Spain

An unemployment rate of 26 per cent (and 56 per cent for young people); an economy that contracted by 0.7 per cent last quarter; tumbling approval ratings. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had enough problems, even before claims that he received about €280,000 (£240,000) in payments from ‘secret’ accounts managed by the treasurers of his People’s Party (the PP). Protestors took to the streets of Madrid last night calling for his resignation. El País (Spain’s biggest newspaper) published hand-written accounts that it claims were kept by PP treasurers Luis Bárcenas and Álvaro Lapuerta between 1990 and 2009. They show donations to the party from businesses (mostly in the construction sector) and

OMG to Catalonia! (Geddit?; I’m quite proud of that. Pathetic, I know). A congenial centre-right and far left alliance in Catalonia should see Spain cease to exist as an entity within the next four years. Separatists now control the majority of seats in the Catalan parliament and public sentiment is broadly behind secession from the Castillians. With any luck the separatist sentiment will spread north of the border to Perpignan, to give the French a fright. Of course, it is not blood and thunder nationalism which has driven this wish to leave Spain behind, but economic self-interest. This is slightly disappointing for me, who rather wished that it had been

The results of stress tests on Spanish banks will be revealed at 5pm, and the rumour on the trading floor is that the country may also announce that it is asking for a bailout at the same time. Yesterday’s budget caused the markets to rally amid hopes that the country was preparing to ask for help, with economy minister Luis De Guindos increasing speculation by repeatedly pointing to the fact that the measures announced met requirements from the European Union. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn agreed with the minister, issuing a statement saying: ‘This new structural reform plan responds to the country-specific recommendations issued to Spain and

Something’s amiss when a nice glass of Rioja in the middle of Madrid costs just €1.90. As Spain’s credit rating approached ‘junk’ status yesterday the country recorded a dramatic decline in house prices for the first quarter. The scale and impact of the problem is everywhere visible on the city’s streets. A rising homeless population crowds the main arteries of the capital from Atocha Station to the Gran Via, searching restaurants and plazas for the elusive euro. For anyone but the tourist, the price of sustenance is felt to be high.   The Englishman (the Spanish generally refer to anyone from the UK as such, though the tourist with sunburn

The news that matters today isn’t what was said at Leveson, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the government won’t act on the inquiry’s report if it suggests anything big, but that the Spanish bailout is failing. Indeed, Spanish bank stocks are lower this evening than they were this morning and the yield on Spain’s 10 year bonds is back above six percent. But one group who will benefit from the Spanish bailout is Syriza, the Greek anti-bailout party. The decision to bailout Spain without fiscal conditions is a major boost to Syriza’s pitch that ultimately the rest of the Eurozone will blink if Greece demands changes to the terms of

Whitehall sits and waits. Normal politics is continuing, squalls over whether the apprentice stewards at the Jubilee were taken advantage of and the next stage in the Warsi saga have dominated today, but everyone knows that the big story is unfolding — albeit, at an unpredictable pace — on the continent. There are, at the moment, two big questions. The first is how will Spain, which has essentially admitted that it will struggle to sell any more bonds, recapitalise its banks. Once again, we see the president of the ECB, the Commission and most of the other Eurozone members badgering the Germans to bend the rules and allow a quick

The 30th anniversary of the Falklands War – and the bellicose rhetoric (and videos) currently emerging from Buenos Aires — has once more shone a spotlight on the UK’s relationship with Argentina. Were it not for the Falklands, it’s unlikely that Argentina would occupy much discussion in this country. The truth, for those of us who have followed the country’s recent history, is that Argentina, most notably under the current Government, is truly remarkable. But for all the wrong reasons. In Britain, of course, our chief concern is the ongoing nationalist rhetoric that President Cristina Kirchner is whipping up around the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. But if you were

This afternoon, it’s even clearer that the French and Greek elections are a significant moment in the life of the Eurozone. It’s not just the nervous market reaction to yesterday’s results, but also the way how the supranational debate has now changed. More so than ever, there are now two clear oppositional fronts. On one side, broadly speaking, are those who say that austerity is a prerequisite for growth. On the other, those who say that austerity must be relaxed for growth to arrive. It’s a situation dripping with black humour. When David Cameron kept Britain out of Europe’s fiscal pact a few months ago, it was portrayed as a

If it was not all so serious, the efforts to save the single currency would be worthy of a comic opera: the Germans could compose the score, the Italians could write the libretto, and the French could take care of the stage directions. The latest IMF-related effort is, perhaps, best described by the website ZeroHedge, which is required reading during these troubled times: “Germany will be responsible for €41.5 bn, France at €31.4 billion, and Italy will need to provide €23.5 billion and Spain another €15 billion. To, you know, bailout Italy and Spain” What is becoming increasingly clear, when you take this news combined with the comments of the