MADRID| Fernando G. Urbaneja| Spanish leaders try to diminish the importance of corruption in the country’s political sphere. They say it is not a general practice, that cases in the public eye are manageable exceptions. But citizens do not seem to agree.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Two years, a €100 billion banking bailout, and a comprehensive package of structural reforms later, Spain’s president, Mariano Rajoy, celebrated on Wednesday his 2011 electoral victory. These years’ balance is some sort of bittersweet taste. The country’s external perception has improved, but unemployment and public debt numbers are still a heavy burden.
MADRID | By Fernando G Urbaneja | Jeroen Dijsselbloem is happy because Spain is doing its homework, but he warns that there is still a lot to do. “Working harder and longer” is his motto, although he doesn’t seem to know how eager the Spanish unemployed are to find a job. And extending the age of retirement doesn’t look like the best option.
MADRID | By Alex García.
NEW YORK | By Ana Fuentes | America’s economy is recovering at a slow but firm pace: mortgages, the car industry, consumption, all show better figures than last year. However, the last jobs report brings a huge problem on the table: teen unemployment is still too high. More than 10 million youth are unable to find full-time work, and that’s a ticking bomb, experts warn.
MADRID | By Luis Martí | Spaniards are not slim quite yet. Or that’s how the IMF’s last report sees it. While admitting that reforms have gone quite far, the IMF wants wage earners to run an extra mile. But there are a few reasons why the institution’s proposal doesn’t make the cut.
MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | The Spanish government claims its structural reforms are paying off. For several months in a row unemployment performance has markedly improved, rising hopes to curb the current staggering level: more than one in four workers queuing in the dole. It also helps that exports are growing at 8% rate, allowing to save jobs and keep the economy running.
SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes | Unfortunately, there´s not much to celebrate on this Labor Day. I start by showing what to me is the most telling chart of all concerning the labor market and which I believe contains the “seeds of destruction” in so much as it destroys skills and the likelihood of a return to meaningful employment in the future.
MADRID | By José Hervás | European commissioners and top officials can receive up to 70% of their salary when they retire, which in most cases translate into more than €10,000 per month.
MADRID | By José S. Mendoza, via capitalmadrid.com | “The staggering unemployment in Spain we have suffered will now be reversed and we can expect our economy to begin its recovery.”