Spain Business Brief - Monday November 23 2009

Spain Business Brief - Monday November 23 2009
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By h.b. - Nov 23, 2009 - 1:17 PM

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero at The Economist forum in Madrid - EFE

Zapatero addresses The Economist Magazine Forum in Madrid

The Spanish Prime Minister has been taking part in the 21st forum organised by The Economist magazine in Madrid today. Many financial experts attended the debate which was also addressed by the Minister for Tax and the Economy, Elena Salgado and the leader of the Partido Popular, Mariano Rajoy.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero claimed that economic recovery would take longer than in other countries, and admitted that he did not know when jobs would be created again. But he contradicted recent forecasts from the IMF, OECD and Brussels by saying that the Spanish economy would bounce bank strongly. Zapatero said his government was designing a plan of growth for the next decade and justified his optimism by claiming that Spain has a potential for higher growth than the rest of the European Union, as it has a larger younger population and has seen the massive incorporation of women into the labour market.
It follows the announcement of the new Sustainable Economy Law which is expected to be approved by the cabinet next Friday. The law is said to include new measures to control the financial system and its regulatory bodies.

The Governor of the Bank of Spain, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, has meanwhile predicted ‘high levels of unemployment’ unless there are quick, deep and ambitious reforms to the labour market.

Luis del Rivero, the Chairman of Sacyr Vallehermoso, has been indicted by Instruction Court 3 in Madrid for alleged irregularities in the merger of Itínere and Europistas. He is accused of misadministration and altering the price of Europistas shares. It follows a complaint placed by 13 shareholders of 700,000 Europistas shares.

The fall in hotel occupancy saw a moderation in October with a 1.7% fall in overnight stays compared to the same month last year. It is however the sixth consecutive months of falls, and compares to a 6.6% reduction seen in September.

The number of foreign tourists arriving in Spain for the year to October was 9.3% down on the same period last year.
Over the time 46.68 million visitors came to the country, according to the data from the FRONTUR survey of tourist movements, published by the Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Trade.
Spain saw 4.6 million tourists in October, down 3.6% on the same month last year.

Thousands of farmers took part in a demonstration in Madrid on Saturday, in protest at how prices rise between the farm gate and the shop shelf. Unions ASAJA, COAG and UPA organised the event which saw calls for the resignation of the Minister for Agriculture, Elena Espinosa.
The demonstrators also cancelled a planned meeting with the Ministry at the end of the protest.

Renfe Spanish railways are reported to be planning a 5% price rise on tickets on Cercanías local lines next year. A similar increase is reported to be in line on medium distances also, but any rise has to be approved by a Government Commission for Economic Affairs, as it is considered to be a public service.

Lottery administration offices in Spain have voiced concern at their loss of exclusivity on ticket sales from 2010, when a new law will allow any establishment to sell tickets. The law change is designed to bring more agility into the sector and stimulate ticket sales online.

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