Category Archives: Sin categoría

Currency wars and Germany’s gold

Global Economy, On the cover, Sin categoría

This article was published in El Confidencial (courtesy @migartua)

“The erosion of central bank independence around the world threatens to unleash a round of competitive exchange rate devaluations. It is already possible to observe alarming infringements, for example in Hungary or in Japan, where the new government is massively involving itself in the affairs of the central bank, is emphatically demanding an even more aggressive monetary policy and is threatening an end to central bank autonomy,” JensWeidmann (Here)

Central banks have become the main weapon of countries to try to revive their battered economies by devaluing their currency aggressively against the rest. The world is fully immersed in the so-called currency war and the “aggressive” easing announced yesterday by the Bank of Japan is but one more episode of this strategy that has its maximum expression in the U.S. since the financial crisis of 2008. Continue reading Currency wars and Germany’s gold →

Invest In Spain

Global Economy, On the cover, Sin categoría, Spain

INVEST IN SPAIN is the official Spanish organisation for the promotion of foreign investment in Spain. It focusses on new direct investment and investment in companies. Please find below the link for the presentation on opportunities for investment in Spain. I would like to highlight the sectorial approach with information on the main sectors of the Spanish economy.

http://www.investinspain.org/icex/cma/contentTypes/common/records/viewDocument/0,,,00.bin?doc=4461005

Kleptocracy, value creation and the opportunity for Spain

Global Economy, On the cover, Sin categoría, Spain

This article was published in El Confidencial on January 19th 2013

“This threat of cronyism and patronage is not a threat. I think it’s a promise ” John Gage

“I do not worry if there are useless people in this organization, what worries me is if the useless are proactive.” This sentence comes from a senior executive with whom I had the pleasure of working for many years, and it encapsulates the biggest risk facing the ‘brand Spain’ after the recent embrace of optimism courtesy of the fall in sovereign risk premium. Now Spain faces its own acid test. Continue reading Kleptocracy, value creation and the opportunity for Spain →

The disastrous effect of subsidies in a few charts

Global Economy, On the cover, Sin categoría
De-industrialization in Europe is slow, painful but relentless. The main reason for this remains in the excessive cost of energy that destroys competitiveness. Why does this happen when there is plenty of spare capacity, diversification of supply and renewables are supposed to reduce the impact of high oil price and gas? Continue reading The disastrous effect of subsidies in a few charts →