TECH INFO

Brussels files for Spain for harming foreign landlords The European Commission is also investigating this country and eight others for having failed to comply with its obligations to provide information on the environmental status of its marine waters   The European Commission opened on Thursday a file to Spain for not allowing non-resident citizens to benefit from a reduction for income tax purposes for the rental income of real estate, according to a statement. That is, according to Brussels, investors from other EU countries are subject to different treatment that "unduly" restricts the free movement of capital. And is that residents enjoy a reduction of 60% of the net income obtained by the rental of real estate used by the tenant as a home , but does not allow non-residents can benefit from it. At the moment, Brussels has sent a letter to the Government reminding him of his obligations. It gives you a period of two months to adapt the rules and, if not, it...

Long live the green infrastructures of the Peninsula Climate change is the obsession of public administrations, but hidden behind it appears the loss of biodiversity   «The snow in the Pyrenees, by 2050 could decrease by half to 1,800 meters, according to the current reference, and average temperatures could rise between 1 and 2 or 7ºC until 2030 and even more, between 2 and 4º C more for the horizon 2050 », according to the report 'Climate Change in the Pyrenees: impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation', coordinated by the Pyrenean Observatory of Climate Change (OPCC). Other reports warn of the disappearance of the Amazon and others point to the rise in temperature in the Poles.   "We can not continue on the path of biodiversity loss, so it is essential to put this issue at the center of political agendas so that, in two years, we can present ambitious objectives that give an effective response to this complex challenge", says Hugo Morán, Secretary of St...

demand the Government "audacity" to repeal the labor reform CC OO and UGT begin today a process of mobilization in which they ask «to go from words to deeds»   Not fulfilling commitments has a price. This is the message that CC OO and UGT today sent to two addressees: the Government, on the one hand, that does not take action to implement the agreements adopted at the table of social dialogue, mainly as regards the repeal of the most harmful aspects of the labor reform, and employers, which does not demonstrate its willingness to apply the IV Agreement for the Government and Collective Bargaining (AENC) signed last June for the period 2018-2020.   Faced with this inaction of the Executive and businessmen, the two main unions of the country gathered in an act of protest held at the Caja Mágica in Madrid to more than 10,000 delegates from all over Spain under the slogan 'More facts, less words, now!' , in what they consider the beginning of a process of growi...

The PDeCAT increases the pressure and this Friday will register the amendment to the entire Nationalists consider the gestures of the central government around the rapporteur insufficient, but keep the door open    The pressure increases on Pedro Sánchez . Days after Esquerra registered in Congress an amendment to the totality of the General State Budgets, the PDeCAT announced that this Friday morning it will submit its amendment to the total of the Central Government Accounts in the register of the Spanish Parliament . The theses of the most radical leaders, such as Puigdemont, are imposed between the sovereignty forces, since the groups of both parties in Madrid were supporters until recently to allow the processing of budgets.   The nationalists decided this Thursday after a meeting at the highest level held in the Catalan Parliament attended by all the heavyweights of the heir of Convergència. The meeting between the PDeCAT and JxCat came in full negotiati...

Mapfre's profit falls 24.5% due to lower revenues and higher provisions Remuneration to the Board of Directors grows 21.6% Mapfre obtained a net profit of 528.9 million euros in 2018, 24.5% less than the previous year due to lower revenues - which have fallen by 5% due to low interest rates and the depreciation of currencies, especially the dollar, the Brazilian real, the Mexican peso and the Turkish lira - and the greater provisions to strengthen its balance sheet - have dedicated 173 million to the partial deterioration of goodwill of the insurance operations in the United States, Italy and Indonesia. In addition, the cost of catastrophic events, mainly hurricanes and winter storms, has had an impact of 97 million euros, and the restatement of the accounts of the subsidiaries in Argentina due to hyperinflation has subtracted 18 million. The operating result of the insurer has been 702 million euros, 0.3% more than in 2017, Mapfre closed 2018 with revenues of 26,590 mil...

The Ibex-35 loses again the 9,000 before the bad economic omens The worst of all the European indexes was the German Dax, which fell by 2.67%, followed by Ftse Mib in Milan, which fell by 2.59%    After two consecutive sessions of advances in which the index first recovered the 9,000 and then the 9,100, the red numbers returned. And, in addition, quite severe. The selective Spanish gave a 1.79%, to give a last change in the 8.938,30 points. The worst of all the European indexes was the German Dax, which fell by 2.67%, followed by Ftse Mib in Milan, which fell by 2.59%. Then the French Cac 40 was placed, which was left 1.84%. The PSI-20 of Lisbon gave 1.52% and the British FTSE 100 fell 1.11%. The European Commission's sharp downward revision of the growth forecasts for the euro zone contributed to the decreases in the European indexes: for this year it has gone from forecasting an expansion of GDP of 1.9% to anticipating growth of 1.3%.   To this has been ...

The AVE stations generated an additional cost of 7.637 million, 186% more The Court of Audit once again questions the economic efficiency of high speed, criticizes burglaries and the low degree of execution of works   The works of the high speed railway in Spain, crossed out at times of almost pharaonic, have in the Court of Accounts one of their main detractors. And it is not the case that the oversight body does not recognize the significant time savings that are achieved in the displacements, it is that numbers in the hand imply that it could not possibly compensate the public treasury. At least this is the result of his latest report, published this Thursday and very severe with the apparent waste in the construction of AVE stations . And is that after analyzing the works of 13 of these infrastructures between 2002 and 2010, concludes that there was an additional cost of 7.637 million euros, which represents almost three times more than the item dedicated to educati...

The industry slows down and reduces its electricity consumption by 2.5% 40% of the production of this energy in 2018 came from renewables, while the electricity bill increased by an average of 2.5%    The industry is the sector of the Spanish economy that is most accusing the deceleration , to the point that it may even be aggravating after the exhaustion of its last expansive cycle. The decline in exports, together with the slowdown in domestic consumption, has even led to a recession in the last quarter of 2018, when its GDP contracted by 0.9%.  That is why it has worried, more than surprising, that industrial production fell by 6.2% year on year in December, its worst record for this month since 2012, that is, since the last recession in the national economy. The commercial war and the weakness of the main importing countries of Spanish materials -especially Germany and Italy-, together with the uncertainties generated by the 'brexit', have sunk almost 13% ...

DIA reports to the public prosecutor's office senior executives in Spain and Brazil for accounting irregularities The supermarket chain will lay off up to 2,100 workers in Spain after losing 352 million euros in 2018 and enter technical bankruptcy     The Spanish chain of supermarkets DIA has filed a complaint with the prosecution against senior managers for accounting irregularities. Over the last months, the company has carried out an investigation with the aim of clarifying the facts that have given rise to certain accounting adjustments in the 2017 accounts . Once the investigation was completed and as a result of this, the company has proceeded to "file a complaint with the prosecutor's office, continuing with the exercise of diligence, responsibility and maximum transparency from the moment in which it became aware of the accounting adjustments", points out a statement.    The audit report - carried out by KPMG - indicates that the investigation ...

Banking delinquency closed 2018 at 5.82%, the minimum in ten years The non-performing loans fell to 70,156 million from the 73,507 million in 2017   The delinquency of loans granted by banks, savings banks and cooperatives to individuals and companies closed 2018 at 5.81%, from 6% registered in November and 7.79% in 2017, which is why it stands at minimum of ten years and falls below the threshold of 6%, according to data from the Bank of Spain. In total, doubtful loans fell to 70.156 million euros in the last month of 2018, from 73.507 million euros for November and 97.692 for December 2017. In fact, it is its lowest level since January. 2009, when it stood at 72,403 million euros.   In this way, the delinquency rate of Spanish banks ended 2018 at 5.82% and further away from the level of 7%, a level that was left behind in March 2018, when it fell to 6.8%, according to data from the Bank of Spain collected by Europa Press. This figure includes the methodologic...

The Government approves the 'sandbox' to regulate innovations in the banking sector This system of tests with voluntary clients will be a controlled space for the 'fintech' to carry out their technological changes under official supervision As announced by the Minister of Economy , Nadia Calviño, in his last appearance in the Congress Committee, the Government approved this Friday in the Council of Ministers the implementation of the 'sandbox' to regulate the innovations of the financial sector. It is a test bench with a controlled space for the 'fintech' to make their technological changes under supervision. The aim of the draft law on digital transformation of the financial system is to ensure that financial authorities have "optimal instruments" to continue fulfilling their supervisory and regulatory functions in the new digital context . The Ministry of Economy has valued in a press release the need to implement "more effici...

Vodafone reaches an agreement with the unions and lowers the ERE to 1,000 employees Those affected will be compensated with 50 days per year worked and an additional 6,000 euros for the lowest salaries   Finally, an agreement has been reached. After several mobilizations by employees, the operator Vodafone has established with the unions that the number of people affected by the ERE will be 1,000 people, 200 less than their initial proposal , which was one in four workers of the company. On Thursday, UGT had already announced that the company's new proposal would be signed because of the majority of the staff's support for the conditions and the "uncertainty" that their rejection implied. The operator has proposed that workers who during the year 2020 reach 55 years or have 10 years of age can voluntarily join the ERE, which means a total of 102 employees. Early retirement can be accepted with 85% of the net fixed salary , plus the net 50% of the variable ...

Brussels threatens to penalize Telefónica She presents a statement of charges where she accuses her of failing to fulfill her promises to Competence to authorize the purchase of E-Plus in Germany.   The European Commission seems to want to exemplify with Telefónica , which it accuses of being the first group that allegedly violated a pact signed with the EU competition authorities to authorize a business concentration. It refers, in particular, to the purchase of the German operator E-Plus by the Spanish multinational, announced in 2013 for nearly 5,000 million euros. According to the department of the Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager , announced on Friday , the company presided by José María Álvarez-Pallete would not have met one of the three conditions that were set at that time in exchange for giving the green light to the operation. Telefónica Deutschland had, according to Brussels, to offer 4G wholesale services to all interested market players "at th...

Spain, at the tail of the EU in competition to award public contracts In one third of state companies only one company participates and the CNMC states that with open processes the Administration would save up to 350 million annually Spain suspends in matters of transparency and openness of public procurement . It is affirmed by the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) and endorsed, according to her, "different" national and international organizations "that have shown" that this system "is very improvable in terms of efficiency" and, derived from of the same, also of extra costs. Compared with the rest of the EU countries, according to the body presided by José María Marín Quemad a, he would be in the queue for his " little competition in public procurement". For example, in one third of the tenders (practically 34%) of the Administration, only "one participant" comes in, while in two out of three (65%) ther...

The Government believes that the electricity bill will drop by 7% in a decade by generalizing the use of renewables It foresees an energy mix without coal in 2030, the closure of nuclear power by seniority and keeping all combined cycles in force    The Ministry of Ecological Transition has calculated one of the variables that most interest consumers within the Framework 'Energy and Climate' that yesterday approved the Council of Ministers: the price of electricity. The promise of the department directed by Teresa Ribera points to a reduction of the electric bill of 12% within a decade, when most of the production is of renewable origin.   The estimate of what the invoice will be reduced has been made on the gross amount of the same, before applying the taxes. At present, a third of the receipt is destined to the payment of VAT and other tax figures. So, with the current variables included in the invoice, the actual reduction of the receipt would be 7% compar...

The Government fears that We can frustrate its plan of last minute decrees It does not see possible to equate in this legislature the permission of parternidad to that of motherhood   The Government will try to continue legislating until the last day of Pedro Sánchez in the Moncloa, although the Courts are dissolved. The spokesman, Isabel Celaá, reiterated this Friday in the usual Friday appearance after the Council of Ministers. The decision will force him to bring decrees laws of enormous political scope to the Permanent Deputation, the reduced body that replaces the House of Congress when the House is no longer in ordinary operation. But it will be, according to socialist sources, very selective. The Executive does not want parliamentary defeats that weaken it a few weeks after the elections.   The idea, according to that strategy, is to send to the Parliament symbolic measures of eminently social content that have guaranteed the support of the partners in the m...

ECONOMIC STABILITY The policy corresponds to offer the conditions of governance that allow us to weather global insecurities    The Spanish economy faces 2019 with the favorable impulse of a growth dynamic that places it, in this respect, at the head of Europe. But the uncertainties generated by the global withdrawal, and the particular circumstances that Germany is going through, warn of immediate difficulties that coincide in our country with two consecutive electoral processes, in April and May. Everything seems to indicate that domestic demand could continue to boost the Spanish economy, although the reactivation falls below 3% to be rushed to stay at 2%. But as long as a country as key as Germany does not lead to negative or zero growth; and as long as the electoral scrutiny does not lead to a situation of prolonged institutional instability. The always partial interruption that in the activity of the public administrations accompanies all electoral convocation, ...

The forgotten ones of the ground clauses still try to recover their money There are still almost 200,000 cases pending trial and only 44% of the claims have caused their banks to return the amounts   In the last round of appearances by the presidents of the big bank there was not a single mention to the 'floor clauses'. The conflict that once was a headache for most of the sector, with few exceptions, has been officially marginalized after the implementation of the extrajudicial mechanism. But unofficially, the invoice derived from the limitation of interest rates on mortgages continues to increase with the trickle of judgments that, for the most part, give reason to customers affected by that practice, and who dared to sue.   Two years have passed since the then Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, approved the decree establishing the conditions under which mortgages with a floor clause could request their banks to return the money, if that was theirs. The latest...

Spanish banks sit on the bench again in Europe The conflict over mortgages linked to the IRPH, whose view is held on Monday, may be a blow greater than that of the floor clauses   The meeting is Monday at 2:00 pm before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), at its headquarters in Luxembourg. Fifteen judges headed by the president of the highest community body will analyze, once again, a Spanish case related to bank abuse in mortgages. This is the use of the IRPH index, which was applied by several financial institutions for many years, especially in the pre-crisis period, and which historically remains between one and three points above the Euribor, with an extra cost in the monthly fee that is around 200-300 euros. The IRPH is not as widespread as the ground clauses (the affected ones are around half a million), but a failure against the bank could have even more economic impact because there is a risk that, if it is canceled, the en...

The double political and economic break that Spain faces in the coming months The braking of Germany will rebound during this year in key national sectors such as automobiles and tourism    The ministers of Economy and Finance, Nadia Calviño and María Jesús Montero, have not tired of repeating that the Spanish economy is "strong" and that it is growing "well above" the eurozone , in an attempt to dispel doubts about the slowdown that the experts confirm in their estimates. And although our economy has grown above 3% during the last three years, 2018 closed at 2.5% and the Government's own forecast for 2019 is 2.2%, although some experts lower it by one tenth.   Both agree on the reasons: the weakening and threats of the economy and foreign trade. And it is not by throwing balls out, it is that the commercial tensions between the United States and China, the uncertainty that exists around the 'brexit' and the stop of the strong economies of th...

Liberbank considers that the offer of Abanca seems an «improvisation» The entity will remain focused on its merger project with Unicaja because it believes that the OPA lacks the "necessary rigor" and does not treat all shareholders equally For the time being Liberbank will not take into account the offer of acquisition presented by Abanca last Friday because it considers that it lacks the necessary rigor and has the appearance of being an improvisation, according to sources from the entity. Liberbank will remain focused on its merger project with Unicaja without taking into account the takeover bid because they believe that what is presented does not guarantee the principle of equity that should prevail because it does not treat all shareholders equally. The same sources explain that Abanca does not prove the solvency necessary to face the payment or a coherent financing plan, reason why they consider that behind this movement could be the interest of the entit...

A new factor of sustainability, the great stumbling block for the next Toledo Pact After the failure of this commission to reach an agreement, the PP announced that now it will require to introduce this reductive mechanism   The new Covenant of Toledo that is settled after the elections of April 28 will not have anything easy. After the failure of the current parliamentary committee , which has not been able to achieve the consensus that had been reached on three previous occasions since its founding in 1995, the spirits have become too much and the division embodied in these last days can also make a dent for those who come.   In addition, all assume that the group responsible for making recommendations that strengthen and make the pension system sustainable will have at least one new member: Vox , a party that will surely disembark for the first time in the Congress of Deputies. This may mean that the high degree of consensus that had been achieved in most of the...