Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Monday February 18 2008
By h.b.
Feb 18, 2008 - 1:06 PM

Accidents in the workplace in Spain last year cost the lives of 1,191 workers. Despite the size of the number, it is a 10.9% reduction on 2006. Most lives were lost in the construction and land transport industries, and the region of Spain which was worst hit was Andalucía followed by Cataluña and Madrid. The numbers are the lowest seen for 30 years.

European agriculture ministers are meeting today to discuss the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy. The European Commission is presenting its ideas to the 27 countries, and Spain is demanding that the agricultural and development help are not greater than 5%. One area under particular debate is milk subsidies where a ‘differential increase’ is demanded.
Meanwhile in Spain the price increases in fertilisers and seeds has mean that less land has been planted this year. Only 300,000 more hectares more cereals will be seeded as a result this season.

The number of mortgage credits awarded to families for the purchase of homes in Spain has increased by the smallest amount seen for 13 years according to latest numbers – up by 13.2% in 2007.
Meanwhile the number of bad debtors has increased for the six consecutive month to reach 0.837% of the total number of credits awarded.

Some 50,000 people demonstrated in Madrid over the weekend in protest at what they see as the Government’s lack of action in the Forum and Afinsa cases. The two stamp trading companies crashed in May 2006, and some 460,000 people have lost their investments or savings. The demonstrators blame the Government for the fraud because of a lack of legislation controlling the trade in intangible assets.

And finally,
Four Spanish hotels have been named among a list of the best 101 hotels in the world compiled by Tatler magazine.
The four are the Barceló La Bobadilla in Loja, Granada, the Trasierra in Cazalla de la Sierra in Sevilla, the Onn in Barcelona, and the Marqués de Riscal, designed by Frank Gehry in La Rioja.