Archives for September 2010
September 16th, 2010
Spanish banks are well placed to meet the more stringent capital requirements of Basel III, the association of Spain's listed banks, or AEB, said Monday. "In principle, Spanish banks fulfill the capital requirements of the [Basel III] agreement, or are perfectly able to do so in the required time frame," the ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks 'Weathering the Crisis' Well
September 15th, 2010
Santander, the highly acquisitive Spanish bank, has continued its aggressive march into emerging markets after winning the auction for a controlling stake in one of Poland’s largest banks. Santander fought off stiff competition from European rivals to purchase the 70 per cent stake of Bank Zachodni WBK that Allied Irish Banks ...
Continue reading Spain's Santander Wins Controlling Stake in Polish Bank
September 14th, 2010
Despite Mr Zapatero finding little support for his forthcoming budget, there is some consolation in that his labour reforms have been approved, and Spain returned to growth (0.2%) in Q2 of this year. News that property transactions increased over the same period by almost 25% compared to the same time last ...
Continue reading Zapatero Winning the Battle, but losing the War in Spain?
September 14th, 2010
Spain remained the most searched country for flights by UK travellers in the peak holiday month of August, followed by domestic destinations. In third place in a league table produced by flights comparison site Skyscanner.net was the US - the only country outside of Europe to make the top ten. Turkey was ...
Continue reading Spain Tops August Flight Search Stats
September 13th, 2010
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has three weeks to draft a budget that can unite Basques who want to split from Spain and investors skeptical he can tame the euro region’s third-largest budget deficit. Zapatero’s minority administration, which plans to announce its tax and spending plans by Sept. 30, still ...
Continue reading Zapatero in Countdown to Budget
September 10th, 2010
Valdeluz was supposed to be the stuff of dreams. An orderly residential estate built around a high-speed railway station near Guadalajara, north-east of Madrid, it promised semi-rural tranquillity within easy reach of the national capital and a well-serviced regional city. Inaugurated in 2006, at the peak of the country’s residential property ...
Continue reading Spain's Property Developers Left High and Dry
September 9th, 2010
Spanish banks that were squeezed out of wholesale finance markets in May have returned in force with a series of bond issues since late July and raised more than $4bn in the first five days of September alone, according to company announcements and figures from Dealogic, the data provider. But both ...
Continue reading Spanish Banks Return to Bonds
September 8th, 2010
The eurozone economy grew by 1% between April and June, official figures have confirmed. The initial estimate was published last month, showing stronger growth than expected, largely due to strong exports that were boosted by a weaker euro. The German economy, which grew by 2.2% over the three months, helped to drive ...
Continue reading 1% Eurozone Growth Confirmed
September 7th, 2010
Most of this week's news stories have a positive theme - albeit with some darker undertones. In Spanish Bonds Attract Global Banks we read that "The use of Spanish government bonds shows that confidence in Madrid has risen in recent weeks as fears recede that the country's sluggish economy will trigger ...
Continue reading Spanish Property News Roundup
September 7th, 2010
Spain's deficit is down sharply thanks to an unpopular cocktail of tax hikes and austerity cuts — good news for a government fighting to ward off fears it might need a bailout like the one that saved Greece from bankruptcy. Still, with a fifth of the work force out of a ...
Continue reading Austerity Cuts Halve Spain’s Deficit
September 6th, 2010
Spain hopes China will increase its investment in Spanish government debt, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero said on a visit to Beijing, highlighting China's importance as a source of global capital. Mr. Zapatero made the comments in a group interview with Chinese media Tuesday, during a brief stop in Beijing ...
Continue reading Spanish PM Seeking to Promote Links with China
September 3rd, 2010
Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage repayments in Spain, has now risen for 5 consecutive months to its highest level in more than a year. Euribor reached 1.421% in August, an increase of 3.5% on the previous month, and 6.5% higher than August last year. As a ...
Continue reading Spanish Homeowners Face First Mortgage Rise in Two Years
September 2nd, 2010
International banks used a record amount of Spanish government bonds as collateral to borrow money in the markets last week, sparking hopes that credit problems in the troubled eurozone are easing. The use of Spanish government bonds shows that confidence in Madrid has risen in recent weeks as fears recede that ...
Continue reading Spanish Bonds Attract Global Banks
September 1st, 2010
Seven out of ten Britons who have retired abroad are happy with their new country and likely to stay there, a survey said yesterday. Fewer than one in five who have gone to live in France, Portugal or Spain are considering returning home, it found. The poll also found that nine out ...
Continue reading Expat Retirees Happy to Stay Abroad
