Top Stories

Markets

blahblah1

Markets 28th March 2014

Market chatter: Repsol, Gas Natural and much more

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Repsol could sell its 30% participation in Gas Natural before the summer. 20 % of it would go for sovereign wealth funds (yet unidentified) and 10 % through quick placement of shares. RENTA 4 believes the company will monetize the operation if other worthy investment opportunities are identified. SABADELL finds the move logical within negotiations with La Caixa (which controlls 1/3 of Repsol’s capital). ACF highlights that Gas Natural shares are turning out very profitable in dividend for Repsol (4.5%), making this sale not that attractive for that firm.

Champagne Bottle

Markets 27th March 2014

Market chatter: bonds await ECB’s move

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | European sovereign bonds markets have put some champagne bottles on the fridge for next neek in the case the ECB decides to inject some stimulus on the euro zone at last. Without setting a precedent, president Mario Draghi and Bundesbank’s head Jens Weidmann seem to bring their positions over the mechanism closer. This change of direction led Spanish 10-years bonds to 2005’s minimum yields of 3.27% and was behind the successful issue of Italian public Treasury, which sold €2.5 bn at also very low prices. Just Greece’s bonds are trending downwards.

 

No Picture

Markets 26th March 2014

Today’s market chatter in Spain

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Spanish government plans to create a state firm to house the failed toll roads, which will issue a 30-year bond of around 2.3 billion euros to pay the motorways’ debt. Also, creditor banks will be forced to accept a 50 percent haircut. In this regard, analysts at ACF and Sabadell don’t expect a considerable harm on licensed building companies’ share price.

No Picture

Markets 24th March 2014

Today’s market chatter in Spain: gas reform, tourist sector rocking and much more

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | 13.8 million people checked in Spanish hotels last month, 5.5 % more than February’s last year, according to official data.  Frontur Spain highlights that 6.2 million tourists have visited the country so far this year. Bankia analysts highlight how this crucial industry for the country’s GDP seems to be overcoming the crisis, growing for the third consecutive month.

bankia

Markets 21st March 2014

Today’s market chatter in Spain

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | After the storm always comes the calm, and the dividend. Bankia’s Chairman José Ignacio Goirigolzarri revealed in the General Shareholders Assembly on Friday when first dividend will be distributed, probably in 2015. Restructuring plan (in record-breaking time) prevented the bank from doing so in 2014 and 2014. Reward wouldn’t just benefit small stockholders but also the State, that would get back part of the €22.4bn disbursed for BFA-Bankia bailout. 

ecb stress tests

Markets 20th March 2014

Why is the ECB so demanding with Spanish banks?

MADRID| By Francisco López | Spanish banks are the most closely examined in the world, but it does not seem to be enough for supervising institutions. The ECB has urged them to undergo a new and comprehensive assessment of their exposure to real state sector before the European banking industry’s Asset Quality Review previous to the stress tests that will take place by the end of the year. The central bank has rejected that Spain’s entities use 2012’s review by audit firm Oliver Wyman. Even though ,they reckon, that would save money and time.

No Picture

Markets 20th March 2014

Today’s market chatter in Spain

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Moderate falls on European stock markets today as they assimilate this ‘hawkish’ message from the Fed.  In Spain, another operation adds to Prisa’s restructuring of its debt burden of over 3 billion euros. 

No Picture

Markets 19th March 2014

Today’s market chatter in Spain (focused on Inditex)

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | Inditex is pushing Spanish Ibex 35 upwards today as its growth reaches maturity stage. The owner of Zara is working to reduce operative costs. However, its shareholders will get a 10% higher dividend. Bankinter considers the Spanish firm results to be somewhat weak. Euro’s strengh, slow domestic recovery, emerging countries slowdown could explain such underperformance. 

 

Calviño raises fiscal deficit targets

Markets 19th March 2014

“Frankfurt cannot supervise all 6,000 banks in the Eurozone”

MADRID | By Luis Alcaide, Luis Martí and Jaime Santisteban | Deputy Director General at the European Union’s Financial Services Nadia Calviño considers that the EBA must keep playing an important role in the coordination of the financial supervision. She believes that transparency is a key issue that must prevail within the process of the European integration in the Eurozone.