In Spain

congreso diputados1

Government to suffer new parliamentary defeat today, at start of political season

Unless something changes—and there’s no sign that it will—the coalition government will face another parliamentary defeat today, at the start of the political season, which will clearly highlight its enormous parliamentary weakness. The bill to reduce the 38-hour workweek by half an hour, drafted by Yolanda Díaz, the leader of the communist wing of the government and head of the Ministry of Labor, will be rejected with the 177 votes…


ElectricityTC

Over 1000 companies compete for Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP’s low-voltage network

Banc Sabadell | This Tuesday, the major electricity companies —Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP— must publish their low-voltage network distribution map, revealing the availability for new consumer connections, which should be completely saturated. This situation would affect more than a thousand companies with pending projects, especially data centres and large industries, which could be forced to relocate if they cannot obtain a connection. Assessment: With the distribution map ‘full’, or…


Montero

Treasury body denounces hidden increase in tax burden for not deflating personal income tax (IRPF) brackets

The Taxpayer Defense Council explains that it “doesn’t seem reasonable” that rising prices should lead to an increase in taxpayers’ tax bills. The Council is denouncing what many experts have already pointed out: that not deflating the tax brackets when there have been years with inflation above 8% (8.4% in 2022, 3.5% in 2023, and 3.2% in 2024) constitutes a significant, hidden increase in the tax burden. This is because…


bbva sabadell

BBVA’s Sabadell Bid Begins Today with Offer That Represents 8% Loss for Shareholders

Today, the acceptance period for the takeover bid for Banco Sabadell finally begins. BBVA announced the bid on May 9, 2024, after Sabadell’s board rejected the Basque bank’s friendly offer. In the year and a half since, BBVA has had to secure approval from the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC)—which imposed tough conditions to ensure competition—the Government—which has forbidden the Basque bank from merging for three years, thus…


renfe america

New Rail Chaos, Minister Warns Problems Will Continue for at Least Two Years

Yesterday, while the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, was appearing in Congress to explain the problems suffered by Spain’s railway network this summer (when four out of 10 trains had issues and the average delay on high-speed lines was 20 minutes), ADIF’s computer system—responsible for the rail network—crashed. This created new chaos in Madrid’s stations, especially at Chamartín. The incident ended up affecting thousands of passengers and all trains with…


ryanair aviones

Ryanair announces pullback in Spain after AENA’s announcement to raise airport fees by €0.68 per passenger

The Irish airline Ryanair has announced that this winter it will close its base in Santiago de Compostela and cancel all flights to Vigo and Tenerife North. This cutback affects numerous Spanish routes due, according to the company, to the “excessive and uncompetitive airport fees” imposed by Aena, which has decided to raise them by 0.68 euros per passenger. The decision was communicated by CEO Eddie Wilson during the presentation…


Montero

Government turns regional debt write-off demanded by partners into new attack against PP, which rejects it

While Puigdemont demanded an amnesty from Sánchez in exchange for his support for the investiture, ERC demanded a write-off of the Catalan government’s debt. Sánchez accepted both agreements, and yesterday, the Council of Ministers approved the draft law that will allow a write-off of €83.252 billion for all regions except the Basque Country and Navarra, which are not under the common regime. To make the measure more palatable, the government…


unemployment spain

Spain, with 10.4%, still leads euro area, with 6.2%, in unemployment

The unemployment rate for the euro area dropped by one-tenth of a percentage point in July, to 6.2%, while the rate for the European Union also fell by one-tenth, settling at 5.9%. These figures, published by Eurostat, show Spain with the highest level of unemployment among the 27 member states, with a rate of 10.4% for the second consecutive month. Eurostat’s data indicates that 13 million people were unemployed in…


comercio minorista alimentos

CPI in Spain remains at 2.7% in August, but core inflation rises 1/10 of a percentage point to 2.4% thanks to lower food and electricity prices

CdM | The Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained at 2.7% year-on-year in August, thanks to food and electricity prices offsetting fuel prices, according to data released on Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The stability of the year-on-year CPI in the eighth month of the year slows down the rise in the inflation rate experienced during the previous two months. The agency explained that the CPI remaining at 2.7%…


spanish PM pedro sanchez

Spain: An Incorrigible Triumphalism

A.A. | “It’s sad, for example, that a good idea, the Minimum Living Income (IMV), hasn’t worked… The reality today is that fewer people are receiving the IMV than were previously receiving the minimum incomes offered by the Autonomous Communities.” This confession was made to us a couple of months ago by a member of parliament from Sumar, the PSOE’s coalition partner in the government, over dessert. He admitted sadly…