Archives for April 2008
April 11th, 2008
Windmills pay. On a breezy Saturday at the end of March, Aeolian Parks scattered across the hill-top ridges and off-shore sandbanks of Spain produced 40.8pc of the country's electricity needs - 9,862 megawatts to be precise. The much-derided turbines produced enough wattage to power the great cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, ...
Continue reading Spain Gains From Wind Power
April 10th, 2008
The Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, yesterday outlined how his re-elected Socialist government will save Spain from economic crisis. In a speech to the Spanish parliament as he begins his second term, Zapatero announced an ambitious public works programme, which will pour millions of euros into building 150,000 ...
Continue reading Public Works Save Spanish Economy
April 9th, 2008
International banks are scrambling to sell their holdings of Spanish mortgage debt at a steep discount, fearing that the country may be sliding into the worst economic downturn in its modern history. A blizzard of grim data has soured the mood, capped yesterday by a plunge in PMI purchasing managers' index ...
Continue reading Foreign Banks Flee Spanish Property Debt
April 8th, 2008
Members of the European Parliament have held a two-day meeting in Brussels to address the growing number of complaints from British, German, Dutch and other European citizen’s whose properties have been demolished in Spain – particularly across the Valencian region. At the close of the meeting, MEPs from both sides of ...
Continue reading Euro MPs Call for Action in Spain
April 7th, 2008
The cost of holidays in Europe is set to soar this year as the growing strength of the euro adds to tourists' shopping, bar and accommodation bills. Six months ago it would have cost £67 to buy €100; now it costs £78 after a 16 per cent fall in the ...
Continue reading Euro Cost Hits Holidays Abroad
April 4th, 2008
Following the re-election of the Spanish Socialist Party, Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol (PSOE), led by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, on March 9th, investers planning to buy property in Spain can look forward to a simpler, more buyer-friendly process. As part of the pre-election promises, the PSOE vowed to mke life easier ...
Continue reading Spanish Property Buying Set to Improve
April 3rd, 2008
He was credited with — and blamed for — the invention of the package holiday, bringing millions of milk-skinned Britons to the Spanish costas and transforming Benidorm from a sleepy fishing village into the forest of concrete towers it is today. Pedro Zaragoza Orts, the Mayor of Benidorm for 17 ...
Continue reading Package Holiday Inventor Dies
April 2nd, 2008
Few people actually enjoy financial planning. Whether we’re talking about applying for bank accounts, or setting up tax reduction arrangements, or researching, buying and selling stocks and shares, most people consider is a chore and keep putting it off. If you are quite new to Spain you’ll be ...
Continue reading Financial Planning Hidden Dangers
April 1st, 2008
There's been a fresh slew of articles in the press this week about the state of the Spanish property market following another construction company going into receivership. Journalists are wondering whether Spain is following the US into a sub-prime crisis of its own? For what it's worth, here's my tuppence-worth. ...
Continue reading Is There a Sub-prime Crisis in Spain?
April 1st, 2008
Brits thinking about buying property abroad are wondering why the Pound has fallen so far against the Euro. Currency specialists, Moneycorp, say many factors are involved but at least two of them involve house prices in the UK and US. Northern Rock came to grief in September when it could ...
Continue reading What's Wrong With Sterling?
