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Spain Business Brief - Thursday August 26 2010
The Spanish economy shrank less than originally thought in the second quarter, down 0.1% in annual terms, but with a growth of 0.2% over the previous quarter. The numbers show a growth in consumer spending and investment for the first time in the last two years, and come from the INE National Statistics Institute, correcting the forecast numbers from the Bank of Spain.
Minister for Development, José Blanco, has announced that the 500 million € removed from the spending cut plans for his department has now been increased to 700 million, allowing the payment for the restarting of work on 49 infrastructure projects across the country over the next two years.
In addition the Ministry has announced the first eight new works which come under the new Extraordinary Plan, and see shared public and private participation and funded with 17 billion €. They are for rail and road infrastructure links in Alicante, Cádiz, Zamora, Madrid, Albacete, Valladolid, Zamora, Ourense, A Coruña, Zaragoza, Teruel and Pontevedra. They include the AVE high speed lines between Albacete and Alicante, Olmedo and Santiago, and Zaragoza and Teruel.
Seven Ministers have been taking part in an extraordinary meeting with the Prime Minister today. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has called them to the Moncloa Palace to discuss the current austerity plan in a meeting which got underway at 1700.
The Government’s new labour reform legislation, which obliges people claiming dole money to take part in a training course after 30 days, instead of the previous 90, returns to Congress for final approval after being passed by the Senate.
Changes on the sacking of workers have not been reformed in the Senate.
The United States judge who is supervising the liquidation of Bermard Madoff’s investments, Burton Lifland, has demanded the payment of just over 73 million dollars from Gibraltar. The money was placed in accounts on the rock by the Vizcaya Partners company, based in the Virgin Islands. Madoff has been sent to 150 years in prison for defrauding more than 50 billion dollars. Vizcaya Partners are believed to have taken 180 million dollars from Madoff’s accounts in the five months previous to his arrest.
The 73 million dollars demanded from the Gibraltar Supreme Court will be distributed among the victims of his Ponzi scheme.
Minister for Development, José Blanco, has announced that the 500 million € removed from the spending cut plans for his department has now been increased to 700 million, allowing the payment for the restarting of work on 49 infrastructure projects across the country over the next two years.
In addition the Ministry has announced the first eight new works which come under the new Extraordinary Plan, and see shared public and private participation and funded with 17 billion €. They are for rail and road infrastructure links in Alicante, Cádiz, Zamora, Madrid, Albacete, Valladolid, Zamora, Ourense, A Coruña, Zaragoza, Teruel and Pontevedra. They include the AVE high speed lines between Albacete and Alicante, Olmedo and Santiago, and Zaragoza and Teruel.
Seven Ministers have been taking part in an extraordinary meeting with the Prime Minister today. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has called them to the Moncloa Palace to discuss the current austerity plan in a meeting which got underway at 1700.
The Government’s new labour reform legislation, which obliges people claiming dole money to take part in a training course after 30 days, instead of the previous 90, returns to Congress for final approval after being passed by the Senate.
Changes on the sacking of workers have not been reformed in the Senate.
The United States judge who is supervising the liquidation of Bermard Madoff’s investments, Burton Lifland, has demanded the payment of just over 73 million dollars from Gibraltar. The money was placed in accounts on the rock by the Vizcaya Partners company, based in the Virgin Islands. Madoff has been sent to 150 years in prison for defrauding more than 50 billion dollars. Vizcaya Partners are believed to have taken 180 million dollars from Madoff’s accounts in the five months previous to his arrest.
The 73 million dollars demanded from the Gibraltar Supreme Court will be distributed among the victims of his Ponzi scheme.
(You can find a photo for this story at Typically Spanish - Click here)