MADRID | The Corner | After their sweeping defeat at the European polls, both Spanish ruling conservative Popular Party and the Socialists have switched to a crisis management mood. The first prominent victim was Socialists’ leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, who announced his resignation on Monday. The party will choose new leaders at an extraordinary meeting on July 19 and 20.
MADRID | By Francisco López | In the midst of the euro crisis, Spanish political leaders and some economists showed off about good figures of Spain’s public debt compared to Italy’s. Then, this indicator was a good example that reflected the strengh of national public finances. Now it has turned into a constraint, although fortunately investors do not doubt on the country’s ability to pay back.
MADRID| By Julia Pastor | Spain rocked in debt markets on Tuesday, raising more than €40bn in public and corporate bonds, something that will hopefully underpin the excellent moment of peripheral sovereign debt. In fact, Italy announced a future issuance of 30-year syndicated bonds following the Spanish lead. International investors bought 73% of the Spanish indexed-inflation bonds and 90% and 83% of Telefonica and Bankia’s securities, respectively.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | British Ferrovial’s subsidiary Amey was granted with two contracts in the UK on Monday: a 5-year project for maintaining houses and facilities of the Ministry of Defence, and a second one for partly refurbishing the main country’s rail operator.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Spanish entities credit portfolio amounted €746 bn at the beginning of the year, a 5.99% fall against same month last year, while holding deposits at €687 bn, which meant a yearly growth of 0.53%. March figures suggested a new reduction of credit lending to SMEs and families. As long as banks do not have their balances adjusted by 2015 after the ECB’s stress tests, credit and deposits will not tip towards loans.
MADRID | By The Corner | When the nominal yield of Spanish 10-year-bonds stands under 3% despite the increase of interest rates in core countries such as the US, Spanish analysts at Bankinter depart from the script and recommend to give up the idea of buying the country’s sovereign debt. Since they introduced this strategy at the end of 2012, Spain’s benchmark securities went down from more than 5.5% to current less than 3%.“We estimate bond returns of 2.7% by 2015, so public debt would have not room to decrease yet,” they explain.
MADRID | The Corner | The Spanish government sent its Stability Program update to the European Commission on Wednesday, along with its National Plan of Reforms, as the country officially confirmed the 0.4% GDP growth in 1Q14 that the Bank of Spain already published last week.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | First Spanish energy company in terms of market value Iberdrola- which is also fifth in Europe- is likely to sell 25% of its Spain’s supply business. Iberdrola said earlier on Tuesday that “to date, the company has not made any decision in connection to divestments of its assets.” If finally confirmed the eventual sale could be seen as response to the Spanish energy reform which strongly affected renewables. The firm already announced investment cuts in Spain for the next two years and an increase in the UK.
MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | New employment data released on Tuesday still point to a draining situation in the eurozone’s forth economy. Employment destruction speed is simply slowing, not stopping. Unemployed queue shrank by 2,300 people, to 5.93 million, and rate climbed to 25.93 percent in the first three months of 2014, up from 25.73 percent in the previous quart. Something that is sharply denting the economic recovery.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Spain grows slowly but at a firm pace. Bank of Spain estimates that the country’s GDP increased by 0.4% in the first three months of present year against previous quarter when it rose 0.2%. This also means that year-on- year rate climbs by 0.5% reaching positive territory for the first time after nine consecutive quarters falling. After a painful recession, the government was euphoric to announce the biggest leap forward in six years.