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.
Net wealth of European households lost in the crisis recovered; now is over seven times disposable income

Spanish economy 9th February 2023

Spain reports greatest loss of income (-7.85%) among OECD countries since pandemic

Of the 31 OECD countries analysed, nine recorded an increase in real per capita household income, while twelve recorded a fall, although among the large eurozone economies only Spain maintained its deterioration, with a loss of 7.85%, the worst figure of all the OECD countries. Although this household income exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022 in almost all OECD countries, Spain led the group of those that…

telefonica

Companies, Ibex, Spanish economy 8th February 2023

Telefónica to collaborate with Saudi operator STC Group to develop business in Middle East and North Africa

Link Securities | Telefónica has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Saudi Arabian telecommunications operator STC Group to develop joint business in the Middle East and North Africa. With the signing of this agreement, STC Group becomes a member of TEF’s Partners Program, an initiative of alliances with other operators launched by the Spanish company in 2011 and covering more than 65 markets in Europe, Latin America, the Middle…

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…