The Council of Ministers on Tuesday removed the obligation to wear a face mask indoors. It does so 699 days after the Government established, for the first time on 21 May 2020, the mandatory use of this protection both indoors and outdoors. Since then, entry to bars, shopping centres, banks and supermarkets has been linked to the compulsory use of a mask to prevent the spread of Covid-19. A necessity…
FEDEA (Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada) analyses existing information on the implementation and execution of investment projects and aid programmes included in the Recovery Plan (RP) and financed by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM). So far, programmes and projects representing about one third of the planned expenditure have been launched, but with significant differences between headings. Of the 24 billion of RRM funds budgeted for 2021, 20…
The trade deficit stood at 10.774.7 billion euros in the first two months of the year, which is almost four times the figure recorded in the same period of 2021. The report on foreign trade by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism shows that the energy deficit reached 6.984.5 million euros, double the figure for the same period in 2021 (3.110.4 billion euros), while non-energy exports stood at 3.790.2…
Morgan Stanley | We are hoping for another strong quarter amongst the European oil companies. Quarter-on-quarter profit growth of 9% and another record quarter in terms of FCF generation (9%QoQ and 46% YonY). We are estimating organic FCF amongst the big players of $30 billion in the quarter, sufficient to cover dividends for the whole year. This provides support for higher returns to shareholders, particularly in the form of buybacks….
Bankinter | Exposure to North America and protection against inflation. Ferrovial offers a good combination of protection against inflation and exposure to the recovery in the cycle, via traffic. Of its total cashflow, 80% comes from North America (US and Canada), where the impact of the war in Ukraine will be less. And salaries have capacity to grow. Whatsmore, Ferrovial has a solid financial structure, with net cash in the…
Luis Alcaide | In the wake of his meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the main opposition candidate Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, recently elected president of the Partido Popular, complained that he had not been heard on his proposals on taxation: a reduction in personal income tax for taxpayers with lower incomes in order to compensate for the greater frequency of the effects of inflation. This is neither a pro-vo¬lu¬tionary nor…
Gerardo Cuerva (*) | For more than ten years, the fight against business late payment has been a priority for the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (CEPYME). It has been developing a strategy of monitoring and recommending good practices aimed at bringing about a cultural change to banish this negative business practice. This strategy has been reinforced in the last year with the creation and promotion of the…
Bankinter | Merlin, Colonial and Lar España foresee passing inflation on to their rents. They give assurances they will enforce contracts, just as they did when inflation was zero or in negative territory. Bankinter’s opinion: Good news for the sector, although it should be viewed with caution. We do not think the increase in inflation is going to be applied across the board. There will be some assets requiring negotiation with…
The wage bill of Spanish public administrations exceeded all historical records last year. According to the official INE National Accounts figures published today in the newspaper El Economista, in 2021 the amount of salaries of public sector employees (civil servants along with other categories of public sector staff) plus their payments for social security contributions amounted to 147.363 billion per year. And with inflation soaring, everything points to the fact…
J.P. Marín-Arrese | The new Opposition leader has decided to confront the government on economic policies, which signals a departure from his predecessor’s bitter bickering and acrimony toward Mr Sánchez. Mr Casado practised a scorched earth policy treating the Premier as a mendacious liar, felon and traitor. Such terms of abuse stirred the hearts of hardline supporters but did little to convince mainstream voters of his suitability to govern the…