Spanish Prime Minister announced on Wednesday that there will be a 11% cut in airport tariffs until 2021. This means a reduction of 2.2% each year in 2017-2021, the period during which the new Air Regulation Document is valid. Aena estimates that a decrease in tariffs would reduce its revenues by €850 million.
Construction in Europe grew by 2 percent in 2016. Annual growth in the sector is expected to continue at around this rate for the next three years until the end of 2019, according to calculations by the Euroconstruct research network. The strongest stimuli will come from new residential construction, which grew by a good 7 percent in 2016.
The environment for European banks is changing for the better. The sector’s fundamentals are improving and Bankinter sees the recent ‘impasse’ in their trading performance as a buy oportunity.
Miguel Ángel Tramullas | Investment in public debt has traditionally been one of the most popular fixed income assets with both retail and institutional investors. It’s considered as a safe-haven. But in the last few years, it has lost part of its attraction because of lower interest rates which in some places are now in negative territory. To protect themselves, many countries like the US, Japan, the UK, France, Italy and also Spain have begun to issue inflation-linked bonds.
The UK Supreme Court dismissed on Tuesday the government’s argument that May could simply alone to invoke Article 50 to begin two years of divorce talks. Considering conservative majority in Parliament that passing a bill should not force PM to reconsider her “hard brexit” plans. Dissenting MPs can successfully amend the bill to increase scrutiny over negotiations.
Banco Santander posted net profit of 6.204 billion euros en 2016, up 4% from a year earlier and its best results since 2010, supported by a decline in provisions. The bank attributed these results to the “strong” growth in commission revenues and improved credit quality. These factors were contrasted by some currencies’ weakness against the euro and increases in taxes in Poland and the UK.
Jens Bastian via Macropolis | As various countries in the European Union prepare for watershed elections in the course of 2017, analysts at www.macropolis.gr will be discussing the implications of these elections and the issues most likely to impact the electoral agendas. We start off with a look at Germany and its strong bilateral (economic) ties with Russia.
Emerging Markets capital inflows are slowing down only modestly, offering some protection in case of large outflows. Capital inflows to EMs are expected to slow down in 2017, although Manolis Davradakis at AXA IM does not believe they would fall off a cliff as in 2013-2015.
José Luis M. Campuzano (Spanish Banking Association) | “The only thing which is predictable is total unpredictability.” I don’t know who invented this phrase but I believe it is a very good summary of everything we have heard in Davos: wait and see what happens, whatever it is. That doesn’t mean the sentiment of the Agenda has been negative.
Fernando Rodríguez | Next Banco Popular’s chairman Emilio Saracho is scheduled by end-February. People are waiting to see what his initiatives will be. Saracho is a deacon of coporate banking in Spain. Much is expected from him.