Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Friday March 14 2008
By h.b.
Mar 14, 2008 - 1:24 PM

Annual inflation in the Eurozone has reached an all-time high at 3.3%. The number is a point higher than the early estimates of Eurostat which was expecting the number for the end of February to come in at the same rate, 3.2% seen in January.
Price hikes in fuel and foodstuffs have led the increases. Inflation in Spain is at 4.4%, beaten only in Solvinia, 6.4%, Cyprus 4.7% and Greece 4.5%

The average cost per employee for employers in Spain at the end of last year has been revealed at 2,405 € The amount includes the wages and other costs and is 4.1% higher than for the last quarter of 2006. Numbers show most investment went to the regions of the Basque Country and Madrid, while Extremadura, Canaries and Murcia saw less.

House sales in Spain fell by 13.9% in 2007 according to data just released from the registry, which show further evidence of the real estate slowdown. There were 788,518 deals done over the year.

The Chairman of the BBVA bank, Francisco González, has launched a message of confidence in the government and has said he is optimistic in the face of the current economic slowdown. He said that he thought that Pedro Solbes, the acting Minister for Tax and the Economy will take the measures needed, and that there were enough resources to continue forward. He said it was important though that we were all united in our efforts to leave this period of adjustment behind us as soon as possible.

The European Union has called for the end of price fixing in electricity tariffs in Spain. It comes as part of plans by European leaders to approve a catalogue of recommendations for each one of the member states. It’s all currently being discussed at the European summit, with particular attention being paid to job security, productivity and social considerations.

Spain’s balance of trade current account deficit reached 106.2 billion € at the end of last year, up by 25.3%. The number has been published by the Bank of Spain, which says the increase is due mostly to an increase in the negative balance in trade. A surplus in services can no longer compensate for the deficit, which resulted in a 29% increase in the need for finance.