European economy

ECB bonds

ECB records first financial statement loss since 2004: €1.3 billion to be offset against future profits

Banca March: The monetary authority presented total losses of €7.9 billion in 2023, which, offset by the €6.6 billion of accumulated provisions in recent years, have resulted in this loss of €1.3 billion in profits. The reason for these results is due to the rise in interest rates, which has increased the payment to the national central banks. In fact, the net interest expense has risen from €900 million in…


Talgo

Spanish Government examines Magyar Vagon’s takeover bid for Talgo to ensure it retains strategic control over the company

Renta 4| The Minister of Industry and Transport has confirmed that they consider Talgo to be strategic for Spain and are therefore studying in detail the conditions of Magyar Vagon’s takeover bid for the company. In this sense, they commented that this does not mean that the anti-takeover shield will be activated, but rather that the operation will be approved as long as there is full conviction that strategic control…


fcc edificio

FCC to finally build €1.46-billion tunnel near Stonehenge

Link Securities | FCC (FCC) will be able to build the tunnel near Stonehenge (United Kingdom), after the British judiciary has stopped the attempts of several opposing entities to carry out these works, understanding that they posed a threat to the Neolithic remains, according to the newspaper Expansión. In May 2022, the Spanish construction company was awarded, together with the Italian company WeBuild and the German company BeMo Tunnelling, the…


telefonica gran via logo nuevo

Telefónica to create new company to unbundle UK landline network, 100% controlled by Virgin Media O2

Renta 4| Telefónica and its UK partner Virgin Media have announced the creation of a subsidiary that aims to spin off fixed line assets and accelerate the rollout of broadband in the UK. Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has a deployment of 16.7 million Real Estate Units and aims to reach 23 million by 2026. The new company (netco) would be 100% controlled by Virgin Media O2, although this new structure…


Sacyr2

Eurolink consortium, 18.5% owned by Sacyr, get green light for Messina bridge project to be carried out

Banco Sabadell: According to press reports, the Board of Directors of the public company Stretto di Messina has approved the update of the Messina Bridge construction project, which will link the island of Sicily with the Italian mainland via a bridge of almost 4 km. Italy will pay €12,000 million to Eurolink, a consortium in which SCYR holds an 18.5% stake. Work is due to start this summer and be…


telefonica tech

Telefónica Tech teams up with China’s Ehang to boost urban air mobility in Europe and LatAm

Alphavalue / Divacons| Telefónica Tech has teamed up with Chinese company EHang, which produces electric aerial vehicles with vertical take-off and landing capabilities for transporting passengers and cargo without a pilot, to boost urban air mobility in Europe and Latin America, the operator said in a statement. Telefónica Tech will contribute its 5G connectivity and private network capabilities to the project to enhance the “safety and efficiency” of this type…


Eurozona salarios

According to ECB, consumers expect prices to rise by up to 3.2% in next 12 months, and 2.5% in next three years

Intermoney| The ECB released on Tuesday its December consumer inflation expectations, a figure that offered mixed signals, something that could be partly caused by the fact that it has almost doubled its monthly survey of the countries it surveys. The figures include responses from five more countries (Ireland, Greece, Austria, Portugal and Finland) in addition to the six that have been surveyed since the survey began in 2022. That means…


servicios

Spain and Italy, the only large Eurozone economies where services activity is expanding

Link Securities| S&P Global reported on Monday that Spain’s services sector purchasing managers’ index, the services PMI, rose in its January reading to 52.1 points from 51.5 points in December, falling short, however, of the 52.5 points expected by FactSet consensus analysts. January’s reading is the highest reading for this leading indicator of activity since last July. Any reading above 50 points suggests expansion in activity relative to the previous…


alemani piruli

Germany’s December trade surplus improves to €22.2 billion from €20.4 billion in previous month

Bankinter : Trade Balance (Dec): €22.2bn versus €19bn expected against €20.8bn previous (revised from €20.4bn). Exports -4.6% versus -2.8% expected versus +3.5% previous. Imports -6.7% versus -1.9% expected versus +1.5% previous. Assessment: The improvement in the trade surplus stems from a sharp drop in imports in the month, reflecting the weakness of the country’s domestic demand. 4Q23 GDP contracted -0.3% year-on-year (versus +0.0% in 3Q23) resulting in a -0.3% year-on-year…


Amadeus

Amadeus acquires Portugal’s Vision-Box, specialised in passenger biometrics, for €320m, equivalent to 16x EBITDA 2023

Renta 4 | Amadeus has reached an agreement to acquire Vision-Box, a Lisbon-based company that provides biometric (facial recognition) solutions for passengers in airports, airlines and border systems. Vision-Box’s systems (hardware and software) facilitate passengers’ journey from airport check-in, check-out, lounges and security screening. Vision-Box is expected to generate €70 million in revenues and €20 million in EBITDA by 2023, is present in more than 100 countries, generates 50% of…