HAKE ON IT
Thanks to a new deal with the EU, hake is set to be the most popular fish on Spain´s menus in 2015, after a record increase in the allowed quota for the country´s fishing industry. The northern hake quota for Spain has now been set at 25,461 metric tons, a “record figure”, according to Isabel Garcia, the Minister of Argiculture, Food and Environment.
MONEY TALKS
Minister for Finance, Luis de Guindos, has confirmed that Spain´s finances are now more stable and that the country is not at risk of sliding into deflation, after five straight months of falling consumer prices have helped the economic recovery. Householders normally delay spending hoping for cheaper prices, he said, but “in Spain, the opposite is happening — an increase in consumption and investment”. Official data shows consumer prices dropped 0.5% percent in November.
NO PROTESTS
New security laws which have been in development since 2013 have now been approved by parliament, and will be presented to the Senate for approval. One of the key points in the draft allows for hefty fines for unauthorised protests, such as has been seen locally on the Orihuela Costa, and expulsion of migrants trying to enter the country illegally. Fines for protest organisers can reach 600,000 euro, whereas individuals could be fined 30,000 euro for disobeying the police, as well as acting to prevent evictions.
HELP FINALLY
As the dawn of a new year brings the approach to the Spanish election, the government of Spain has announced a new wave of benefits to help the unemployed, including up to 426 euro per month for unemployed families who have exhausted all other forms of income, which can be claimed from mid January for a period of 6 month, after the elections. With unemployment affecting a considerable number of people, and countless evicted from their homes during the current administration, it is believed that around 450,000 people may qualify for the assistance package.
CALL ME HAL
Muslim visitors to the town of Cumbres Mayores in Andalucía can now enjoy one of the traditional Spanish treats, after a Tunisian butcher has created the countries first Islamic certified Halal jamón. Faysal Mrad Dali said, “The first time I came with my family to Spain, to Andalusia, I said, ‘Why don’t the Muslims have this?’”, and so set about creating the gourmet treat.
I NAME THIS CHURCH
The regional government of Andalucía has filed a complaint with the Roman Catholic Church, claiming that the Catholics are trying to erase the Islamic history of Córdoba´s mosque-cathedral, one of the area’s leading tourist attractions. The complaint surrounds the Catholics calling the building the “Córdoba Cathedral”, thus having removed any reference to the fact that it is a mosque, visited by over a million Muslims each year. Cathedral officials deny the allegations and insist that since the 13th century, the monument’s official title has been “The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Cordoba”, after the 8th century Moorish invasion and then transformed into a cathedral after King Ferdinand III captured the city from the Moors. The mosque itself is built over a Christian Visigothic temple.
CHEERS MAHOU
The Mahou San Miguel group of Madrid has purchased a 30% stake in the American brewery Founders Brewing Co, based Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founders said the partnership would help the brewery tap the growing international market for craft beer, as well as allow Mahou to become directly involved in the U.S. craft beer market.
AMAZONING
Global on-line shopping giant Amazon has signed a partnership deal with Spain´s Correos post offices to provide their “Click-and-collect” service across the country. Having already launched the service in the UK, the company will now have access to 2,400 outlets across Spain, tripling their distribution network already in place through local businesses and shops. The online retailer said that collection points had become a preferred delivery option for many consumers and that the network of thousands of post offices, and would provide maximum convenience for consumers, presumably them never having used one of the Spanish post offices themselves.
BACK OF THE NET!
Having already hosted the men’s World Cup last summer, Spain has beaten Israel in a bid to host the 2018 Women’s Basketball World Cup. Spain has one of the best women’s teams in the world, winning the European championship in 2013, and was runner-up in this year’s world championship. FIBA says on its website that Spain "has past experience of hosting a leading FIBA world event."
OIL BE LUCKY
Spanish oil company Repsol is set to take over Canadian energy company Talisman Energy, after approval was obtained by the Repsol board this week. Talisman Energy Inc. is a global upstream oil and gas company, with headquarters in Calgary, Canada, operating throughout the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Now one of Canada’s largest independent oil and gas companies, is was founded in 1992 by the renaming of BP Canada Ltd.
TAXING TIMES
The Spanish government has published a draft tax reform bill that would see income tax gradually decreased to 25% in 2016. There would be an interim reduction to 28% in 2015, election year, whilst certain benefits and tax deductions would be eliminated. IVA, value added tax, has not been included in the bill, despite recommendations by the advisory
BACK OF THE NET!
Having already hosted the men’s World Cup last summer, Spain has beaten Israel in a bid to host the 2018 Women’s Basketball World Cup. Spain has one of the best women’s teams in the world, winning the European championship in 2013, and was runner-up in this year’s world championship. FIBA says on its website that Spain "has past experience of hosting a leading FIBA world event."
OIL BE LUCKY
Spanish oil company Repsol is set to take over Canadian energy company Talisman Energy, after approval was obtained by the Repsol board this week. Talisman Energy Inc. is a global upstream oil and gas company, with headquarters in Calgary, Canada, operating throughout the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Now one of Canada’s largest independent oil and gas companies, is was founded in 1992 by the renaming of BP Canada Ltd.
TAXING TIMES
The Spanish government has published a draft tax reform bill that would see income tax gradually decreased to 25% in 2016. There would be an interim reduction to 28% in 2015, election year, whilst certain benefits and tax deductions would be eliminated. IVA, value added tax, has not been included in the bill, despite recommendations by the advisory
HELLO HELI
Spain has taken delivery of two new Airbus Helicopters this week, as part of a seven-helicopter contract agreed in February. The DGT traffic department has received the first of four AS355 NP Ecureuil helicopters, and the National Police received their first of three EC135 helicopters.
NEW TV
The Ministry of Industry has confirmed that five new television networks will be licensed within the first half of 2015, four in high definition (HD) and one in standard definition (SD). The move is part of the clearing and reallocation of the airwaves which has resulted in televisions across the country having to be retuned before some of the channels are switched off next week.
SHOPPING WORM
Shoppers to Mercadona supermarkets will no doubt be aware af the catchy sung jingle as you wander through the shops, with its repetitive melody to the word of “Mer-CA-do-o-na, Merc-A-don-A”, well after being composed 30 years ago, the tune has been patented by the company, after the tune is becoming seemingly more viral thanks to the internet. Quite whether they will follow a recent trend in banning people for singing Happy Birthday thanks to its copyrights remains to be seen.
SHOPPING RUSS
Despite continuing sanctions across the western world, a number of mainstream Spanish companies are continuing their expansion programs into the Russian markets. Inditex has 442 stores in Russia, of which 84 are of the Zara brand, 79 are Bershkas, 73 Pull & Bear and another 73 Stradivarius. Mango has 33 stores and hopes to reach 174 next year. Cortefiel has 70 stores currently, the largest number being from the Women´s Secret chain with 41, plus 29 Springfield stores.
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