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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.
LaIndia

World economy 4th January 2021

Is 2021 The Year For ASEAN And India To Shine?

For India, the sharp fall of domestic demand led to a huge decline in imports that drove the current account into surplus, giving the country savings during times of crisis. The Philippines also had a balance of payment surplus as its imports collapsed, driven by the large drop in investment and contraction in consumption, which was unprecedented. But those factors, coupled with low rates domestically and externally, pave the way for not just a financial market rebound but also an economic recovery in 2021, as funding conditions are favourable and balance sheets trimmer.

spain2021 portada

Spanish economy 4th January 2021

2021: Notable But Incomplete Recovery Of The Spanish Economy

CaixaBank Research (Oriol Carreras Baquer and Javier García Arenas | We expect growth in economic activity to pick up in Q2, when the most vulnerable people should have been immunised and international travel can recover more strongly, with growth in the Spanish economy reaching around 6.0% in 2021. While the pace of recovery is high, this would still leave the economy 6.2% below the pre-crisis GDP level. In fact, we do not expect the economy to return to pre-crisis levels until 2023.  

manufactoring Spain

Spanish economy 4th January 2021

An Industry Law To Reindustrialize Spain

It would be important to undertake and construct a State pact for industry, from which a Law on Industry would emerge, as stated in the report on “Industry in Spain: Proposals for its Development,”  that was recently presented by the Spanish Economic and Social Council, a consultative body of the Government. From a conceptual point of view, the field of study of the report has been limited to the manufacturing industry. This represents most of the industrial activity in Spain, with four fifths of the output and 90 % of the employment in the National Accounts.

Biden kerry

In the World, World economy 3rd January 2021

How Biden And Kerry Could Rebuild America’s Global Climate Leadership

Dolf Gielen and Morgan Bazilian via The Conversation | The global shift to clean energy will also have geopolitical implications for countries and regions, and this will have a profound impact on wider international relations. Kerry, with his experience as secretary of state in the Obama administration, and Biden’s plan to make the climate envoy position part of the National Security Council, may help mend these relations. In doing so, the U.S. may again join the wider community of countries willing to lead.

brexiti 2

European politics 2nd January 2021

What To Make Of The EU-UK Trade Agreement

Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | I haven’t read the 1,246 pages of the EU-UK trade agreement, so I’m going to rely on trusted sources to make sense of the accord. For example, David Allen Green of the Financial Times argues the trade agreement leaves much unchanged. The Joint Partnership Council, alternating between Brussels and London, will be able to make binding decisions without the involvement of lawmakers. So much for UK “independence”.

fake news

European politics 1st January 2021

Five Tools We Need To Fight Disinformation

Miroslava Sawiris | According to the GLOBSEC Trends 2020 report, across Central and Eastern Europe, 34% believe that COVID-19 is a hoax designed to manipulate populations. With hundreds of deaths around the world occurring as a result of disinformation related to the coronavirus, the pandemic has demonstrated the critical importance of limiting the impact of disinformation on our societies. Yearly profit generated by disinformation websites come to $235 M, estimates the Global Disinformation Index.

spain savings rate

Spanish economy 31st December 2020

The Savings Rate Is ‘The Data Of The Year’ For 2020 in Spain, Says Funcas

In the Q2 of the year, household savings reached an unprecedented level in Spain, namely 22.5% of disposable income. Funcas has chosen the savings rate, particularly the one recorded in that period, as ‘The data of the year.’ Through this initiative, its researchers have highlighted a particularly significant figure for the Spanish economy during this year about to end. Before the current crisis, the maximum savings rate for families was 12.1% in Q209, while the average in the period 1999 to 2019 was 8.2%.

rafa piqueras emisor

Interviews 31st December 2020

“It Is Much More Difficult To Mobilise Spanish Funds’ Vote Than That Of Foreigners”

Fernando Rodriguez | “When the Long Term Investment Directive appeared, analysts at JPMorgan or Fidelity received you in London with a smile… The ‘engagement’ was something already insisted on by the company. Where I hope it will have more impetus – the transposition of the directive – is with Spanish investors or funds, which are very passive. When you want to mobilise their vote, it much more difficult than it is with foreign funds, which have taken it more on board ,” explains Rafael Piqueras, chairman of Emisores Españoles* and a board member of Enagás.

Unicaja Liberbank merger

Ibex, Markets, Spanish economy 30th December 2020

Unicaja, Liberbank Re-Order The National Banking Map With Their Merger: The Fifth Spanish Bank Has Arrived

The boards of directors of Unicaja and Liberbank finally approved the merger of the two lenders. Unicaja will control 59.5% of the resulting entity, while Liberbank will own the remaining 40.5%. This operation creates the fifth largest national banking group, which will start operating from June, with an asset volume over €108 Bn. For Bankinter’s analysts, the deal a priori makes strategic sense in terms of scale and diversification, as well as financial sense (efficiency and profitability). But the key is in the details.