Spain Business Brief - Thursday November 6 2008

Spain Business Brief - Thursday November 6 2008
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By h.b. - Nov 6, 2008 - 12:56 PM

The SEAT car company at the Zona Franca in Barcelona - Archive Photo EFE

Job suspensions and sackings at SEAT in Cataluña.

The Generalitat regional government in Cataluña has meanwhile approved the application by Seat to change the employment conditions of 4,700 workers. The car company requested to suspend 750 workers and asked for a five day closure period which would affect 1,969 workers and a 19 day stoppage affecting a further 1,793.
Unions are pleased that an application to sack workers aged over 53 has not been accepted by the Government.

New mortgages from banks and savings banks in Spain are set to become more expensive despite the cut in the base rate announced today by the European Central Bank. Larger margins by the banks and greater provisions against risks are eating up such interest rate reductions on new deals. An example 150,000 € mortgage over 25 years will to 985 € a month repayment compared to 960 € before, according to experts.

Unemployment and the future of the economy have become the main concerns for the Spanish people, according to the latest survey from the CIS, the Centre for Sociological Investigation.
64.9% of residents are now concerned about jobs, but despite the crisis the survey still shows Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as the highest valued leader, and the two main parties tied in the intention to vote.

Last night saw a large demonstration in the centre of
Barcelona against planned redundancies from many factories in the Catalan region. Some 10,000 workers took part in protest at sackings from companies such as Nissan, Frigo, Delphi or Pirelli. They consider that companies are taking advantage of the economic crisis to shed labour, and want the Government to act.

Industrial production in Spain, corrected for seasonal factors, saw a fall in September for the fifth consecutive month. It was down by 8.8% compared to the same month last year, according to the INE, National Statistics Institute.

The Bankinter bank is considering returning monies invested by clients which the bank had invested with Lehman Brothers. An external commission is meanwhile analysing whether Bankinter committed any errors in placing 89 million € of client’s money with Lehman Brothers.

SOS Cuétera biscuits in Spain have been put up for sale by owners Panrico. The sale is to fund the purchase of Italian oil company Bertolli from Unilever. SOS has a 12% market share of biscuit sales in Spain.

The Torras paper company has announced plans to close two factories with the loss of 400 jobs in Spain. The company is owned by the CVC Capital Partners fund and wants the restructuring plan to save the 2,600 of the 3,000 current jobs. The two factories facing closure are at Amorebieta in the Basque Country and in Algeciras, Cádiz.

The IBEX 35 index had fallen by 3% with profit takers moving in ahead of the European Central Bank interest rate cut of 0.5%. In the afternoon though falls have continued to around 5%. UK rates went down by more than expected with the Bank of England announcing a 1.5% fall.

And finally,
The organisers of the famous Gordo Chirstmas lottery in Spain are confident that sales will hold despite the economic crisis as people remain optimistic at the festive time of the year. One has commented that this year they are not selling dreams, but mortgages instead.

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