Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Monday March 24 2008
By h.b. - Mar 24, 2008 - 12:54 PM
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British Airways has said it has not ruled out making a take over bid for Iberia. BA chairman, Willie Walsh, says however that any offer ‘depends on price’, but he has confirmed it has been holding meetings with the main Iberia shareholders Caja Madrid. BA wants to get into the South American market and last week increased its shareholding in Iberia to 13.15%.
It comes as the owner of Air Luxor has announced that he will buy Spanair. According to the Portuguese newspaper, Diario Económico, the President of the Longstock Financial Investment Fund, Vítor Pinto de Costa, says that he will be purchasing Spaniar from the current owners, SAS, although the amount was not mentioned in the report.
Renfe Spanish railways has announced that it wants to offer combined rail/plane tickets. Talks with Iberia are set to be stuck, but there are now reports that Renfe are also talking to Air Europa.
The Association of Spanish Savings Banks, FUNCAS, has said that it thinks the slowdown in the economy will be greater in Spain than in the rest of Europe. They are now predicting growth in the economy here this year of 2.5% down to 2.1% in 2009, and they also say they expect to see an increase in unemployment numbers over both years.
The new prediction for 2008 from the savings banks is now in line with the lower levels of those from international organisations, in line with the OECD. They say it comes as a consequence of the reduction in national demand.
One consequence of the economic slowdown in Spain has been seen already in the amount of money people are prepared to spend on their wedding. A reduction in spending of 9% is being reported according to the Federation of Users and Independent Consumers group FUCI. Their new survey shows that the average amount now being spent on weddings in Spain is just over 20,000 €, and that Madrid, Valencia and La Rioja are the most expensive places to get married.
As the dollar continues to slide against the Euro, some Spanish media have noted that a dollar is now worth no more than 100 of the old pesetas. Compare that to the rate in October 2005 when a dollar would have cost 201 pesetas. The cheap dollar has meant that many Spaniards travelled to the states over the Easter break, with high tech items proving the most popular.
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