The Minister for Social Rights, Ione Belarra, has been elected as the new secretary general of Podemos, replacing Pablo Iglesias, with 88.69 percent of the votes cast in the party’s primaries. Of the 139,000 registered Podemos members with the right to vote in the IV Citizens’ Assembly held in Alcorcón (Madrid), 53,443 took part in the vote, of whom 45,753 opted for Belarra. Belarra competed with two other aspirants for…
Barcelona-based electric car charger maker Wallbox will go public on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) after reaching an agreement with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. II. The implied pro forma value of Wallbox as a result of the business combination is $1.5 billion, about €1.2 billion. In a statement, Wallbox said the deal will raise $330 M of financing (around 271 miilion euros) for them, including a fully underwritten private investment of $100 M (over 582 million euros).
European Views | Alexander Lukashenko’s latest gambit was too outrageous for European policymakers to ignore. The EU rushed to react after the Belarusian dictator scrambled fighter jets to intercept a Ryanair flight between Athens and Vilnius to arrest dissident journalist Roman Pratasevich, banning Belarus-flagged carriers from European airspace and plotting a fresh round of sanctions. European policymakers have roundly condemned the abuse which Minsk subjects its detained opposition figures to—but unfortunately, they have not been as swift to fight for the rights of political prisoners in other parts of the world.
Nicolas J.S. Davies | Around the world, we are witnessing what can happen when people rise up and act collectively for the common good. That is how we will solve the serious problems we face, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the climate crisis to the terminal danger of nuclear war. Humanity’s survival into the 22nd century and all our hopes for a bright future depend on building new political and economic systems that will simply and genuinely “do what is best for all of us.”
Fernando González Urbaneja | The approval of the 2021 budget was one of the first successes of the coalition government headed by Pedro Sánchez. It was like a resistance test for the alliance that made the government possible, with partners in the government (the United-Power conglomerate) and occasional partners in Parliament (regionalists, nationalists and various pro-independence supporters). The budget was approved after previous failed experiences and the government felt ratified…
This week Naturgy has become the first company to inject renewable landfill gas into Spain’s gas distribution network. The renewable gas plant, located in Parc de l’Alba in Cerdanyola del Vallés (Barcelona) next to the Elena waste dump, represented an investment of 2.2 million euros. The plant will produce 12 GWh/year of biomethane, equivalent to the annual consumption of 3,200 households. In addition, it will prevent the emission of 2,400…
Renta4 | The European Commission is preparing a legislative package (12 proposals) for July, which includes the revision of the Renewables and Energy Efficiency directives, and through which it plans to raise the renewables target to 40% by 2030, compared to the current 32%. Renta4’s analysis team’s opinion: The increase in Renewables and Energy Efficiency targets to 2030 could be good news for those countries whose targets are below that…
The market reaction has been benign as the ECB doesn’t seem to be in a rush to reduce its policy accommodation. Spreads have compressed a touch more after the press conference. Core yields are slightly up but this is mainly on UST moving up due to strong US CPI.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the European Commission gave Spain a two-month ultimatum to reduce the “excessive” delays in payments by autonomous communities and municipalities to their private sector suppliers to avoid the matter ending up in the EU Court of Justice. Spain’s public administrations owed their suppliers over 83.35 billion euros at end-2020, according to data from the Bank of Spain. The debt – which is equivalent to the transfers Spain expects…
Inditex earned 421 million euros in the first quarter of its fiscal year (1 February to 30 April) compared to a loss of 409 million euros a year earlier. The company’s sales were 4.942 billion euros, up 50% from 3.303 billion euros in the first quarter of 2020. Online sales at constant exchange rates grew by 67%. Key figures compared to Bloomberg consensus: Sales €4.942bn (+49.6%) vs €4.880bn (+47.7%) expected….