NEW YORK | “Corporations are people, my friend… of course they are. Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to the people. Where do you think it goes? Whose pockets? Whose pockets? People’s pockets. Human beings my friend.” That speech by GOP candidate Mitt Romney stirred a huge debate about the role of corporations in the US society. The Occupy Wall Street movement highly distrusted firms. Were they exaggerating? Do companies need…
MADRID | EP | Brazil is getting ready to host some of the greatest sport events in the world: the Football World Championship in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. The modernisation of its airports for affairs of such extent means a very important investment effort for the country, so the president Dilma Rousseff has decided to privatise them. The Spanish construction companies have begun to take positions in…
Acciona, Repsol, Iberdrola and Inditex are the only Spanish companies listed in the ranking of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world –’Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World 2012 ‘– that was presented during the celebration of the Davos World Economic Forum and developed by the magazine ‘Corporate Knights’. Acciona is the first Spanish company to appear in the ranking, where it stands at place 37, it is followed…
By Luis Arroyo, in Madrid | The FT has published a very good article by John Authers on the unusual business practice that American companies maintain with their shareholders. As Authers says, at present, non-financial companies possess a cash cushion of 6% of their total assets, something that has never been witnessed in the last six decades. The companies, with large profits (profits have risen to their highest level since the…
By Julia Pastor, in Madrid | Thirteen big pharmaceutical companies, the small Spanish Chemo among them, have joined forces along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in order to eradicate ten neglected tropical diseases. It is the major international partnership alliance performed to fight against this kind of affections, which, according to the World Health Organization, hit near 1,400 million people, particularly the most disadvantaged populations of tropical and subtropical…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | After the storm, the sun shines. After several months of conflict and based on the relevant fact sent by Repsol to the CNMV, the Spanish financial supervisor, the Spanish oil company and Pemex have reached a “strategic agreement of mutual cooperation.” Below, we reproduce the statement: “Repsol YPS, Inc. (Repsol) and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) have signed a letter of intent under which they undertake…
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Bankinter, with €59bn in assets, is the smallest of the Spanish listed banks but it has surprised everyone with its brilliant results. Net profit at the end of 2011 amounted to €181.2mn with an improvement of 20% compared to 2010. The gross margin was of €1,104.48mn, an increase of 0.20% year on year. Its income before provisions grew by more than 2.9% compared to…
LONDON | CEO and Vice Chairman of Meliá Hotels International, Gabriel Escarrer signed an agreement for what will become the third hotel for the Majorca-based company in the UK: the Innside Manchester Hotel. Meliá Hotels International is the world’s largest resort hotel company and the largest hotel chain in Spain, and is third in the European ranking. The deal confirms its interest in the UK, “one of the most important markets…
get your ex back MADRID | Esther Koplowitz, Fomento de Construciones y Contratas' (FCC) core shareholder, recently received an award from the Construction and Woodworkers Foundation (FCM) of Comisiones Obreras labour union in the 'commitment to the community' category. The union noted FCC's work in the area of “creating a solidarity network which focuses on the most disadvantaged groups.” The Foundation lauded FCC's efforts to encourage its employees to volunteer…