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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.
GameStop

In the World, World economy 6th February 2021

Is Wall Street A Wave Or A Particle? GameStop Affair May Be Its First True Quantum Joke

Peter Isackson | There have been enough commentaries in the past week on the great GameStop affair to fill several editions of Encylopaedia Britannica and possibly Wikipedia as well. After all, we should really be asking this questions: are Wall Street share prices not simply fluctuating numbers on a hyperreal tracking system operated by that archetypal form of artificial (i.e., inhuman) intelligence we call “free markets?” Is Wall Street something that both exists and doesn’t exist at any given moment?

Iberdrola Ireland

Ibex, Markets, Spanish economy 5th February 2021

Iberdrola Acquires 3 GW Offshore Wind Project Pipeline In Ireland

Iberdrola agrees to acquire majority stake in three DP Energy projects on the east, west and south coasts of the country, which will be eligible for the forthcoming offshore auctions in 2025-2030.The company already operates offshore wind farms in UK and German waters, with new developments in the UK, US and France · Including Ireland, Japan, Sweden and Poland, Iberdrola’s offshore wind pipeline now exceeds 30 GW.

Araceli

European economy 5th February 2021

The EU Is 90% Away From Its Target Of 180 Mn Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccines Before End-Spring

Optimism about the vaccination process continues to grow and the Financial Times yesterday highlighted how the number of Covid-19 vaccines already administered globally, some 104 million doses, has for the first time exceeded the global number of reported cases, which stand at just over 103 million. The population vaccinated with at least one dose is around 10% in the United States and 14.4% in the United Kingdom, while just 3% of the European Union ‘s population has received a Covid-19 vaccination.

spain deconfinement

Spanish economy 5th February 2021

Spain Is The Eurozone Country With The Smallest Spend In GDP For Dealing With The Health Crisis

Spain is the country in the euro zone that has spent the least in terms of GDP to deal with the crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to an article in the European Central Bank (ECB)’s economic bulletin, which was published today. The authors, Stephan Haroutunian, Steffen Osterloh and Kamila Slawinska, estimate Spain’s expenditure on this crisis at 1.3% of GDP, compared with 4% on average in the euro area. This is based on European Commission (EC) calculations.

electricity

Spanish economy 4th February 2021

Another New Normal: Nuclear Shutdown In Spain Will Trigger Electricity Price Volatility

José Salmerón (Intermoney) | Two years ago, the government agreed with the companies that own nuclear power plants for their phased closing. The first result of this on the Spanish electricity market will be the disappearance of a base power generation in all hours of the year and that in 2020 accounted for 23.6% of electricity demand. In addition, the energy sold at a price below the marginal cost of the market will be radically reduced and the price may rise as never seen before in the daily generation market.

Yeor of the Ox

In the World, World economy 4th February 2021

“Year Of The Ox” Symbolises China’s Strong Future

AllianzGI | This lunar new year, China has much to celebrate – including resilient economic growth, widespread success at suppressing Covid-19 and a steady transformation into an advanced economy. That’s why the ox is a suitable symbol for a country that continues to do the hard work needed to maintain its trajectory. Over the course of 2021, this economic strength may enable China to do something that other major economies haven’t been able to: ease back on the massive stimulus that the government is pumping into the economy.  

Spanish Banks coronacrisis

Ibex, Markets, Spanish economy 4th February 2021

Spain’s Big Banks Lose €5.55 Bn Due To Coronavirus; Santander Posts Losses In Its Annual Results For The First Time

Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Bankia, Sabadell and Bankinter posted combined losses of €5.55 Bn last year, with their accounts badly affected by the coronavirus, compared to the more than €13.5 Bn achieved in 2019. These negative figures are mainly due to the great losses suffered by Santander, €8.77 Bn, the first of its history, compared to the €6.51 Bn it earned in 2019. Santander’s losses came after increasing provisions for the covid-19 crisis and assuming an impairment of €12.6 Bn in the value of its subsidiaries in the UK, the US and Poland.

draghi ECB

European politics 3rd February 2021

Super Mario Is Back With The Mission To Turn Italian Crisis Around; But It Won’t Be Easy

Over the weekend, Mario Draghi has managed to obtain a broad majority to form a new coalition government in Italy after winning the support of the Five Star Movement and the ultra-right-wing League. His nomination is a try to turn the country around the virus-induced crisis, since he is a widely respected figure for his important role during the European debt crisis. The yield of the Italian 10-year bond fell last week -11 bps to 0.53% on the expectation of greater political stability in the country (vs. a high of 0.75% this year).

Vodafone Orange

Spanish economy 3rd February 2021

Vodafone And Orange Studying The Creation Of A Joint Infrastructure Firm In Spain

Bankinter | The Vodafone and Orange alliance aims to gain size to become an alternative to the big players in the sector, Cellnex and American Tower. The latter recently landed in Europe after the purchase of Telefónica’s towers. The sum of the towers that both groups would contribute to the new “infraco” would be 17,000 sites. It would become the leader in the Spanish market, surpassing Telxius (10,000 towers) and Cellnex (9,000).

BCE SkylineFrankfurtTC

European economy 3rd February 2021

European Banks’ Dividends Could Reach Up To €11 Bn, Says The ECB

European banks will pay out between €10.5 and 11 Bn in dividends this year, according to “very preliminary” estimates by the European Central Bank, following consultations with the lenders. Spanish Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and Bankinter have been authorised by the ECB to distribute 15% of their profits in dividends to their shareholders. Sabadell will not remunerate its shareholders so it would not have requested authorisation, while Bankia will do so after merging with CaixaBank, in April or May.