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Spanish economy

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Spanish economy 31st March 2014

Spain sees sovereign debt interests go down by 50%

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Spanish public Treasury will have its weekly appointment with investors on Thursday. This time the country will issue bonds with maturities of 5, 10 and 12 years, respectively. There would be nothing unusual about it if international investors’ appetite for the Spanish sovereign debt were usual. However, interests in national treasuries currently reach levels of the 90’s when, before euro’s introduction, those bought Spain’s debt during seven quarters without a break. The institution even considers the possibility of creating 50 years bonds. At this moment, the Spanish 10 years bonds yield under 3.25%. As the summer comes the benchmark debt could stand at around 3%.

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Spanish economy 30th March 2014

Repsol is to attract more sovereign funds to Spain

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Spanish oil company Repsol could sell two block of shares reaching 10% to sovereign funds. The presence of this kind of investors in Spain is not new, much less in strategy sectors such as energy, but the point is that corporate managing teams have allowed those to enter their capital and look under the rug. Furthermore, sovereign funds’ investments criteria such as will of permanence, long term view and sustainability are always good news for a firm. Singapore’s Temasek fund already holds 5% of Repsol, while Qatar’s has also participation in other national energy companies. Therefore, both would have more options to be those packages’ next owners.

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Spanish economy 25th March 2014

It’s raining (Spanish debt), man!

MADRID | By Francisco López | Spanish debt’s low interests in the beginning of the year have resulted in a flood of Treasuries as well as corporate and regional bonds. Just last week,  the country’s public Treasury placed more than €8 billion and financed 33% of € 133.3bn foreseen by the end of 2014 in less than three months.

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Spanish economy 17th March 2014

Spain’s housing market at cruise speed

MADRID | By The Corner Team | Spanish real state sector stands at its adjustment final stage is an oft-repeated mantra in the country’s analysts firms. After five years of hard recession,  some signs of slow recovery are increasingly growing. Last outstanding figure is year-on-year upturn of +59.2% in properties’ selling and buying in January, as reported by Spain’s General Council of Notaries.  National housing market would become an attractive investment opportunity again in 2014.

Santander

Spanish economy 5th March 2014

Spanish Santander’s long-term debt rating sees one notch rise

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Moodys considers that the biggest euro zone bank Santander has sufficiently diversified its sovereign risk and it has become stronger to face operating risks in Spain, thus increasing entity’s long-term credit in one notch, from Baa1 to Baa2. According to BEKA finance’s analysts in Madrid after this improvement Spanish economy’s risk profile will not be anymore the main and almost only variable limiting Santander’s rating to soften. The bank got a big boost which and announced a €1.5 billion issue of convertible bonds to reinforce its capital.

  

 

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Spanish economy 28th February 2014

Sacyr and Panama Canal’s affair to end with “conceptual agreement”

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Come to peace terms has not been easy for Spanish company Sacyr and Panama Canal Authority.  The pre-deal tacitly accepted by both parties mid February suffered a little setback some days later when hesitations of the project insurer as well as Spanish government’s prevented to sign the contract. On Thursday, the pre-deal became a “conceptual agreement” that hopefully will put a real end point to such a prolonged and complex diplomacy affair.

 

 

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Spanish economy 28th February 2014

Spain regains €136 million with first steps of Bankia’s privatisation

MADRID | The Corner Team | Bankia’ listing in Madrid Stock Exchange was cancelled up to 10 A.M on Friday. One hour later it was known that Spain sold 7.5% of the entity’s capital announced on Thursday at a value of 1.51 euros per share, which amounts a total of €1.3bn and also a discount of 4.4% against yesterday’s closing prices. Furthermore, the sale allows Spain to earn €136 million. With figures aligning with analysts’ estimations, the start of Bankia’s privatisation proves external confidence in Spanish financial sector recovery. 

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Spanish economy 24th February 2014

Misteries to solve about Spain’s structural unemployment

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Overwhelming figures on Spanish unemployment are as unbereable and unjustifiable as difficult to undo. Nevertheless, it is convenient to remember that these numbers start from a structural rate of around 9% which would always distort comparisons with other European countries as well as final conclusions. According to the last European Commission estimates, natural rate of unemployment in the country has increased from 10.9% in 2006 to 23.2% in 2013, which will increase structural figures to 26.6% by 2015. This gives some sort of “apocalyptic view” over Spanish economy’s state, JP Morgan’s says to its clients. Maybe economists at the EC “forgot to make some reasonable adjustments.”

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Spanish economy 20th February 2014

The controversy of Spain’s Iberdrola speaking English

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Words from the energy firm’ s president Ignacio Sánchez Galán saying before international investors that “they were more British, US and Mexican that Spanish” to explain each corporate bussiness’ importance on the company’s balancesheet has been a kind of hurt. Furthermore, Iberdrola announced  a cut of investments in Spain: of an overall €9,600bn, only €1.5 which means 15%, will come to the country and be limited to maintenance operations, while the UK will be the major destination with 41% of investments. Against the background of the controversial energy reform having place, the debate between Spanish government and energy industry is getting hotter.

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Spanish economy 14th February 2014

Thousands of Spaniards trapped in underwater mortgages

MADRID | By The Corner | A few years ago, owning a house was the dream of many. However, today this dream was turned into a nightmare for more than almost 600.000 borrowers in Spain. Thousands of homeowners across Spain are trapped in underwater mortgages more expensive than their houses.