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Articles by The Corner

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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.
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World economy 17th October 2021

Squid Game: The Real Debt Crisis Shaking South Korea That Inspired The Hit TV Show

Sarah A. Son (The Conversation ) | Squid Game adds to other recent South Korean screen productions, most notably the 2020 Oscar-winning film Parasite, in providing a sharp critique of the socio-economic inequality that plagues the lives of many in South Korea. Household debt in South Korea has risen sharply in recent years to over 100% of its GDP – the highest in Asia. The top 20% of earners in the country have a net worth 166 times that of the bottom 20%, a disparity which has increased by half since 2017.

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World economy 16th October 2021

With Its “Global Gateway”, The EU Is Upping The Pressure On China’s BRI

European Views | A foreign policy instrument explicitly designed to counter the BRI, the GG diametrically opposed to China’s investment approach by seeking to “create links and not dependencies”, in the words of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The GG’s launch comes at a time when the EU is feeling the adverse effects of BRI-induced encroachment within its own borders and wider neighbourhood. Several EU countries, such as Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, have controversially signed up to the project.

US jobs data

World economy 15th October 2021

US: Jobless Claims Fall Below 300,000 For The First Time During The Pandemic

J.J. Fernández Figares (Link Securities) | It is difficult to explain the reason for the recent rally in bonds, which has led to a significant fall in yields. Particularly when most of the macro figures published in the last few days have confirmed that “high inflation” is here to stay, at least for much longer than initially estimated by central banks. It is quite another matter if the latter, under…

High speed AVE trains

Spanish economy 15th October 2021

Renfe, Correos, Adif, Paradores… Public Companies Will Continue To Make Losses

As reported by Elena Ramón in the newspaper Expansión, Correos, Adif, Renfe and Paradores are extending their losses for another year. However, all of them assure they will increase revenues next year. The General State Budget for 2022 presented by the Government forecasts that Aena and Enaire will return to profit next year and join Puertos del Estado and Loterías, two entities which are resisting all setbacks. But Renfe, Adif,…

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Spanish economy 15th October 2021

Repsol To Expand Its Complex In Sines (Portugal) For 657M€, The Largest Industrial Investment In The Country In The Last Decade

Repsol plans to build two new plants for high value-added, 100% recyclable polymeric materials for the pharmaceutical, automotive and food industries.The project has been considered by the Portuguese government as an initiative of Potential National Interest (PIN), a qualification reserved for investments that make a significant contribution to the country’s economy, and will benefit from tax incentives for investments of up to 63 million euros.

China

World economy 13th October 2021

China’s September Trade Surplus Rises To $66.6 Billion

Link Securities | China’s General Administration of Customs reported early this morning that the September trade surplus rose to $66.67 billion, up from a consensus expected reading for a $45 billion surplus, and up from a figure of $53.3 billion in August. Dollar exports rose by 28.1% y-o-y, against a consensus reading of 21.5%, and compared with a 25.6% increase in August. Meanwhile, imports rose 17.6 per cent year-on-year, compared…

Spain FMI

Spanish economy 13th October 2021

The IMF Revises Downwards Its Global Growth Forecast …And It Forecasts The Highest Unemployment Rate In Europe For Spain In 2021 (15.4%) And 2022 (14.8%)

In its October World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its growth estimate for the world economy to 5.9% from 6.0% in its July estimate. For 2022, however, the IMF has kept its global growth projection unchanged at 4.9%. In its report, the IMF notes that while growth in advanced economies is largely expected to return to the pre-pandemic trend in 2022, it expects emerging and…

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Spanish economy 13th October 2021

Spain: Corporate And Household Debt Increased By 1.8% In The Last Year To 144.2% Of GDP

The financial wealth of Spanish households increased by 5.1% in the last year to stand at 214.1% of GDP. The Financial Accounts of the Spanish Economy, published by the Bank of Spain, show that consolidated corporate and household debt reached €1.673 billion in the second quarter of 2021 (144.2 % of GDP), 1.8 % above the €1.644 billion recorded a year earlier (140.5 % of GDP). The increase in the…

utilities

Spanish economy 13th October 2021

Utilities Propose Measures To Reach An Agreement Before The Royal Decree On Gas Is Ratified

Banco Sabadell | The Ministry of Transition has begun the round of negotiations with the electricity companies (last week it was the turn of Endesa, Acciona and EDP and today it will be the turn of Naturgy and Iberdrola). The idea is to try to reach an agreement before next Thursday, which is when the gas Royal Decree will be ratified. Among the sector’s proposals, Iberdrola proposes supplying nuclear production at a closed long-term price to small consumers with less than 10 kW of power under the regulated tariff. A bilateral contract, in line with what France does, where the price would cover its fixed and variable costs and possible life extensions (c. 60 euros/MWh). This proposal eliminates the risk for power plants and would leave hydro and renewables free to market. The risk is that there would be a migration from the free to the regulated domestic segment (now 38%).