Ikea to invest 3 million euros in its shops in Catalonia
The Swedish multinational plans to open new stores in Sabadell, Tarragona and Girona. The shops will create 1200 jobs
May 16, 2011 10:10 PM
Business & economic news from Barcelona and Catalonia
The Swedish multinational plans to open new stores in Sabadell, Tarragona and Girona. The shops will create 1200 jobs
May 16, 2011 10:10 PM
The European presentation of the Audi Q3, which will be unveiled in Catalonia, is the focus of the first day’s attention at Bacelona’s Automobile Fair. Electric cars are set to be one of the main attractions of this year’s Fair. The ‘Saló de l’Automòbil’, in its 36th year, will run until May 22nd.
May 13, 2011 05:17 PM
The transformation of the savings bank La Caixa’s industrial holding, Criteria into the private bank CaixaBank is reaching the final stage. Criteria’s stockholder board approved duplicating the current stocks by issuing 300,000 convertible bonds. The new bank expects increasing its market share in Spain by 50% through business activity increase and new acquisitions in the period 2011-2014. The announcement is made the day after billionaire Carlos Slim bought 900,000 CaixaBank stocks.
May 13, 2011 01:48 AM
The airline Vueling, which has its main base at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, has a network of permanent operating bases, to which Paris Orly will be added if French authorities give the green light. Vueling’s Chairman, Josep Piqué, announced that a minimum of six planes will be based at France’s second airport. Across the 21 routes it has in France, the airline estimates that it will carry 26% more passengers in 2011 when compared to last year.
May 12, 2011 01:54 AM
Tourists from Eastern Europe will increase their presence in Catalonia this summer season, according to experts in the sector. Girona is now linked with 60 destinations while at the same Ryanair is reducing its flights from the airport and in a dispute with the Catalan Government over subsidies. Spanair will operate Ryanair’s flight to Madrid if no other airline does it.
May 10, 2011 01:43 PM
April numbers have broken a three-month continuous trend of unemployment increases. In total there were 601,541 people registered as unemployed at the end of April.
May 5, 2011 06:33 PM
The Catalan Ministry of Economy and Knowledge has released its macroeconomic outlook for 2011. At the end of the current year, the unemployment rate will be 18%, up from 2010.
May 4, 2011 03:49 PM
East Asian and South Mediterranean countries are the two regions with the largest cargo exchange at Barcelona Port. In total, 538,700 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) passed through Barcelona during the first quarter of 2011.
May 2, 2011 11:37 PM
More than 727,000 people were unemployed at the end of March 2011 in Catalonia, 40,900 jobseekers more than at the end of 2010. In Spain as a whole, the unemployment rate has reached 4.91 million people, a rate of 21.29%.
April 30, 2011 01:55 AM
Car manufacturer SEAT, whose factory is in Barcelona, is present for the first time in Shanghai. Its cars will be seen in China’s roads as of 2012. Audi also officially introduced its new crossover model, the Audi Q3, which will be entirely produced in Barcelona. Auto Shanghai 2011 closes its doors on April 28 and is the main show of this kind in Asia.
April 27, 2011 07:55 PM
The Catalan firms have their headquarters in Barcelona. Gas Natural Fenosa is Spain’s sixth largest company and Criteria Caixa the seventh according to the magazine. In the ‘Forbes’ Global 2,000 List, which ranks the 2,000 world’s largest companies, Gas Natural occupies 269th place and Criteria Caixa 322nd.
April 22, 2011 06:06 PM
Kenneth Rogoff, currently professor at Harvard, predicts that Spain has a “high chance” of being rescued by the European Union. He also ads that, if it were not rescued, even France could fall.
April 20, 2011 10:56 PM
The economic crisis that has dragged on since 2008 has led many young professionals to create their own businesses. Such is the case of four Catalan entrepreneurs in new technologies, all of whom have built their own companies in recent months.
April 19, 2011 11:04 PM
During the first three months of 2011, housing prices dropped by 4.5% compared to the same period in 2010. The end of fiscal advantages for property purchase is the main reason behind this drop. The average square metre price in Catalonia is now set at 2,145.2 euros. These prices have not been seen since early 2006 and represent a 14% drop compared with the historic maximum in 2008.
April 19, 2011 12:12 AM
The arrival of the huge ‘Liberty of the Seas’ and the luxurious ‘Queen Mary 2’ proves the power this kind of tourism is gaining in Catalonia's capital city.
April 19, 2011 12:00 AM
Read the latest updates and breaking news on business and economic matters from Barcelona and Catalonia here. Keep up to date with how the Catalan economy is performing, inflation levels, employment and unemployment, major business mergers, important company announcements, and the latest on Catalonia’s biggest enterprises such as Vueling, Wallbox, Grifols, Mango, and plenty of start-ups and international firms based here too.