Spain Business Brief - Thursday July 17 2008
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By h.b. - Jul 17, 2008 - 12:39 PM
Houses to be guaranteed in the Martinsa bankruptcy protection.

The Socialist Party PSOE has said that a guarantee has to be made so that those who are affected by the suspension of payments in the Martinsa company, do receive the homes they have paid for. Spokesman José Blanco said that the Government is ‘to give a hand’ to ensure the families are protected.
It comes amid reports that those who are in that situation, estimated to be 12,500 families across the country, have so far only managed to reach an automatic telephone answer machine.

Shares in ACS, Unión Fenosa and Iberdrola have all rallied today as news comes of changes in the power sector. ACS is to sell Unión Fenosa to strengthen its position in Iberdrola. Construction and services group ACS has currently a 45.3% participation in Unión Fenosa which saw its shares rally by 8% in early trading on the news.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that the increase in power given to the CNE National Energy Commission in Spain was illegal. This increase in power allowed the CNE to impose conditions during the take over battle between E.ON and Enel with Acciona for Endesa. It means the court has rejected the claims of the Spanish government, and agreed with the European Commission.
The Government had argued that the public supply of electricity had to be guaranteed.

Competition authorities are investigating whether there has been a pact of prices between several bodegas that produce fino wine in Jérez. Given what are described as ‘especially serious consequences for consumers’, the case is now one of the priorities of the Comisión Nacional de la Competencia.

Business volume in the service sector fell by 2% in May, according to the latest provisional numbers from the National Statistics Institute, INE. Biggest falls were in trade, followed by business services and transport. Tourism saw an increase of 0.7% compared year on year.

Banco Santander is looking for a purchaser for its fund managers, and says that they hope to obtain between 2 and 2.5 billion €.
Expansion newspaper reports that a deal could be done in the next few months, and that Santander Asset management could be in new hands. Last year the company generated commissions of 1.89 billion € and profits of 243 million €.

The unions in Spanair have asked the company that the redundancies that they want to make take the form of early retirement and for those workers who want to leave. They warn that they will start demonstrations of they detect any other company interest apart than the future viability of the company.

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