Spanish government borrowing costs continued to moderate this week, the latest consumer price index figures showed a downward trend without being full-on deflationary, and the country posted a trade surplus of around €600 million, prompting a practically giddy reaction from Economy Minister Luis de Guindos. Mr De Guindos cited the trade figures as evidence of “the economy’s transformation”. There are three ways to look at this. The first is that the economy minister is a sentimental sort of fellow whose exuberance errs a tad on the side of irrationality. The second is that there has been a transformation but – ask any of the six million unemployed – not a positive one. And the … [Read more...] about Tales for Tapas: Irrational exuberance
germany
Tales for Tapas: The price of asparagus
With comets illuminating the night sky above Madrid, and thousands gathering in the Puerta del Sol to demand the restoration of the Republic, with political parties and big business spectacularly mired in corruption and Isabel Pantoja collapsing in court – it’s not entirely surprising that coverage of Spain’s asparagus harvest has been relatively low-key. But readers may have noticed that the cost of asparagus spiked recently. This was because heavy rain in Granada province, where about 80 percent of Spanish asparagus comes from, destroyed almost a fifth of the crop in the first quarter of the year, and the shortage sent prices through the roof. Interestingly (if you look at things in … [Read more...] about Tales for Tapas: The price of asparagus
Do EU migration trends put Spain’s health and pensions system at risk?
According to The Economist’s Buttonwood, “desperate times require desperate measures”. I am sure this is right, times in Spain are certainly getting desperate and many of the measures being implemented in Brussels, far from being radical look much more like continually closing the door after the horse has bolted. The issue Buttonwood draws our attention to in the blog post accompanying this statement is that of migration trends within the euro area and the impact these have on trend GDP growth and structural budget deficits in the various member countries. This is an important issue indeed, since such movements seem to be an unforeseen and largely unmeasured by-product of the current … [Read more...] about Do EU migration trends put Spain’s health and pensions system at risk?
Amar y Vivir
The Great Inquisition did nothing for the Church, it led to Protestantism, to separation between Church and State and to a work ethic celebrating reconciliation and collaboration that became the precursor of modern western society and all its wealth. Japan’s infliction of terrible horrors led not only to its inevitable defeat, but indirectly to its ultimate wealth. (America wrote its Constitution!) Germany’s idiotic pre-war dreams about domination led not only directly to its defeat but to wealth attributable as much to production as to enforced tolerance. (America wrote its Constitution!) Franco’s cruel Spain did everything wrong, creating a nation the exact opposite of what he … [Read more...] about Amar y Vivir
Football strike threat highlights Spanish cash shortfall
There remains a very real danger that the Spanish football season will not kick off as planned this weekend. Last Thursday, the Spanish players’ union announced that its members were downing boots for the first two games of the new season, unless the Spanish league leans on clubs to pay back-wages owed to many players at La Liga’s top clubs. The football players’ association (AFE) president Luis Rubiales told a press conference that 200 first and second division Spanish league players are owed wages, some going back a number of years, totalling over €50 million. He called for the Spanish football league (LFP) to put in place a larger emergency fund to help players not being paid by their … [Read more...] about Football strike threat highlights Spanish cash shortfall
Recycling woes
Germany ranked first by recycling treating half of its waste for that year. But the two countries both generated nearly the same amount of municipal waste per person -- between 500 kg and 600 kg per person. Fifty-two percent of Spain´s garbage is dumped in landfills while that figure for Germany is zero. After recycling, incinerating and compost are the two other methods Germans use to dispose of their waste. In Spain, incineration accounted for nine percent and compost 24 percent. Yes, it may be a chore to put those plastic bottles in the yellow bin and walk down the street to deposit the glass bottles and paper inside those dark green square hubs. But it is time to catch up with the rest … [Read more...] about Recycling woes