After the trade unions and employers have reached an agreement this week, the minimum wage in Spain will rise 4% to 736 euros, paid 14 times a year. This is 29 euros more per month than the current amount.
Ciudadanos (37 seats) was the party which won the most votes in Catalonia but will not be able to form a government. The independent block still has control of the Parlament with 70 seats versus the 57 won by the constitutionalists and the 68 needed for an absolute majority. Ciudadanos’ victory is significant, a difficult milestone to achieve given the current electoral law. But the secessionists were able to hold on to their absolute majority in the regional parliament.
David M. Lampton via Caixin | The U.S.–China relationship is fraught with problems and will be for the foreseeable future. The U.S. is no longer positioned to compel cooperation from China. Any policy changes from Beijing must be negotiated, and within this negotiation Washington must seek a balance of power and interests.
The limits in payment systems are as huge as this industry’s rapidly changing profile. The sector’s technology and frontiers are collapsing, but France appears to have some degree of local experience, as shown by the recent confrontation between Atos/Gemelto/Thales.
The planned IPO of Neoenergia, the biggest electricity company in Brazil and leader in Latin America by number of clients, with 13,4 million, has not gone ahead. The firm is the result of the merger between Iberdrola’s subsidiary Neoenergia and Elektro.
Nick Malkoutzis via Macropolis | Sadly, politicians and technocrats in the European Union are providing the far-right with a golden opportunity to release this populist poison because they cannot unite behind a common approach to the refugee question.
A consortium led by Acciona has been awarded an 800 million euros water management contract in Veracruz (Mexico) for a 30-year period. With this contract, apart from boosting its presence in Mexico where the company has been operating for 40 years, Acciona will increase its experience in the country’s water sector.
Spanish banks NPLs ratio fell to 8.22% in October, over one percentage point lower than a year earlier. Recently published figures from the Bank of Spain show that the pace of the decline in NPLs accelerated in October, registering an anual 12.52% drop (-11.64% in September).
Both the Fed and the ECB remained gradual and predictable in their last week meetings as far as monetary policy is concerned. In opinion of Julius Baer, this prevented EUR/USD from taking a specific direction, “but monetary policy in the US and the eurozone are still diverging and justify a slightly stronger US dollar in the next month.”
Disney has recently announced that it will buy Fox’s film, television and international businesses in a deal worth $52.4 billion. The resulting new Fox will spin out its broadcast net work, sports cable nets, and news cable net. Being two of the biggest media and entertainment companies in the world their merger will create a sector giant capable of facing rivals such as Netflix or Amazon.