MADRID | March 16, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | The hardest hit stock on the Ibex 35 last week was Sabadell bank, with the lender losing 7% of its valuation after news emerged of a pending takeover bid for British bank TSB.
MADRID | By Francisco López | March 16, 2015 | Some opportunities are not to be missed. The Spanish Treasury’s first auction since the ECB launched its sovereign bond-buying program saw yields fall to their lowest levels in history.
The Corner | March 13, 2015 | The ECB’s sovereign bond purchase programme has helped to reduce yields on Spanish bonds to record lows. Data from Italy is likely to show price falls in excess of 2%, while it will be no surprise to see further squabbling between Greece and its creditors over the weekend, particularly with yesterday’s intervention by the OECD.
MADRID | March 12, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | The exposure of Andorran lender by the US Treasury sounds word of warning to banks concealing the proceeds of organised crime.
The Corner | March 6, 2015 | In yet more positive news for the Spanish economy, influential foundation FUNCAS has revised its growth projections upwards for 2015 to 3%. Increased consumption and an improvement in the construction sector are the chief reasons for the upward trend.
The Corner | March 6, 2015 | Markets are likely to be buoyed by the positive assessment of Mario Draghi yesterday, which will probably be backed up by euro zone growth figures for Q4, released later this morning. In other news, Spanish 10-year bonds are up for auction too, while Spain’s industrial sector is expected to return to positive territory
MADRID | March 4, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | No financial entity which enters a crisis and needs an external rescue retains its identity. Usually it just becomes integrated into another financial group which allows for a change of brand. Bankia may be the first exception to the long list of Spanish financial crises of the last half century.
MADRID | March 3, 2015 | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | The creation of 13,500 new jobs in January is in line with encouraging figures elsewhere in the Spanish economy. While there will rightly be optimism in the wake of the latest data, the worrying plight of the youth and long-term unemployed continue to cause concern.
The Corner | March 3, 2015 | Retail sales in Germany beat expectations in January: they rose by 5.3% instead of the forecast 3.0%, and up from the December’s upwardly revised 4.8% rise. Spanish and German consumers are seemingly much happier about the state of the economy.
The Corner | March 2, 2015 | Concerns about the impact that the ECB’s quantitative easing programme will have persist ahead of monthly purchase of €60 billion in sovereign bonds.