In Europe

AVE Oporto Lisboa 1

Acciona, Ferrovial and FCC join forces to bid for first section of Lisbon-Porto high-speed railway, budgeted at almost €2 billion

Link Securities | The Portuguese government has launched one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the pipeline in Europe, as reported yesterday by elEconomista.es newspaper. With a budget of almost €2 billion, the tender for the design, construction, financing and subsequent operation and maintenance of the first section, between Porto and Aveiro (Oiã), of the Lisbon-Porto high-speed railway line, implemented through a public-private partnership contract, has attracted at least five…


Europa

Eurozone money supply unexpectedly rises by 0.1% in December

BancaMarch: In the euro zone, money supply unexpectedly rebounded in December: M3 growth accelerated and returned to positive territory by 0.1% year-on-year versus a fall of 0.9% in the previous month. On the lending side, there was a mixed performance. Lending to households slowed down again by 0.3% year-on-year versus 0.5% previously, while lending to non-financial corporations returned to positive territory by +0.4% versus 0.0% previously.


iag aireuropa

IAG: EC’s detailed review of Air Europa acquisition neither prejudges outcome nor changes forecast of final decision by 4Q24

Banco Sabadell: The EC said yesterday it is launching a detailed (phase II) investigation into Iberia’s proposed takeover of Air Europa as it wants “the transaction not to adversely affect prices or quality of services”, according to Vestager. The EC now has 90 working days (until 7 June 2024) to take a final decision, provided it does not request additional information from the parties involved, in which case the clock…


ACS novisimo

French motorway tax could affect Abertis dividend, around €300m for ACS

Banc Sabadell| The new motorway tax in France, whose impact would be ~-€85m on Abertis (~2% of its EBITDA 2023e; ACS’ 45% stake in Abertis net of minority interests), could have an impact on a future review of Abertis’ rating unless corrective measures such as a dividend cut are taken, following comments by S&P in a recent report, according to press reports. In this regard, Abertis plans to pay out…


bce lagarde 1

ECB: deposit rate therefore remains at 4%

Peter Goves (MFS Investment) | As widely expected, the ECB kept all three of its policy rates on hold at the January meeting. The deposit rate therefore remains at 4% and it has been held at this rate since September 2023. We would agree that the longer rates are held at such restrictive levels, domestic demand will remain subdued and (core) inflation will continue to fall. Today’s meeting affirms our…


OTAN Suecia

Turkey gives go-ahead for Sweden to become 32nd member of NATO

Banca March: With 287-55 votes, the Turkish parliament has voted in favour of the Nordic country’s membership, pending President Erdogan’s final signature. Unanimous support from the member states is required to become a member of the organisation, with Hungary now being the only country not to have given its approval. Sweden aspires to become the 32nd member since it applied to the alliance a year and eight months ago, with…


ACS new

ACS looks to make over €2bn from sale of UK offshore wind farm and services subsidiary Clece

Link Securities| ACS is looking to find buyers for a number of the construction company’s assets before passing the rating agencies’ solvency exam, according to the digital portal ElConfidencial.com. According to several sources in the sector, the construction company wants to divest an offshore wind farm in the UK and Clece, its services subsidiary, transactions for which it can earn more than €2 billion.


3. Public debt

Spain has fourth worst debt figure in Europe, 110% of GDP, and public deficit at 4.3%

Eurostat has released data on public debt and deficit at the end of the third quarter of the previous year for the euro area and the EU-27. And in both statistics, the Spanish economy has not fared very well in relation to its European neighbours: Spain ranks fourth among European countries with the highest debt-to-GDP ratio (at the end of the third quarter of last year). This is part of…


eurozone quarantine

Eurozone government debt falls to 89.9% of GDP, deficit moderates to 2.8%

CdM| Eurozone government debt has fallen to 89.9% of GDP in the third quarter of 2023. According to data from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, this figure reflects a fall of four tenths of a percentage point from the figure for the second quarter of last year (90.3%), while the public deficit fell to 2.8% from 3% in the previous quarter. In the European Union, government debt also declined from…


Heathrow Ferrovial 777x400 1

Heathrow shareholders exercise right of first refusal and complicate sale of Ferrovial’s 25% stake in Heathrow

Bankinter| Some Heathrow shareholders have exercised their right of first refusal. The sale of the 25% stake held by Ferrovial has run into difficulties. Some Heathrow shareholders have exercised their right of first refusal on 35% of the capital. They are Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (12.62%), the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC (11.2%) and Australian Retirement Trust (11.18%). Although the agreement to sell the 25% stake held…