Spain Business
Spain Business Brief - Wednesday June 25 2008
By h.b.
Jun 25, 2008 - 1:09 PM

Industrial prices in Spain have increased by about 8% because of the increase in petrol prices, according to the National Statistics Institute. The number for the month of May came in up 1.2% higher than April and 7.9% higher over the year.

Once again the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, has said that the bank is decided to guarantee the control of inflation as its first priority. He said it was possible that at the July meeting that they decide on a ‘light’ interest rate increase, claiming that the risks on instability in prices had increased and they were on alert.
His statement comes as the Bank of Spain has criticised the Spanish Government for not controlling inflation. The Governor, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, has called for a reform of the labour market and a change in the wage round with increases not linked to inflation. The bank also wants to see austerity on the part of the regional governments.

The economic slowdown has resulted in a tripling of the numbers of families in Spain who cannot meet their mortgage payments. The Spanish Mortgage Association calculates that the number of credits with a doubtful quality will end the year at 2%.
Meanwhile the real estate portal idealista.com has said that resale property is set to fall by between 2% and 4% in price.

Caja Madrid has announced an early retirement plan for 1,250 workers. A pre-agreement has been reached with the unions CCOO, CESICA and the Confederación de Cuadros. The number represents 8.5% of the workforce which will replaced by new employees who will be paid less. Union UGT is against the idea.

The announced privatisation of part of AENA, the Spanish airports authority, as announced by the Prime Minister earlier this week, will not result in the running of the airports being put out the tender. However the idea is that the regional administrations will be able to take part in a consortium for each infrastructure in the group.

Trading was suspended on the markets in Spain today in Campofrio shares amid take over speculation. Prices had increased by 3.8% when taken off sale at 1210. No more details at present.

And finally,
The number of rich people in Spain, those with more than a million dollars, has increased by 4% over the past year. The growth is acceptable but far short of a 22% increase seen in India.