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Weekly Report

Business Over Tapas – December, 19th -2014

By Lenox Napier and Andrew Brociner

sábado 20 de diciembre de 2014, 02:43h

A digest of this week's Spanish financial, political and social news aimed primarily at Foreign Property Owners: with Lenox Napier and Andrew Brociner - For subscriptions and other information about this site, go to businessovertapas.com - email: [email protected]

***Now with Facebook Page (Like!)*** Note: Underlined words or phrases are links to the Internet. Right click and press 'Control' on your keyboard to access. - Business over Tapas and its writers are not responsible for unauthorised copying or other improper use of this material.

Editorial:

There's an app which one can download which blocks your browser from opening any site member of the AEDE, the association of daily newspapers which supports the Government on managing the output of news in Spain, a policy which has led, so far, to the closure of Google News España (see their exit-notice here). Rest assured, here at Business over Tapas, we shall continue to monitor as many different news-sources as before. Not all the daily newspaper sources are in the AEDE, of course, with obvious portals like 20 Minutos and Público and El Huffington Post and the Euro Mundo Global. Then, there are many dedicated foreign newspapers, weekly and fortnightly magazines, independent English-language websites such as The Olive Press and The Local, plus Spanish coverage in foreign-based sites, and of course any number of blogs, specialised sites, aggregators (such as Menéame) and agencies (some of which, granted, may be obliged to close down, or even change their physical presence to an address outside Spain). Oddly, with all of this, Facebook and Twitter links and quotes will be quietly ignored by government detectives. Google News on Facebook, anyone? We end with a quote, a snippit if you will, from Gigaom: 'As expected, Google removed all Spanish publishers from its Google News index on Tuesday, which the company said it was forced to do as a result of a new law — a law that publishers themselves lobbied for — which requires anyone using even a short snippet of copyrighted content to pay a fee. According to the web-analytics service Chartbeat, within hours of their removal from the Google service, Spanish media sites saw their external traffic fall by double digits...'.

Housing:

Spanish Property Insight has a useful article about the taxes a vendor faces on selling a Spanish property, here.

From Kyero comes the house-price lament: 'On one day we have prices down, then the following day prices are up, only to be down again by the next day. The reality is that one headline was related to asking prices being down, another to actual sale prices increasing and the third based on a drop in appraisal values...'.

'Spain’s mortgage rate is making headlines at present with Euribor (the rate usually used to set mortgage interest payments in Spain) falling to 0.335% in November with this record low leading many buyers to act fast in order to purchase the property of their dreams...'. Found at Easier Property.

Tourism:

FITUR 2015, the international tourist fair, opens in Madrid from January 28th to February 1st. A run-down on what to expect at this massive fair here.

'Spain captivates China with its wines and tourism offering', says Marca España in one of its always positive articles. 'The Asian country is a priority target not only for the wine trade but also for the Spanish tourism industry...'.

'One Russian tourist is worth five British ones' says Agent Travel here, quoting a group called NT Incoming. They mean the money, of course, rather than thanks to our agreeable company. According to the NT people, the Russians stay in better hotels and their average visit is for two weeks. We can't help but worry with the NT folk, however, about the fall in the exchange rate for the Rouble and the drop in numbers (the ABC worries about this here).

Finance:

Twenty-three reasons for optimism in Spain. 'Facts on Spanish economy published by the Secretary of State for European Affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain)'. From the Elcano Royal Institute. A positive article about Spain from our leading think-tank. Here's the first of the 23 reasons: 'Spain has emerged from recession and dispelled the risk of a bailout that hung over our country in 2012. In the third quarter of 2013, the Spanish economy began to grow again. In the third quarter of 2014, this growth has continued at a rate of 1.6%. The European Commission’s forecast for Spain indicates a growth rate of 1.2% for the current year, and of 1.7% for 2015'.

'Mariano Rajoy suggested this week during a conference for Spanish business leaders that: “In many aspects, the economic crisis is history” and during a trip to Mexico that he expected 2% growth for Spain in 2015, especially if certain “commodity prices” behaved, presumably in reference to the 47% drop in global oil prices since the spring; “This will be the first Christmas of the recovery”, he added. The prime minister’s office was later forced to clarify Mr. Rajoys remarks, emphasising that this was the start of the path that leads towards recovery, not that wages were rising and shops full of happy customers...'. From The Spain Report. Is Rajoy telling tales?

Spain could create between 200 and 300 thousand jobs next year according to a study by Manpower found at El Mundo. Despite the triumphalism, there's still a long way to go.

The Spanish banking sector made 7,449 million euros profit through September this year, 11% up on 2013. The figure could have been much higher, but the newly-formed Abanca (was the Novagalicia Banco) profits are not included.

The Junta de Andalucía has admitted to another scandal to match the irregular payments in EREs and formation courses. This time, it's a job scheme called the 'Plan de Fomento y Consolidación del Trabajo Autónomo' which swallowed 138 million euros without proper receipts between 2007 and 2010. More at El Mundo here.

The Ministry of Public Works is worried: France is not in favour of bringing its high-speed-train as far south as its border with Spain. El Diario has the story.

The main centres of poverty can be found in cities with a high 'black economy', according to El País, who finds that five of Spain's ten poorest cities are in the south-east: Elche, Elda, Torrevieja, Orihuela and Lorca.

'The Spanish oil firm Repsol said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy its struggling Canadian rival Talisman for $8.3 billion (€6.6 billion), a deal that extends its global reach two years after it was forced out of Argentina...'. FromThe Local.

The Canary Islands' regional High Court has ruled against suspending the oil exploration being carried out by the Spanish firm Repsol off the coasts of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, so says El País.

Politics (2015, election year):

There are just ten days left until the elections (repairing slightly a headline found at El Instinto de la Nutria). This refers to the Europeans resident in Spain who are either not on the voting register – you ask for it when you are inscribed on the padrón, the town hall register – or who are not (whether they know it or not) even on the padrón, which under a little-known law, scrubs off its European foreigners every five years (it happened to Lenox in November). The INE estimates that between Spaniards abroad and foreigners in Spain, three million people will fail to gain the right to vote in Spain. Register and check: you can always 'not vote' if you have the right to do so, but not if you don't. Municipal elections are on May 24th.

'A total of 70,240 European Union residents in Alicante province have the right to vote in the local elections in May next year – if they register before the December 30 deadline. The provincial government is launching a campaign to inform them about their right to vote.
Alicante province has more eligible EU residents than any other in Spain...'. From The Costa Blanca News.

El Diario has an article called 'The season on threatening the voters has begun' with newspapers, bankers, businessmen and, of course, politicians, keen to guide us towards their preferred choices. For our own good, no doubt.

Some major companies threaten with leaving Spain if Podemos takes power here.

Mariano Rajoy has left us in no doubt that he will lead the PP to the next General Elections in late 2015.

According to this, the two main parties are only five seats away from losing a bi-partisan majority. The PP would obtain 117 seats if elections were held today and the PSOE would take another 63, making a total of 180, which is just five more than half of the parliamentary 349 seats.

The PSOE has some problems, one of which is that the President of the Junta de Andalucía, Susana Díaz, does not like the national candidate Pedro Sánchez. There will be primaries before the General Elections. Could Susana run?

Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Podemos, gives a speech, here transposed into English, called 'The Left Can Win'. Found at Jacobin. Nevertheless, his party has said that it will not run in coalition with the Izquierda Unida (much to the relief of many).

The Citizen Safety Law, known as the 'Ley de la Mordaza' or 'Gag Law': video with subtitles in English, here. The law and its consequences in a graphic here. El País in English also explains the law here.

Corruption:

The bank robbery: '...As 'Too Big To Fail' cases go, few have been quite as spectacular as Spain’s Bankia. Born in 2010 from the loins of an ungodly merger of seven already failed or failing savings banks (Caja Madrid, Bancaja, La Caja de Canarias, Caja Ávila, Caja Laietana, Caja Segovia and Caja Rioja), Bankia was Too Big to Fail from day one of its four-year existence. By 2012 the Too Big to Fail entity had predictably failed and a massive infusion of taxpayer funds was needed to keep the colossal monstrosity alive (at least in some shape or form)...'. The story from Wolf Street.

Why is Spain so corrupt?, asks The Economist here.

'The sister of Spanish King Felipe VI, Cristina de Borbón, has paid the Palma courts the almost €600,000 civil liability bond demanded of her by prosecutors to cover her alleged profiting from financial crimes committed by her husband Iñaki Urdangarin...'. (that's it then, all friends again!). Story at El País in English. Later, according to Typically Spanish, 'The Infanta Cristina paid 587,413 € into the wrong bank account. Her embarrassment was noticed by the judge in the Nóos case, José Castro who informed her defence lawyers that she had paid the money to a court in Barcelona when is should have gone to the Instruction Court 3 in Palma...'.

Various:

El País has an editorial on the departure of Google News (in English, here). Oddly, it seems to blame the Government (and Google itself), everyone, indeed, except the association of daily newspapers, of which El País in a proud member.... Meanwhile, the same AEDE is trying to get the Government and even Brussels to somehow force Google News to return (bearing gifts, naturally). Here's the ABC in a righteous article! Traffic to the daily newspapers is apparently down by 15% (after just one day). Lastly, in a volte-face, the Government now says it will drop the entire law if the newspaper barons ask for it.

Certain Alzheimer victims in Madrid are looked after by a charity called the AFAL, which, according to an exposé on La Sexta (story and video here), has been not entirely honest in its dealings.

El País has a story (and a video) on people who live in airports. It seems that they somehow stay there, having nowhere better to go. There are about 30 of them just in Madrid's T4...

A study on the Spanish public administrations, compared with other European countries, shows that things are not going too badly. The Spanish health system, for example, is the best in Europe and our life expectancy is the highest.

'Recently recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and increasingly used by communities in southern Spain to attract tourism, flamenco music and dance seem to enjoy an unprecedented revival all around the world. But the public spaces and social centres that play a major role in the formation of flamenco culture are increasingly threatened by gentrification, newly legislated municipal ordinances and heavy policing...'. Found at Truthout.

Allergens in our food? Now, all bars and restaurants must list all potentially allergenic ingredients in their menus. (Which reminds me, has anyone been given olive oil in sachets with their meal yet?).

'I have been living in this town for nearly twenty-five years, in three different decades, and that has given me more than ample time to wallow in the depths of Spanish culture. I follow football passionately, keep abreast of Spanish politics (for what that is worth), am sucked into one of those celebrity gossip talk shows as easily as the best maruja in town, and can eat just about any food from this country that is placed in front of me. I enjoy the aperitivos, get a kick out of listening to everyone talking at the same time, can appreciate a good bullfight (which almost never occurs), have learned to become patient waiting in line at the bank, complain just as well as anyone about the high cost of living since the euro was introduced, and get excited when I hear pop songs from the Movida Madrileña period. That’s right, even my Spanish friends differentiate when they talk to me about foreigners; they say, “But you don’t count Brian. You are practically Spanish”...'. But, then there are those small mistakes that we foreigners always commit... The story at Vaya Madrid.

Finally:

Did you know, Spain has the highest IVA-rate on 'Culture' within the Eurozone? Graphic at the BoT Facebook page here.

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