MADRID | The Corner | Almost 8,000 companies were created in Spain in October, according to official figures, around 3% more y-o-y. The rate of businesses destruction went down by -12.2%, showing the economy’s slight improvement. However, unemployment still sits painfully at 23.7% and entrepreneurs still complain about red tape and other restrictions.
MADRID | By Sean Duffy | It may come as a surprise to Spaniards who observe their elected leaders being hauled before judges, into police stations or sentenced to terms behind bars, but Spain is actually less corrupt than it was a year ago.
MADRID | The Corner | In Spain, the fall in oil prices will be crucial for households throughout 2015. Market watchers at Afi say that the drop in the oil price will have a positive impact of 0.5% on the real income of households next year.
MADRID | The Corner | The number of unemployed people registered in the Public Services of Employment has fallen to 4,512,116. It dropped by 14,688 people in November with respect to the previous month. This represents the best figure for November since records began in 1996, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The unemployment rate has now fallen for three consecutive months
MADRID | The Corner | According to the tourist expenditure survey EGATUR, foreign tourists spent €56.374 billion in Spain in the first ten months of 2014, an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2013, and a new record. The increase, however, is due to a greater influx of visitors.
MADRID | The Corner | The indicator of economic confidence of Spain stood at 104.2 points, a sharp rise of nine tenths in November, and its highest level since August 2007, Brussels reported. The upturn in confidence in the Southern EZ economy is explained by the observed improvement in the manufacturing sector, services and retail, while consumer confidence and construction deteriorated compared to October.
WASHINGTON | By Pablo Pardo | Lefty populism is on the rise in Spain, helped by the financial crisis, and a cascade of scandals that has so far tarnished all the traditional (i.e., pre-existing) parties from the Left and the Right. Podemos, the leftie, Hugo Chávez-inspired party that advocates defaulting on the Spanish debt (to the delight of The Financial Times) could win the elections, according to some polls.
MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | The radicalism of Podemos (we can) has won widespread popular support in Spain, scoring an astonishing result in the latest European Parliament election. It now runs a bitter neck-and-neck race alongside the two mainstream political parties. Its charismatic leader, Pablo Iglesias, has delivered devastating blows to opponents across the board, mercilessly portraying them as a corrupt “caste” all too eager to preserve their petty privileges, while bending to wealthy establishment’ interests. Yet, in an open bid for power, Podemos has undertaken a sweeping U-turn, transforming itself into a conventional party. Its leader has taken over as General Secretary and immediately launched discussions for setting up an economic manifesto.
MADRID | The Corner | One of the risks of the Spanish economy is the significant lost of dynamism in the Eurozone. The latest data of the balance of trade published on Monday explain such fear. Thus, the Spanish exports registered last September a year-on-year rate of 9.6% (-5.1% from the previous month).
MADRID | By Ana López-Varela | The Spanish labour market is bearing it´s teeth towards temporary workers by penalising them excessively. That is the verdict of the European Commission, who highlight concerns in a recent report titled “Wage Adjustment in Spain: slow, inefficient and unfair?” published by the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs.