securities | The Board of Directors of Vocento, at its meeting on 27 February 2023, has resolved to propose to the General Meeting of Shareholders that an ordinary dividend be paid out of the profit for 2022, in the amount of €5,500,000, at a rate of approximately €0.046 gross per share for each VOC share, from which the applicable withholding tax will be deducted. The amount per share will…

Ferrovial2

Spanish economy, Spanish Politics 28th February 2023

Ferrovial moves to the Netherlands and becomes “Societas Europaea”.

CdM | The Board of Directors of Ferrovial has approved a proposal to the General Meeting to merge the parent company of the Ferrovial, S.A. group with its subsidiary Ferrovial International SE by absorption of the former by the latter. As a result, the head of the group will become a European public limited company (“Societas Europaea”) with its registered office in the Netherlands. At the same meeting, the Board…

450px Frankfurt European Central Bank with Euro 2

Relevant News Item 28th February 2023

ECB in difficult position: facing both uncomfortably high price levels and deterioration in the cycle.

Renta 4 : A flat European opening, in a session in which around 25 of our companies in coverage will publish 4Q22 results and where the macroeconomic focus will be on the first inflation data for February in Europe. On the Japanese side, consumption in January was good (retail sales +1.9% vs +0.4%e and +1.1% previously) but manufacturing was weak (industrial production -4.6% vs -2.9%e and +0.3% previously). Today we…

inflation arreglo

Spanish economy 28th February 2023

Spain: inflation up to 6.1% in February, core inflation at 40-year high of 7.7%

In Spain, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1% in February compared to the previous month and raised its year-on-year rate by two tenths of a percentage point to 6.1%, due to higher energy and food prices, according to advanced data published on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). With the rise recorded in the second month of 2023, inflation has risen for two consecutive months in its…

ECB night

European economy 28th February 2023

QT begins: €15 billion a month of APP reinvestment ceases

Goodbye to primary market frontloading. The window for issuance before the start of the QT has closed. And therefore the pressure in some segments, such as covered bonds (+43% YTD, €70mm), is expected to ease. And although the ECB has made it clear that it will continue to participate in the primary green issuance after the start of QT, the utilities sector is the other sector that has advanced its…

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European economy 28th February 2023

European 2/10-year curve most inverted for 30 years

The German 2Y bond yield reached 3% on Friday for the first time since 2008. Likewise, the US 2Y UST rebounded 12bps to the highest since 2007. As a consequence, the US 2s10s curve has continued to invert… to the most inverted in 42 years. Similarly, the European 2s10s curve has never been so inverted in the last 31 years.

Danone

Companies, In the World 27th February 2023

Danone €959m 2022 profit down 50% on 2021 due to higher raw material prices and partial withdrawal from Russia

Singular Bank : The world’s leading group in the dairy products segment (with a dominant position in Yogurt), in Water and in Infant and Medical Nutrition, has published its results for the last quarter of the year. Like-for-like sales (LFL) rose 7.0%, beating consensus on almost all measures, thanks to an 11.3% rise in prices and despite a 4.4% drop in volume. By business, EDP (Essential Dairy & Plant-based) grew…