Spain’s accelerating economic recovery is finally feeding through to job creation. In the 12 months between June 2013 and 2014, 192,400 jobs were created - the first year-on-year rise since 2008 when the economic crisis ended a 13-year period of strong growth and the country went into five years of decline after the bursting of a debt-fuelled property bubble.
Following two years of intense negotiations, the BRICS leaders agreed on 15 July 2014 in Fortaleza (Brazil) to launch the New Development Bank (NDB). This is a significant (and therefore not to be underestimated) step in their efforts to build a less crisis-prone international financial system.
If the BRICS development bank becomes a reality it would be a milestone in the consolidation of this group of emerging markets.
After a period of consolidation following the onset of Spain’s recession in 2009, which led some multinationals to sell assets regarded as non-strategic, particularly those that needed to reduce their debt levels, companies are investing again.
David Cameron has opposed Jean-Claude Juncker’s candidacy for the next President of the European Commission. While Juncker may not be the best candidate for the job, he is the most legitimate from a democratic perspective.
Tourism is the most flourishing part of the country’s otherwise ailing domestic economy and together with increased exports has played a major role in pulling Spain out of its long recession.
The election of Narendra Modi in India has marked the arrival of another nationalist at the head of a BRIC. This new BRIC nationalism is accompanied in many cases by the attempts to boost the economies of these countries, with various formulas.
The Spanish economy is now firmly out of recession and jobs are beginning to be created, particularly in the services sector, but the stubbornly high unemployment rate will not dip below 20% until 2017, according to the government’s forecasts.
The growth in foreign direct investment in Spain in 2013 underscores the increased international confidence in an economy that is beginning to recover from a five-year recession, albeit weakly.
The Chinese financial markets might have to see a few market players stumble and fall in order for the reform process to continue its course on a sustainable path.
The trade negotiations between the EU and the US are motivated more by geopolitical than economic considerations.
The Spanish banking system, hard hit by its massive exposure to toxic real estate assets following the collapse of the country’s property market in 2008, is on the mend.
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