In Europe

colonial inmo

Colonial and French subsidiary SFL give green light to joint merger project between the two

Renta 4 | Yesterday, after the market close, Colonial announced in a statement to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that the Boards of Directors of Colonial and SFL had approved the joint merger project between the two companies (with Colonial as the absorbing company). The intra-European cross-border merger will involve the extinction of SFL through its dissolution without liquidation and the transfer en bloc of all its assets to…


portugal economia

S&P confirms France’s rating at AA-/A-1 due to uncertain fiscal strategy, raises Portugal’s to A from A- due to current account surpluses

Bankinter | S&P confirms the AA-/A-1 rating of France, but downgrades the Outlook from Stable to Negative. It cites a weakening of public finances. The Budget for 2025 has been approved and proposes a reduction of the deficit of 0.4% of GDP, but the fiscal strategy from 2025 is uncertain. In addition, S&P forecasts GDP growth of <1% in 2025, making the goal of fiscal consolidation even more difficult. In…


IAG new

IAG pays UK HMRC €673 million for VAT claim linked to IAG Loyalty programme

Bankinter | IAG, the parent company of Iberia and British Airways, has paid £557 million (around €673 million) to the British Customs and Revenue service in relation to the VAT claim for flights redeemed in its loyalty programme (IAG Loyalty). The UK requires it to pay a 20% tax rate, regardless of the product being redeemed. Analysis team opinion: News with little impact because it is not surprising. It coincides…


cellnex1 655x368 1

Phoenix Tower International acquires 100% of Cellnex’s business in Ireland for €971 million

Alphavalue / Divacons | The Spanish communications tower company and Phoenix Tower International closed the deal announced on 5 March 2024, whereby PTI has acquired 100% of the Irish telecommunications tower and infrastructure operator for €971 million. ‘As we announced at the results presentation, next Monday we will begin the share buyback programme of up to €800 million as the first step in our unequivocal commitment to shareholder remuneration. It…


reinounido mercado laboral

UK to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with ‘ambition’ of raising it to 3% by 2029

Bankinter | The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer) announced that he will increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with the ‘ambition’ of raising it to 3% by 2029 (vs. the current 2.3%). According to Starmer, the increased defence spending will not be financed by tax rises or increased debt, but rather by cutting ‘expenditure on overseas development’. Opinion of the Bankinter analysis team: Good news for the defence…


alemania CDU Merz

Merz’s first proposals: dissolution of debt ceiling and special defence fund of €200 billion

Banca March | In the new Parliament, which will not take office until 24 March, the far right AfD and the far left Die Linke have 216 seats out of a total of 630. With more than a third of the votes, they could block the easing of the deficit. However, the current parliament has the power to amend the constitutional article that restricts the structural deficit to just 0.35%…


IPC varios Eurozona.

Eurozone inflation rises to 2.5% in January due to increase in energy price, largest increase since July

CdM | Eurozone inflation rose by a tenth of a percent in January, bringing the year-on-year rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 2.5%, in line with estimates and the highest increase since July last year, according to the second reading published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU). The rise in inflation was mainly due to the increase in the cost of energy, which rose…


airbus A320

Airbus CEO says deliveries to non-US customers could be prioritised if tariffs disrupt imports

Link Securities | Airbus (AIR) CEO Guillaume Faury made it clear on Thursday that he could prioritise deliveries to non-US customers if tariffs disrupt the aircraft manufacturer’s imports into the United States, according to Bolsamanía. We have great demand from the rest of the world, so if we face very significant difficulties in delivering to the United States, we can also adapt by bringing forward deliveries to other customers who…


ECB Eurosystem

ECB says inflation risks increasingly ‘skewed to upside’ and could consider ‘pauses’ in rate cuts

BancaMarch | The ECB could discuss ‘pauses’ in rate cuts. Isabel Schnabel, a member of the ECB’s executive board, has said that the monetary authority could be close to ending the process of rate cuts in the eurozone, concluding that the risks surrounding inflation are increasingly ‘skewed to the upside’. It should be remembered that, since the summer, the ECB has cut the price of money relatively quickly, and everything…


airbus A320

Airbus Q4 2024 profit reaches €2,424 million -up 66% year-on-year- 269 commercial aircraft delivered and 171 helicopters contracted

Bankinter | Results meet expectations, ambitious 2025 targets. Some pressure remains on supply chains. Key figures from the results for Q4 2024 versus the company’s own consensus estimate: Sales €24,716 million (up 8% year-on-year) versus €24,678 million estimated. Adjusted EBIT of €2,556 million (up 15.8% year-on-year and €2,601 million expected); reported EBIT of €2,614 million (up 38% year-on-year versus €2,571 million expected) and net income of €2,424 million (up 66%…