Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Wednesday November 12 2008
By h.b.
Nov 12, 2008 - 12:55 PM

The Spanish Government has admitted that its forecast for 2009 of growth of 1% will not be met. The Secretary of State for the Economy, David Vegara, has said that in such a changing time, the forecasts are not for improvements, and it is likely that the Government revises its forecast downwards.
The BBVA has meanwhile published its new forecast – for growth of 1.3% this year and a fall of 1% next. The Spanish bank thinks that unemployment will reach 15.4% in Spain in 2009. The bank puts the unemployment rate at 11% this year.
Vegara made the comment at a press conference following the publication of the IPC inflation data for October which confirmed that the official number is down nine tenths of a point to now stand at 3.6%. The fall comes thanks to the reduction in fuel and foodstuff prices.

Spanish Minister for the Economy, Pedro Solbes, has admitted that so far families and businesses in Spain have seen little effect from the Government’s help for the banking sector. However Solbes insisted that such measures to guarantee liquidity are necessary, and that he was sure that eventually the banks would start to give credit again.

ING bank made a profit of seven million in Spain in the third quarter, compared to ten million for the same quarter last year. However the Dutch bank and insurance group has announced losses of 478 million € for the last quarter, and says that its results for next year are under pressure. Cashflow for the first nine months of the year was 53.068 billion, 6.1% less than for the same period in 2007.

The name decided for the merger of the two Basque Savings Banks, Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa and la Kutxa, is Kutxa.
The new bank will be launched on the 28th of this month with a logo in corporative colours of black, white and red.

Iberia airlines has announced a 77% fall in profits for the year to September, hit hard by higher fuel prices and lower demand. The company made 51.1 million € compared to 223 million last year for the first nine months of the year. Over the period the fuel bill was almost double, but the number of travellers increased by only 1%.

According to ranking in the World Economic Forum Spain has slipped seven points in the equality of the sexes index, falling from 10th to 17th in a year. It comes as the wages for men have increased here faster than those of women.
The list looks at four criteria – the participation and differences between the sexes, education levels, political influence and health. It will be disappointing for the new Equality Minister, Bebinana Aído.