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Articles by Victor Jimenez

About the Author

Victor Jimenez
London contributor at thecorner.eu, reporting about the City and the Eurozone economies. He regularly writes for Spanish newspaper group Prensa Ibérica--some of his features include shared work with journalists of The Daily Telegraph and the BBC.
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In Europe 23rd March 2012

UK warned to lift unfair exit tax on companies moving to other EU countries

LONDON | The European Commission said Friday it had formally requested the United Kingdom to amend its legislation providing for exit taxes on companies. As it stands, the UK legislation that has risen concerns results in immediate taxation of unrealised capital gains in respect of certain assets when the seat or place of effective management of a company is transferred to another European Union or European Economic Area member State. On…

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Markets 22nd March 2012

Thursday’s US Corp graph: downgrades hike

Ouch. The US corporate sector accumulates 171 credit downgrades in the first quarter, the highest since the 2009. In the balance of revisions (upward/downward), the ratio is 0.69, far from the highs of 2011 when for each rating cut down there were two ratings changing upwards. In the sectoral breakdown, three areas stand out as having a low rate of upward/downward revisions: telecommunications, financials and non-cyclical consumption. In the opposite side, the…

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Companies 22nd March 2012

Madrid’s financial City approves YPF dividend payment strategy

MADRID | YPF, the subsidiary in Argentina of Spanish oil company Repsol, will carry out last year’s dividend payment in shares in response to pressure from Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government. The republic’s authorities have vehemently expressed their desire for the corporation to increase investment activity in the country instead of distributing the cash to stockholders. The board approved this week the transfer of 1.057 billion pesos from reserve for…

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World economy 21st March 2012

Wednesday’s Spanish graph: late payments rate will approach 9.8pc by 2013

From Renta 4 analysts, a confirmation that late payments rate was 7.91pc in January, the maximum level seen by the Spanish financial sector since December 1994. And it was 8pc for the depositary entities. The increase in both cases has been the highest since February 2009, but the experts said today that they discard further acceleration. “During the next months, the situation should be stable and late payments rate is…

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In Europe 21st March 2012

Habemus UK 2012 Budget: happy banks, hurt pensioners, cautious markets

LONDON | Budget Battle began Wednesday after midday in the House of Commons at the rhythm of Hollywood action blockbuster-like slogans, with which chancellor George Osborne wrapped his delivery speech. The Coalition government aimed at convincing Britons in and out the Parliament that it will be able to reduce the deficit while supporting growth. “Britain is going to earn its way in the world,” Osborne shouted at the traditional belligerent level…

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In Europe 20th March 2012

UK roads’ privatisation would attract bids from Spanish companies

LONDON/MADRID | Financial analysts in Madrid agreed in their notes to investors on Tuesday that the UK Coalition government’s intention of privatising part of the road network of the country is a subject of major interest for Spanish infrastructure and construction companies. Banesto Bolsa experts described the decision as a clear ‘opportunity’ for Spanish firms, some of which already have a vast presence in the British transport services sector, namely…

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In Europe 19th March 2012

Real house prices since 2001 higher in UK than average euro zone

LONDON | Real house prices in the euro area have risen by an average of 23% since 2001, less than half UK’s growth of 50%. Five of the European Monetary Union country members saw a better house performance than the euro zone average: France saw the largest increase (82%), followed by Belgium (69%), Finland (61%), Spain (46%) and Italy (31%). In contrast, there were real price declines in Ireland (-23%), Germany…

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Spanish economy 16th March 2012

Friday’s chart says Spanish bond sales are fine, thanks

Before someone else sets sight on this graph and rolls out the Armageddon tale about the fall of the euro empire because of Spain’s disgrace, we would like to make available this explanation, which came via Madrid-based Link Securities. Is this chart indicative of a trend change in terms of buyer appetite of investors? “We think not. The abundance of liquidity in the system and its channelling by the banks (mainly residents) into assets with a profitable spread, should serve to maintain the strength of demand in future Spanish…

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Markets 16th March 2012

British SMEs better give up on expectations over bank finance and turn to bonds

LONDON | The capital stress levels that British banks suffer are regarded to be so dire not even a majority stakeholder like the UK’s government feels confident their credit tap should open. A Taskforce set up by the department of Business Innovation and Skills published Friday a report that recommends small and medium-size companies or SMEs to hunt for alternatives. The paper anticipates growth in demand for finance as the economy recovers…

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In Europe 15th March 2012

European labour costs slightly higher, bad news for competitiveness

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, released Thursday data on hourly labour costs in the euro zone and in the EU. In both instances, the records indicate a very small increase but enough to strengthen the argument of those governments introducing wide-reach labour market reforms. Hourly labour costs in the euro area rose by 2.8% in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with 2.6%…