The latest call up for footballers for the Spanish team preparing for the next World Cup in Moscow finds an equivalent in the Spanish economy’s recent successes: its internationalisation and diversification, which go far beyond declarations and pretensions.
With regard to Spain’s debt, there has been a Keynesian policy in place, of ECB monetary expansion and the expansion of government debt, call it what you like. And this policy has allowed Spain to grow at an annual rate of 3% in three years.
Inditex founder, Amancio Ortega, is still the person with the largest fortune in Spain, with 70 billion euros, followed by his daughter Sandra Ortega and and Mercadona chairman, Juan Roig. The three business people top the list of the 100 biggest national fortunes drawn up by Forbes.
Spanish factories output accelerated in the month of October hitting the highest levels for a decade, according to the PMI. This rose to 55,8 points in October from 54,3 in September, noting the “negligible impact” of the political situation in Catalonia, although political uncertainty could be a drag on future expectations.
S&P published a specific note on Spain economy on 31/10 where it states that the recent events in Catalonia should not have any immediate impact on its rating nor its outlook (BBB+/Positive). At the same time, Moody’s published a note on Spain which is more cautious about the risks of implementing Article 155.
In Spain, companies should “express their future needs in the medium and long-term and transmit them to the education system. At the same time, the education sector has to contribute and help young people to get a job tomorrow. If this is not perfectly in sync, like a watch, it doesn’t work,” explains Francisco Belil, a Gas Natural board member and deputy chairman in Spain of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
From 15:25 last Friday afternoon, when the Catalan Parliament made its unilateral declaration of independence, events have speeded up. Three hours after the solemn, but sad proclamation, the Republic of Catalonia disappeared into thin air. Mariano Rajoy dissolved the regional parliament and fired Carles Puigdemont’s government by implementing Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution in the Senate. And the biggest surprise: a call for elections on December 21.
Ratings agency Fitch has warned that a property bubble is evident in the centres of Spain’s large cities. But it makes it clear that it does not anticipate any generalised bubble in housing prices in the country in the short-term. This is due to the high level of stock which still has to be absorbed and the restrictions on buying a home.
The capital hikes carried out by Spanish companies totalled 4.114,7 billion euros in September, almost four times more than a year earlier and the highest figure in that month since 2012. This is according to data analysed by the Economic Studies Department of rating agency Axesor.
Financial institutions, companies and households have continued to adjust the debt accumulated in the first half of the year. In the case of non-financial companies and households, their level of debt is increasingly closer to the European average, against a backdrop of greater economic growth and preference for home ownership.