The total debt of the public administrations rose by 8.2% in July in comparison with the same month of the previous year, as a consequence of the greater expenditure derived from the coronavirus crisis. This increase adds up to almost €100 billion more in the last year, according to the data published on Thursday by the Bank of Spain.
Intermoney | There are important reasons for maintaining a prudent attitude with regard to the Spanish economy, situating its full recovery in the year 2023. This would mean that we would lose more than a decade of the fledgling 21st century. On the other hand, there are also reasons to hope the recovery will eventually take shape and not be too far off. These include the encouraging development of the COVID-19 vaccines, the decisive response from the ECB and the EU, and a lesser impact of the crisis than feared on large European partners and customers.
According to data released yesterday by the Bank of Spain, overall government debt reached 1.224, 243 trillion euros in March. It increased by 22.473 billion euros (+1.9%) from February due to the Covid-19 crisis. So public debt is now at an all-time high and equivalent to 98.3% of 2019 GDP. All organisations highlight in their forecasts that public debt will rise above 100% and set new historical records.
The European Commission (EC) urged the Spanish government to “carefully” evaluate the potential impact of any modifications to the 2012 labour reform and to “preserve “the most positive aspects of it, which “supported solid job creation” during the recovery phase. Citing a recent study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it states that “the labour reforms adopted in 2012-13 in response to the crisis have played an important role in promoting a rich recovery in employment which began in 2014.”
BancaMarch | The European Commission warns that Spain is moving away from the adjustment path and asks for measures that compensate the alignment of pensions with prices.
According to data published by the Bank of Spain, the debt accumulated by all Spanish Public Administrations during 2018 increased by 26.536 billion euros, an increase of 2.3%, to reach a total of 1,170.961 billion euros by the end of the year, a new record in absolute terms. In relevant terms, however, the debt fell because the Spanish economy continues to grow.
Miguel Navascués | Still maintaining pensions reforms, given fairly benign assumptions on productivity, growth, employment and immigration, would have to result in the apparition of a significant systemic debt, but the no-reform is therefore today the least bad solution. A rigorous study by the Foundation FEDEA focuses on precisely this point.
Now “the waters appear to have calmed” in Italy, analysts at Intermoney, however, believe we will see more episodes of tension originating in Italy. The key moment is likely to come at the end of the summer or in the autumn. This situation should be seen as a scenario for tension rather than rupture, although contagion to other peripheral economies could be possible.
Concern about Italy is the order of the day and the situation in that coutry will continue to grab investors’ attention. To such an extent that a photograph of what’s going on there is required, starting with this key question: we are facing a problem of public, not private debt.
Lukas Daalder (Robeco) | Investors are making the mistake of focusing on 3%, believing the returns on US fixed income securities augur a decline in equities