Home
News
News
Spain Business Brief - Wednesday August 25 2010
The Senate on Wednesday approved the Government’s labour reform legislation, with the support of the PSOE, Entesa, and the Grupo Mixto.
The most controversial part of the legislation is the removal of unemployment benefit from those who reject taking part in a training course after a period of 30 days.
Minister for Employment, Celestino Corbacho, has commented that he did not understand why the measure had caused such an outcry. He also said the proposal to change the working period needed to claim a full pension from the current 15 years to 20 was ‘reasonable’, saying the change is needed to assure the survival of the system.
Self employed workers meanwhile have proposed calculating their pension entitlement with their 15 best and 5 worst years of contributions. The ATA Association of Autonomous Workers, considers that the Government’s proposal to only use the years when there worker is aged 45 to 65 would be prejudicial, as many have been sacked in that period.
Unions have meanwhile accused the Government of manipulating the latest unemployment figures.
The number of workers in the public sector increased by 2.4% in 2009, reaching 632,124 by the end of December. The reason for the rise in numbers is new members in the State Armed and Security Forces, and military personnel.
The Spanish economy shrunk a tenth of a point more than initially calculated in 2009. The INE, National Statistics Institute, now considers the economy shrunk over the year by 3.7%, following a revision of the data for overseas trade.
Meanwhile the Financial Times has claimed that Spain could fall back into recession, saying that recovery here would be difficult and erratic, and that the Government’s forecasts are excessively optimistic.
Industrial prices in Spain have ended seven consecutive months of rises with a fall in July of 0.2%, according to the National Statistics Institute. When prices are compared annually however, it is an eight consecutive rise of 3.2%. July saw a fall in price for basic items such as iron, the production of precious metals and in the manufacture of basic chemicals.
Two Spanish brokers have been accused by the authorities in the United States of fraudulently using privileged information in the takeover bid by BHP for Potash. Banco Santander, which was acting as an advisor for the operation, has now taken a step back from the deal, and has suspended one of its employees, Juan José Fernández García. Also under investigation is Luis Martín Caro Sánchez.
Parents are being hit in Spain by the increase in IVA/VAT as the children start the new academic year. The prices of uniforms, work material, registration and transport have all been affected by the increase in the tax. School text books however have escaped any increase, being charged at the super-reduced rate of 4%.
Latest figures also show that in general shoppers have not noticed the IVA/VAT increase as a price war between supermarkets has broken out, although the OCU Consumers Union warns that prices may well rise in the future.
U2 have been fined 18,000 € by Barcelona City Hall. It is because the band broke noise level limits during the sound check for the last concert they held in the city.
And finally,
Sandro Rosell, the new Chairman of Barcelona Football Club has admitted that the economic situation ‘is not good’.
He warned that the party cannot fully celebrate certain achievements as everything has to be done with austerity. Even so he said that plans to build a new Palau Blaugrana, and to refurbish the Camp Nou, would move ahead, and that he also intended to make a new signing before the deadline for the new season.
The most controversial part of the legislation is the removal of unemployment benefit from those who reject taking part in a training course after a period of 30 days.
Minister for Employment, Celestino Corbacho, has commented that he did not understand why the measure had caused such an outcry. He also said the proposal to change the working period needed to claim a full pension from the current 15 years to 20 was ‘reasonable’, saying the change is needed to assure the survival of the system.
Self employed workers meanwhile have proposed calculating their pension entitlement with their 15 best and 5 worst years of contributions. The ATA Association of Autonomous Workers, considers that the Government’s proposal to only use the years when there worker is aged 45 to 65 would be prejudicial, as many have been sacked in that period.
Unions have meanwhile accused the Government of manipulating the latest unemployment figures.
The number of workers in the public sector increased by 2.4% in 2009, reaching 632,124 by the end of December. The reason for the rise in numbers is new members in the State Armed and Security Forces, and military personnel.
The Spanish economy shrunk a tenth of a point more than initially calculated in 2009. The INE, National Statistics Institute, now considers the economy shrunk over the year by 3.7%, following a revision of the data for overseas trade.
Meanwhile the Financial Times has claimed that Spain could fall back into recession, saying that recovery here would be difficult and erratic, and that the Government’s forecasts are excessively optimistic.
Industrial prices in Spain have ended seven consecutive months of rises with a fall in July of 0.2%, according to the National Statistics Institute. When prices are compared annually however, it is an eight consecutive rise of 3.2%. July saw a fall in price for basic items such as iron, the production of precious metals and in the manufacture of basic chemicals.
Two Spanish brokers have been accused by the authorities in the United States of fraudulently using privileged information in the takeover bid by BHP for Potash. Banco Santander, which was acting as an advisor for the operation, has now taken a step back from the deal, and has suspended one of its employees, Juan José Fernández García. Also under investigation is Luis Martín Caro Sánchez.
Parents are being hit in Spain by the increase in IVA/VAT as the children start the new academic year. The prices of uniforms, work material, registration and transport have all been affected by the increase in the tax. School text books however have escaped any increase, being charged at the super-reduced rate of 4%.
Latest figures also show that in general shoppers have not noticed the IVA/VAT increase as a price war between supermarkets has broken out, although the OCU Consumers Union warns that prices may well rise in the future.
U2 have been fined 18,000 € by Barcelona City Hall. It is because the band broke noise level limits during the sound check for the last concert they held in the city.
And finally,
Sandro Rosell, the new Chairman of Barcelona Football Club has admitted that the economic situation ‘is not good’.
He warned that the party cannot fully celebrate certain achievements as everything has to be done with austerity. Even so he said that plans to build a new Palau Blaugrana, and to refurbish the Camp Nou, would move ahead, and that he also intended to make a new signing before the deadline for the new season.
(You can find a photo for this story at Typically Spanish - Click here)