Another solemn announcement by the Catalan government, another date for the diary. On October 1, the Catalan people will be asked to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on the following question: “Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?”. The Catalan separatist camp, led by regional premier Carles Puigdemont, hopes for a victory that will then see the north-eastern region declare independence from Spain.
Everything seems to indicate that Pedro Sánchez will be acclaimed as PSOE leader at the 39th Spanish Socialist Party Congress to be held 16-18 June. He is proposing a new social pact to modernise and stabilise Spain, with its roots in a European progressive alliance, in the face of the current or upcoming neoliberalism crises.
A survey by the Family Business Institute, which groups the big Spanish companies together, and the CIS’ economic confidence barometer show that people are confident about the outlook for the economy. But the political panorama is a different story. They are more wearied by the political tension and corruption than by the conditions of their daily lives.
Non-subsidised Spanish housing prices grew 0.9% on as quarterly basis and 2.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2017, according to the statistics on the tax valuation of houses published by the Public Works Ministry. Minister Iñigo de la Serna flagged that it’s the eight consecutive quarter with price rises, although he ruled that there is an overheating in the sector.
While last week’s auction of installation licences for 3.000 MW of renewable energy was very successful, many companies ended up not being awarded anything. So the government has decided to hold another auction with similar characteristics. But this time it will only be for renewable and photovoltaic energy.
The European Commission has unveiled a document with an anual battery of recommendations to improve the Spain’s economy’s weak points. It has asked, for the sixth consecutive year, that the improves its public system for finding employment.
Spanish banks (and their fund management companies) continue to charge high commissions on their investment funds and pension plans. They can afford to do that because in Spain, the clients are the banks’ clients and they are cautious. So there is little competition in this sector, unlike in the UK.
Fernando Rodríguez |The first quarter results from the Spanish banks have fuelled rises in the majority of their stock prices. But analysts are divided over the future market performance of a sector which is showing some lights, like a decline in provisions, but also a few shadows, such as weak profitability.
The European Commission says that Spain continues to grow above the eurozone average and that this year GDP growth will exceed its highest pre-crisis level.
Spain has lost its first case in an international arbitrage court, namely the World Bank’s Ciadi, related to the cuts applied to the renewables remuneration from 2010. The ruling is in favour of the UK Company Eiser Infrastructure Ltd. and its Luxembourg subsidiary Energy Solar Luxembourg,