Bankia’s results were much better than market expectations, however, there are some uncertainties about its share price. The bank has achieved a profit of € 542 million, 23% less, with experts expecting a greater adjustment due to the bank’s efforts to get rid of unproductive assets.
Bankinter | According to INE (Spanish Statistical Office) 83.7 million foreign tourists visited Spain last year, an increase of 1.1% over 2018. Their spending also broke a record, rising 2.8% to €92.278 million. Among the main tourist destinations, the ones that did well were Madrid +7,0%, the Autonomous region of Valencia +3,9% and Andalusia +3,4% and the ones that didn’t were The Canary Islands -4,4% and the Balearic Islands -1,2%.
Unemployment rose in January by 90,248 people and the Social Security system lost 244,044 members, the worst figure since 2013, when Spain was trying to emerge from the crisis. All the Autonomous Communities, except for the Balearic Islands, have seen the unemployment rate rise in all sectors except construction, so some Autonomous Communities already have more unemployed than in 2019.
Iberdrola is selling its entire stake in German turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa, representing 8.07 % of its share capital. The price for the transaction is €1.1 Bn, which equals to €20 per share, plus a premium of 32%.
The five main integrated utilities operating in the Spanish electricity sector (EDP, Endesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and Viesgo) invested over 11 billion euros in their activities in this market between 2016 and 2018, according to a report prepared by Deloitte. Of this total investment figure, €1.15 Bn corresponded to R&D&I in those three years, of which almost a third was allocated to electricity in Spain over the period.
According to articles in the press, the decision of Jordi Sevilla, president of REE (Red Eléctrica de España) responds to his growing disagreements with Teresa Ribera, one of four vice presidents of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition.
Telefónica’s decision to reduce its reliance on Huawei is in line with the company’s strategy to have several different providers for the equipment for its 5G networks, which is expected to be widely deployed by 2022.
Atlantic Sentinel | Left-wing separatists would allow the social democrat to become prime minister a second time. Spanish Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez fell short of a absolute majority in Congress on Sunday to become prime minister a second time. However, left-wing separatists from the Basque Country and Catalonia have agreed to abstain from a second vote on Tuesday, which should allow Sánchez to scrape by with a majority of one.