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Companies 13th January 2015

Santander’s bold move

MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | Santander´s management has provided little explanation for the huge 10% capital increase launched last week. The official announcement vaguely notes the need to seize new opportunities when economic prospects are improving. Can we bet on such a promising outlook when so many uncertainties prevail in Europe? It doesn’t seem very convincing. Rumours on potential take-overs also seem rather odd, as raising cash before entering a bid will only serve to increase the final bill. It makes more sense to gauge this move as a means aimed at buttressing the bank´s own funds.

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Markets 13th January 2015

Bankia issuance challenged

MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | The Spanish Justice Department has launched a thorough investigation into the accounts which were submitted prior to the original BANKIA share issuance back in 2011. Experts from the Bank of Spain have delivered a devastating report implying these accounts did not provide a fair elucidation of the balance sheet. Should the final ruling follow that line, it could open the way for multi-billion euro claims from investors. Even though BANKIA has announced it can cope with such losses, with taxpayers footing two-thirds of the bill, the impact on Spanish financial market credibility could wreak havoc.

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Companies 8th January 2015

Botín steers Santander ship into fresh water

MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Spanish bank Santander is a powerful battleship, the euro zone´s largest by market cap, one of the world’s leaders, with an outstanding presence on both sides of the Atlantic. It is therefore a complicated engine to move, even slowly. The unexpected death of the company´s chairman, Emilio Botín, in September 2014, brought about the accession of his daughter Ana to the bank´s top post. The younger Botín possesses unquestionable professional credentials, but nonetheless has had to allay fears that any change in leadership can bring about.

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Companies 8th January 2015

Santander to reinforce solvency with capital increase of €7bn

MADRID | The Corner | The stock listing of Santander, Spain and the euro zone´s largest bank was provisionally suspended on Thursday ahead of the imminent approval of a capital increase of €7Bn. When trading was suspended, shares were priced at €6.85, a rebound of 3.31%.

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In Europe 27th December 2014

Foreign money comes back to Spain

MADRID | By Fernando Barciela | Last year, according to the World Investment Report 2014 by the UNCTAD, Spain received more foreign direct investment (FDI) than countries as the United Kingdom, Germany or Holland: up to $39,167 billion (52.4% more than in 2012). Who are boosting the investment activity? The so-called vulture funds are the ones that first noticed Spain’s “possibilities”: Lone Star, Cerberus, Burlington, GreenOak, Colony, Fortress or H.I.G –most of them North Americans.

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In Europe 18th December 2014

Russia represents 1.1% of Spanish exports

MADRID | The Corner | The Russian market represents a low proportion of the Eurozone’s goods exports: below 3% for the major economies. In the case of Spain, the percentage is just 1.1%. According to experts at Afi, a decrease in the amount of Russian tourists arriving in Spain could have an impact on the Spanish economy. After all, its current contribution to the sector is just (2.4%), but before last summer, Russian tourism was a spur to Spanish tourism. 

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In Europe 12th December 2014

“Temporary factors” force analysts to revise Spanish GDP forecasts upwards

MADRID | Francisco López | The oil collapse, depreciation of the euro, low interest rates and the reduction of personal income tax are “temporary factors” that will allow the Spanish economy to grow faster than expected, according most analysts. Funcas forecasts that Spanish GDP will grow by 2.4% in 2015, 0.2 higher than their previous estimates.

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In Europe 8th December 2014

Norway bets on Spain

MADRID | The Corner | The Norway Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) is the World’s biggest sovereign wealth fund. Managed by an investment unit of the central bank (NBIM) it counts with $900 billion under management, focusing on Europe. Lately its interest in Spain goes beyond the usual sectors: financial, construction and energy.

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Markets 3rd December 2014

Price target of Spanish firms up by +47.3%

MADRID | The Corner | By J.A. Santos | The stock market value of the 60 Spanish firms that we analysed reached €615.973 billion at the close of November 2014. This represents a +6.7% increase with respect to 2013. According to the market consensus, the weighted average earnings per share is €0.85 (-27.9% vs 2013).

 

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Spanish economy 2nd December 2014

Spain’s unemployment registers its best numbers in 19 years

MADRID | The Corner | The number of unemployed people registered in the Public Services of Employment has fallen to 4,512,116. It dropped by 14,688 people in November with respect to the previous month. This represents the best figure for November since records began in 1996, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The unemployment rate has now fallen for three consecutive months