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.
Spain, windmill

Spanish Tourism: The Beginning Of A Necessary Recovery

Javier Ibáñez de Aldecoa Fuster (CaixaBank Research) | 2020 has now been left behind; a year that will be remembered in the tourism industry as the toughest in recent history. In 2021, the fight against the pandemic continues and restrictions on movement and trade are still preventing normal economic activity, hitting tourism-dependent businesses particularly hard. However, the roll-out of the vaccines will provide a turning point once immunity is achieved among the population most at risk. Our projections point to a strong recovery in the sector during the second half of the year, resulting in tourism GDP growing by 80% annually, once again becoming one of the driving forces for the Spanish economy.


stock markets 777x400 1

Global Earnings – Open For Business

Aneeka Gupta (WisdomTree) | The current earnings season sheds plenty of light on the outlook for global equity markets. This time last year, the world was thrown into disarray owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have seen lockdowns lifted as vaccination rollouts gather pace. In addition, the gradual resumption of economic activity, stimulative global fiscal plans, and the release of pent-up consumer demand are being reflected in first-quarter earnings results. As a result, the breadth of earnings revisions has been strongest in the US, followed by Japan, Europe while Emerging Markets and China are turning more neutral.


US commercial banks outlook

US Inflation Spike Brings Tapering Back On Fed Agenda

Keith Wade (Schroeders) | Headline CPI inflation rose to 4.2% year-on-year in April the highest level since September 2008. Meanwhile the core measure, which strips out food and energy prices, rose to 3%, a level last seen in 2006. It is unlikely that the inflation figures will spook the Federal Reserve, although they will mean an upward revision to its forecasts. More importantly, when combined with strong growth in GDP, it will have to start to think about slowing its asset purchases.


nadia calvino bruselas

Brussels Upgrades Spain’s Growth Forecast To 5.9% And Debt To 119.6% Of GDP In 2021

BancaMarch | Brussels has upgraded Spain’s GDP growth forecast. The Commission’s new forecasts put Spain’s GDP growth at 5.9% in 2021 (5.6% previous estimate) and 6.8% in 2022 (5.3% previous estimate). So Spain would regain pre-pandemic GDP levels by end-next year. The improvement in the revision is a consequence of progress in vaccination and the disbursement of European funds, of which Spain is one of the major beneficiaries. To this…


cosecha aceituna

Challenges For Europe’s Olive Oil Producers Continue To Stack Up

European Views | The third European conference on Xylella Fastidiosa last month brought together scientists from more than 60 countries to address the disease that become an existential threat to olive trees across the continent and to the European olive oil sector, which generates more than €5 billion a year and represents 67% of the world’s supply. This fatal plant disease, which hit particularly hard during 2020, tops off what…


business creation

Spanish Business Creation Soars 61.8% In March To Its Highest Figure In Almost 13 Years

The number of new companies registered its highest year-on-year increase in March since 1995, when the historical series began, with growth of 61.8%, to a total of 10,968 new firms. This is the highest figure in almost 13 years, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INE). With this year-on-year increase in March, the number of new companies created has now been positive for two consecutive months, after having risen by 3.1% in February.


The Bank of Spain

The Bank of Spain Proposes Reducing The Cost Of Dismissal And Adopting The Austrian Model

According to the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, NGEU funds may be used to facilitate the approval of structural reforms The setting up of a capitalisation fund for each employee to finance part of their severance pay in the event of dismissal is an example of a reform that is desirable for the economy as a whole, but costly for certain agents in the short run.


Tesla Bitcoin

Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin Payments Due To Its Environmental Impact

Fernando Alberca | Tesla backs down on bitcoin. The electric vehicle manufacturer has suspended the use of bitcoin as a means of payment to buy its products. The reason for this decision was given on Twitter by the CEO of the company himself, Elon Musk, on Thursday May 13 shortly after midnight. “Tesla has suspended the purchase of vehicles with bitcoin. We are concerned about the rapid increase in the…


cryptocurrency general

Growth Of Crypoassets Does Not Threaten EU Banking Sector

Sam Theodore ( Scope Ratings) | Banks and investors are apprehensive that the growing presence of crypto assets (CAs) could shake the edifice of European banking, impacting core activities like lending, deposit taking, trading, and investments. Those concerns may not be entirely misplaced, especially for banks that are digital laggards, but they are for the sector in general. I am less concerned when it comes to banks that have made…


Spain, Nadia Calviño

Spain | Unpleasant Arithmetic

Miguel Cardoso (BBVA Research) | The financial burden is currently approximately 2% of GDP. This means that, with a debt level of 120% of GDP, the government is paying an implied interest rate of 1.7%: a historic low. If the aim is to stabilize public debt at near-current levels, and assuming that both the primary structural deficit and economic growth remain constant, the interest rate would need to remain at approximately 1%. Although this is the current situation, it is temporary.