Spain Business Brief - Wednesday November 4 2009

Spain Business Brief - Wednesday November 4 2009
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By h.b. - Nov 4, 2009 - 1:02 PM

EFE archive

Germany angry as General Motors cancels sale of Opel to Magna

The uncertainty for the Opel workers at Zaragoza continues. Firstly with the announcement by General Motors that are now not going to sell Opel to Canadian company Magna, and secondly with the news that the German government has said it considers the decision not to sell as ‘unacceptable’. The Germans are now demanding the return of a 1.5 billion € aid package granted by the banks. The Opel workers committee in Germany has called for strikes across Europe.

Gas Natural has announced a 13.5% increase in profits, at 914 million for the year to September. It comes after they have taken over Unión Fenosa, and the company underlines the strength of the results, given the contraction in energy demand in the recession.

Galician savings banks, Caixanova and Caixa Galicia are reported to be in talks on a merger. It comes after the announcement that Cajastur is to take over the troubled Caja Castilla La Mancha. That will form the eighth largest bank in Spain and comes with 1.3 billion € help from the Government’s bank fund. Cajastur is considered to be exceptionally solvent, the second best in the sector.
Other savings banks mergers are either underway or expected in consolidation of the sector.

The BBVA has said it thinks the GDP in Spain will shrink by double the forecast from the Government. The bank’s research department is now predicting a fall of 3.8% this year and 1.2% next. They also expect inflation to reach 0.9%, and the falls in investment in real estate and housing to moderate. They agree with the European forecast on unemployment to reach over 20% in 2010.

Trading on the Madrid market has been unsettled today, following the news of more Government money for banks in the U.K. and more predictions on the late recovery for the Spanish economy.

And finally,
Zara has opened its largest store in the United States, on the Golden Mile in Chicago. The establishment boasts 1,500 square metres, and the company intends to open a second store in the city at the end of the month.
Zara, part of the Inditex group run by Amancio Ortega, has a total of 47 stores in the largest United States cities after opening their first store in New York in 1989.

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