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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.
NextEra 1

Spanish economy 18th June 2020

NextEra Wins Millionaire Renewables Lawsuit Against Spain

Bankinter | The US giant NextEra, the world’s largest electricity company by market capitalization, has been victorious in its long, multi-million dollar arbitration process against Spain regarding subsidies’ cuts which took place years ago. The Ciadi, the World Bank’s arbitration body, has lifted the suspension on the execution of the favourable award NextEra obtained a year ago. The award obliges Spain to pay 290M euros in compensation for the damage caused by the cuts decreed in 2014.

Jay Powell

Markets 17th June 2020

A Healthy Correction For Unhealthy Reasons

Yves Bonzon (Julius Baer) | The global equity market has seen a multi-percent- age correction for a variety of reasons, from re- newed fears of a second wave of coronavirus infec- tions to disappointment about Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell’s policy stance. In the wake of a rally of almost 50% from the lows of March, it is fair to say that such a decline cannot come as a surprise.

Ibedrola Australia

Ibex, Markets 17th June 2020

Iberdrola To Achieve 1,000 MW Of Operating Capacity In Australia With Takeover Bid For Infigen Energy

Renta 4 | Iberdrola has announced a takeover bid for 100% of the Australian renewables company Infigen Energy at a price of AUD 0.86$ per share. This is in line with Infigen Energy’s current stock price, but 6% higher than the offer made by UAL Energy on 9 June. It values Infigen at AUD 841 M (510 million euros approximately, 0.7% of Iberdrola’s market cap), with an EV/EBITDA multiple of 8.2x (vs 10x at Iberdrola’s current price).

repsolatardecer

Ibex, Markets 17th June 2020

Aramco Enters The Spanish Market Through An Alliance With Repsol To Produce Synthetic Fuels

The Spanish oil and gas group has announced an agreement with Saudi state oil company Aramco for the development of synthetic fuels. The agreement begins with an industrial conversion project in the Petronor factory (Basque Country) and would later be transferred to the rest of Repsol’s facilities globally. Repsol will invest 80M euros to modify some of Petronor’s production processes via two projects.

covid19 dilemma

World economy 17th June 2020

The COVID-19 dilemma: mobility and economy

CaixaBank Research | The differences between countries in the severity and duration of the lockdown measures at the beginning of the year have been reflected in the declines in GDP in Q1. In Q2, the epicentre of the pandemic (and the lockdown) has moved from China to Europe and America, which will result in unprecedented declines in economic activity in the major advanced economies.

sector auto spain

Spanish economy 16th June 2020

Spain Government Mobilises €1.05 Bn For The Renewal Of The Vehicle Fleet

The Spanish government is launching a recovery plan to help the sectors most affected by the coronavirus crisis. These include the tourism and automotive industries, which account for 12% and 10% respectively of the country’s GDP. The first of which have been known details is the the Plan for the Promotion of the Automotive Industry Value Chain. It has a budget of €3.750 Bn, of which €1.050 Bn will be earmarked for the renewal of the fleet of vehicles in Spain. The aid will prioritize the most efficient models.

EU recovery fund

European politics 16th June 2020

Ten Out Of 27 EU Members Are Critical Of The European Recovery Plan

We approach at the European Council on Friday with two distinct groups of countries clearly expressing concerns about the Commission’s proposal. Some because they do not welcome any attempt to share risks, while others believe the programme benefits nations they consider to be rich. These are the axis of the frugals (Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden) and the Visegrads (Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia). These would be joined by Finland and Estonia, which have also shown their discomfort with the proposal.

frankfurt sklyline

European economy 16th June 2020

Who Is Going To Pay In A Low/Negative Yield Environment?

Allianz Global Investors | That question is heard quite often in connection with the corona-related fiscal packages. While there is no shortage of suggestions of how the new public expenditure and old debt is to be funded, many people seem to be overlooking the fact that the current low or negative interest-rate environment is already making a major contribution to debt reduction. This article will analyse the impact of implicit interest rates, growth and inflation on debt ratios in Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

oil

Markets, World economy 15th June 2020

The Oil Rally Continues

Darwei Kung (DWS) | The oil rally continues. On the supply side, OPEC and Rus-sia reached an agreement to extend the June production cap into July instead of implementing the planned scaling down of cuts. This is perhaps a sign that the major produc-ers are conscious of the oil market’s fragility despite the recent rise in oil prices. Large inventory overhangs support that fear. On the demand side, the re-opening of economies across the globe has brought significant optimism, even though the amount of realized demand that has emerged give little support for it.