MADRID | April 8, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Earlier this year, Santander announced a capital increase of €7 billion through an accelerated book building offer to institutional investors at a 12% discount on the traded share price, which was between €6-€7. Within hours, the new shares were sold and existing shareholders were left as bystanders once they had authorised the board to waive their preferential subscription rights.
The Corner | April 7, 2015 | Analysis from Barclays | Spanish composite PMIs rebounded to 56.9 (+0.9 point) in March, as services PMI overshot expectations (57.3) and manufacturing output remained broadly stable (55.5). The services sector’s solid performance (PMI at an eight month high) was primarily triggered by stronger new business.
The Corner | April 1, 2015 | Public works contracts grew by €2.88 billion (25%) in 2015, bucking a negative trend that had been prevalent for the previous seven years.
MADRID | March 24, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | The Andalusia election results have offered some solace to the ruling socialist party, but the arrival of upstarts Podemos and Ciudadanos as political forces delivers a strong message to Spain’s traditional parties.
MADRID | March 9, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Martinsa-Fadesa is a paradigm of Spanish real estate disaster of the last decade, a company which became synonymous with Spain’s period of boom and bust, an exemplification of the evils of the time.
The Corner | March 6, 2015 | In yet more positive news for the Spanish economy, influential foundation FUNCAS has revised its growth projections upwards for 2015 to 3%. Increased consumption and an improvement in the construction sector are the chief reasons for the upward trend.
MADRID, February 20, 2015 | By Fernando G Urbaneja | The Government and Spanish companies are taking advantage of low interest rates as a means of reducing overall indebtedness.
MADRID, February 20, 2015 | The Corner | Non-performing loans in Spain continue to decline, with the total ratio of bad debts now standing at 12.5% of total outstanding loans. The figures represent the fourth consecutive decline in non-performing loans and now stand at the lowest level since September 2013. The figure is over 100bps less than the 13.6% recorded in December 2013, in spite of overall lending falling by -4.6%.
MADRID| The Corner | Yields on ten-year government bonds remain close to historically low levels.
MADRID, February 19, 2015 | The Corner | Vehicle registrations in January 2015 totaled 999,157 units in Europe, representing a rise of 6.7%. The figures point to a strengthening of the recovery in the automotive sector, with growth now recorded for seven consecutive months. The figures were buoyed by particularly strong performances in Spain and Italy, each of which posted double digit increases.