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Post by jeffolie on Jan 21, 2013 13:16:21 GMT -6
Spain's Breaking Point? 2014 my jeffolie view: Spain's breaking point will not happen until most likely in 2014 ... Mish has guessed 2013, I disagree because Merkel needs an intact EU to win in September 2013's German national elections. ====================== January 21, 2013 20,000 Layoffs in Spanish Banks, 40% Pay Cuts, Pension Contributions Halted; Spanish Bank Unions Announce Strike; Protests Snowball; When's the Breaking Point? Spanish banks have already shed 30,000 jobs in ins banking crisis. Another 20,000 cuts are due in 2013, along with pay cuts and reduced pension contribution. In response Spain's Banking Unions Announce Strikes.
Workers at three of Spain's bailed-out banks will stage strikes in coming weeks as they fight mass layoffs, unions said on Monday, spreading industrial unrest to a sector where walkouts have so far been rare.
While the banks, crippled by a property bubble that burst five years ago, have hogged headlines, employees have so far mostly kept a low profile even as protests become a way of life elsewhere in Spain.
But about 20,000 layoffs planned for 2013, almost 10 percent of the total, could reduce the workforce to levels last seen in 1975, data from the unions showed.
Alarmed at the scale of cuts, employees from across the industry will demonstrate on January 23, while workers from Bankia, Banco de Valencia and NovaGalicia Banco will strike on February 6 and hold partial strikes before then.
Protests are snowballing and becoming more visible, as bankers take to the street and join judges, doctors, bus drivers and garbage workers as strikes become almost a daily occurrence across recession-bound Spain.
As well as losing their jobs, workers at the likes of Bankia are being asked to take 40 to 50 percent pay cuts and many will see pension contributions halted for several years.
Many of Bankia's more than 20,000 employees also bought shares in its listing in June 2011 and face seeing their savings practically wiped out.
The deadline for negotiations between unions and Bankia is Feb 9.
Spain's banks have shed over 30,000 jobs since the start of the global financial crisis in 2007, data from the Comisiones Obreras union showed. With about 20,000 more set to be axed in 2013, the banking workforce could drop to 218,500 by year end.When's the Breaking Point?With 26% unemployment and rising, as well as corruption and fraud at the highest levels in government, I keep wondering when the breaking point will hit Spain.All I can suggest is some time in 2013.Mike "Mish" Shedlock globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/01/20000-layoffs-in-spanish-banks-40-pay.html
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Post by jeffolie on Jan 24, 2013 10:33:54 GMT -6
Tue, 22 Jan 2013 Spain's Catalonia misses 2012 public deficit target Catalonia posted Tuesday a 2012 public deficit equal to 2.3 percent of its gross domestic product, surpassing the 1.5 percent target set by Madrid for Spain's 17 autonomous regions. The slippage puts at risk the 2012 deficit target the whole country agreed with its European partners. Spain, the fourth largest economy in the euro zone, was supposed to keep the 2012 figure to within 6.3 percent of gross domestic product.The government of Catalonia, which manages an economy as large as Portugals and is responsible for healthcare and education, has imposed sharp spending cuts to social services to rein in its public deficit. The industrialised northeastern region reduced its spending by 7.2 percent in 2012 over the previous year if interest payments on its massive debt pile are excluded, the Catalan government said in a statement. Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, paid 1.732 billion euros on debt interest payments last year, a 16.5 percent rise over the previous year. "The (Catalan) government maintains its commitment to budget stability and will not give up the efforts necessary to achieve it," the statement said. Spain's central government has threatened to intervene in regions that fail to meet their fiscal commitments. Catalonia's ruling centre-right nationalist alliance, Convergence and Union, is pushing for greater control over its own tax affairs and has vowed to hold an independence referendum for the region next year. It blames underfunding from Spain's central government for its fiscal crunch. Catalonia posted a public deficit equal to 3.99 percent of its gross domestic product in 2011, down from 4.22 percent in the previous year. news.malaysia.msn.com/business/spains-catalonia-misses-2012-public-deficit-target-3
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Post by jeffolie on Jan 24, 2013 15:52:14 GMT -6
Spain's Breaking Point? 2014 my jeffolie view: Spain's breaking point will not happen until most likely in 2014 ... Mish has guessed 2013, I disagree because Merkel needs an intact EU to win in September 2013's German national elections. ====================== www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2013/01/20130124_spaingreece.jpgRacing To The Revolution: Spain Vs Greek Youth Unemployment 01/24/2013 Spanish and Greek youth unemployment surged to yet another new record as joblessness among the under-25 cohort is now above 55% for both of these troubled nations. "We haven't seen the bottom yet," one analyst notes as the BBC notes that the youth unemployment in these nations is more than double the euro-area average. As we have noted many times, this ludicrous state of affairs (in nations that proclaim the worst is past) is by far the most-concerning for European stability. Even Frau Merkel opined this morning in Davos that: MERKEL SAYS EU YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT BIGGEST BURDEN, NEEDS TACKLED Yet, there is nothing being done. Across the 27-nation bloc, there are 5.8 million people aged under-25 that remain long-term unemployed. This has always and forever led to extreme events and social unrest, as we warned here (must read). As the year warms up, which nation will 'spring' first? www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-01-24/racing-revolution-spain-vs-greek-youth-unemployment
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Post by jeffolie on Feb 5, 2013 11:39:33 GMT -6
Spain's Rajoy Scandal Threatens Europe's Fragile PeaceFebruary 04, 2013 Related Spain's Rajoy Called to Quit on Payment Allegations Just as investors were starting to breathe easier about Europe, the threat of political upheaval in Spain and Italy could send them scurrying away again. Spanish bond yields spiked Monday to their highest level in seven weeks, as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faced calls to resign over reports that he received illegal payments from a political party slush fund. Rajoy vehemently denies the allegation, but new polls show a majority of voters want to call a general election. “The dynamics in Spain are devastating,” strategist Michael Leister of Commerzbank in London told Bloomberg News. An election “would be a real shocker for the market.”Bond yields also are widening in Italy, where former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has pulled nearly even in polls with center-left opponents who’ve been ensnared in a derivatives-trading scandal. With national elections set for Feb. 24-25, “Political risk is likely to become a more prominent source of market turbulence in the next few weeks,” Francis Yared, head of European rates strategy at Deutsche Bank (DB) in London, wrote in a note to clients. The fear is that political turmoil could undo a fragile détente that has held since last summer in the euro zone’s third- and fourth-largest economies. Backed by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s promise of unlimited sovereign bond-buying, the governments of Rajoy in Spain and Mario Monti in Italy pushed ahead with unpopular austerity and structural reform measures. In the end, the ECB didn’t have to buy either country’s debt, as investors began tiptoeing back in, and borrowing costs fell back to affordable levels. Now, though, Spain is in an uproar over reports by the newspaper El Pais that Rajoy received more than €277,000 ($375,000) from a secret fund run by the former treasurer of his People’s Party. The newspaper last month published copies of handwritten ledgers kept by the former treasurer that appeared to show regular payments to Rajoy over an 11-year period. A spokesman for the prime minister has said the records were “doctored,” and Rajoy said on Feb. 2 that he was the victim of a smear campaign. Support for the prime minister appears to be dwindling fast. A poll published by El Pais on Feb. 3 showed his party with only 23.9 percent backing, the lowest on record, while 77 percent said they disapproved of Rajoy as head of government and 54 percent said a general election should be called.The scandal in Italy revolves around disclosures that former managers of lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena executed secret derivatives contracts to conceal hundreds of millions of euros in losses on prior swaps. There’s no evidence that government officials took part in the coverup, but the former Monti government approved a taxpayer bailout of the bank, which has close connections to the Democratic Party of the Left headed by Pier Luigi Bersani. Former Premier Berlusconi has taken advantage of the scandal in televised comments linking the bailout to an unpopular property tax. Recent opinion polls show Berlusconi has pulled within five or six percentage points of Bersani, as he promises to roll back tax increases and other austerity measures imposed under Monti. Italian voters are increasingly weary of austerity, as the economy remains mired in recession and is expected to shrink 1 percent this year. Spain, where unemployment is at 26 percent and the economy is forecast to contract 1.5 percent this year, also is at risk of an austerity pushback. “In a recession of this magnitude, the worst thing that can happen to the Spanish economy is a political scandal,” José Carlos Diez, chief economist at Intermoney in Madrid, told Bloomberg News. “This is a theme that is going to be in the spotlight for a while and could undermine investor confidence if not addressed quickly.” www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-04/spains-rajoy-scandal-threatens-europes-fragile-peace#r=rss
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Post by jeffolie on Feb 7, 2013 12:54:45 GMT -6
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Post by jeffolie on Feb 14, 2013 17:53:51 GMT -6
Who will provide the money and POLITIC MATTERS ideology to drive the large population of jobless Spainish young adults into revolt? " ... Greece (61.7% to be exact) would beg to differ with that view of the world (as their economy grinds to a halt) - and with Spain reaching new highs at 55.6% (as well as the Euro-zone over 24%), all the bureaucratic lip-service in the world won't stop the revolt my jeffolie view: Spain's breaking point will not happen until most likely in 2014 ... Mish has guessed 2013, I disagree because Merkel needs an intact EU to win in September 2013's German national elections. ================================ Greek Youth Unemployment Tops 60% 02/14/2013 www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2013/02/20130214_Greece.jpgOptimism it seems is all that matters (or is all that is allowed) as we are battered by dismal data left, right, and center. Of course, a reflection on the markets tells any 'smart' person that it all must get better - or why would stocks or sovereigns, or EURUSD be where it is? However, the 6 out of 10 15-24 year olds in Greece (61.7% to be exact) would beg to differ with that view of the world (as their economy grinds to a halt) - and with Spain reaching new highs at 55.6% (as well as the Euro-zone over 24%), all the bureaucratic lip-service in the world won't stop the revolt that is coming we fear. www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-14/greek-youth-unemployment-tops-60
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Post by jeffolie on Feb 16, 2013 17:40:16 GMT -6
Now A Vast Political Espionage Scandal To Top Off The Sordid Corruption Scandal In Spain 02/16/2013 Spain just can’t catch a break—a horrid economy with dizzying unemployment, collapsing banks, a prime minister and ruling party tarred by corruption.... Now a political espionage scandal blew up, scattering debris and money laundering allegations far and wide. Unemployment in Spain was 26% in December, youth unemployment 55%. GDP last quarter dropped for the fifth month in a row (-0.7%), the steepest decline since the financial crisis. Consumer spending plunged 10% in December from prior year—following a hike in the value-added tax. And the budget deficit target of 6.3% (not counting the billions plowed into bailing out the banks) is skidding out of reach.This leitmotif is accompanied by an elegantly escalating corruption scandal that broke in early February. A classic cash-for-contracts arrangement, where senior politicians received secret payments from business folks who in return were awarded juicy government contracts. It was documented in handwritten ledgers, involved a €22 million slush fund in Switzerland, and was allegedly run by Luis Bárcenas, the ex-treasurer of the conservative People’s Party (PP), the party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose name appears repeatedly and very inconveniently on the ledgers as recipient [which put him and Chancellor Merkel on the corruption hot seat in Berlin.... The Confidence Crisis In Spain Sends Out Shock Waves]. Add a political espionage scandal. The case blew up in a peculiar manner. According to sources—everything in this case is “according to sources”—Método 3, a detective agency, went out of business not long ago. One of its laid-off employees was an ex-cop, in charge of the data department. When Método 3 couldn’t pay him what it owed him, he appropriated the computers, video and audio recordings, and a bunch of sensitive files. And they’ve shown up at the technical division of the police in Barcelona. Now “sources” are talking about what’s in this treasure-trove. Apparently Método 3 had been commissioned by a long list of clients to spy on Catalan party leaders, politicians of national parties, judges, prosecutors, executives, and other prominent figures, sources told La Vanguardia. One of the recordings was of a lunch meeting at a restaurant in Barcelona in July 2010 between Alicia Sánchez-Camacho, President of the PP in Catalonia, and a woman named María Victoria Álvarez. Álvarez was desperate and scared. She told Sánchez-Camacho that she’d gone on a road trip to Andorra with her then boyfriend, Pujol Ferrusola. The trunk was loaded with packets of 500-euro notes, which he deposited in a bank account there. She outlined how Pujol Ferrusola—son of powerbroker Jordi Pujol, leader of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) from 1974 to 2003 and President of Catalonia from 1980 to 2003—was doing his family’s money laundering. She wanted to report him but feared for her life. So she asked Sánchez-Camacho for help. The Pujol-Ferrusola family has been fingered in a police report that seeped to the surface in 2012. While Jordi Pujol was in power, companies associated with his sons were awarded lucrative contracts allegedly through false bidding. These cases had been investigated at the time, but nothing happened.... Until the recording of a conversation about a trunk full of euros popped up. On Thursday, Álvarez finally testified before the High Court about what she’d witnessed. Also on Thursday, Sánchez-Camacho pressed charges with the police and filed a complaint in court against Método 3. She’d found out by reading the papers that her lunch conversation had been recorded—and that the top official of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), José Zaragoza, at the time party secretary, had allegedly commissioned Método 3 to do the dirty work. Interior Minister Jorge Fernández announced an “exhaustive” investigation. “We have a lot of information,” he said ominously. Zaragoza and others accused of anything whatsoever have denied everything. Sources have told La Vanguardia that the materials are so massive that the police have formed a special team, supported by police units from Madrid, to investigate them. The lunch episode uncovered a web of “unpredictable scope.” The investigation is still in an early stage, sources said, but the client list of Método 3 is long and “delicate,” and includes officials of various political parties and institutions, and the number of people tangled up in it is vast. “This is about top politicians,” said the sources. These revelations are driving the political elite ever deeper into a malodorous morass just when that same elite is forcefully tightening the belts of the people. Workers have taken pay cuts, social benefits have been trimmed, families have lost their homes, the VAT, which hits everyone, has been jacked up, all to squeeze the maximum from those who still have any juice left. Yet, Spain’s legal system wasn’t designed to root out corruption; and Rajoy, among others, may be thinking that this too shall pass. Corruption of spectacular proportions is dogging another Eurozone country waiting for a bailout: buried deep inside a report on Russia’s booming underground economy and illicit oil money is a gem: the flows and amounts of Russian “black money” into and out of Cyprus. They’re huge. Read.... Cyprus, ‘A Money Laundering Machine For Russian Criminals’. www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-02-16/now-vast-political-espionage-scandal-top-sordid-corruption-scandal-spain
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Post by jeffolie on Feb 19, 2013 18:10:04 GMT -6
Spain's Second Largest Bankruptcy Roils Real-Estate Market, Leaves Tepper Potentially Scuppered? 02/19/2013 It's no shock that the Spanish housing market is horrible but hope has been, following the government's nationalization of various banks and creation of the 'bad bank' to soak up all the toxic crap those banks had on their books, that a recovery could blossom. It appears not - not at all. Not only are bad loans rising at record rates with house prices remaining down over 40% but now Reyal Urbis has filed for insolvency making it the nation's second largest bankruptcy as dozens of smaller firms have failed. What makes this so important is the fact that the banks were unwilling to refinance the debt - seemingly comfortable with liquidation - summed up perfectly: "Many loans were refinanced one or two years ago, in the hope that things would get better, but it has not been the case and there is now more realism about the situation. Why would you extend a new loan today?" Reuters reports further that the hard line taken with Reyal Urbis could be a taste of things to come as the firm leaves EUR3.6bn of debt and a property portfolio valued at a magical EUR 4.2bn - which we suggests the banks do not agree, and while the nation's bad bank is a major creditor, so it appears, is Tepper's Appaloosa holding a majestic EUR450mm in debt. Perhaps helps to explain his recent BWIC on European banks.. Via Reuters, Spanish real estate firm Reyal Urbis has filed for insolvency, the second biggest casualty of the country's property market crash and a sign banks and the government may turn their backs on more indebted companies. Dozens of property firm have already collapsed in Spain, where house prices have fallen around 40 percent from their 2007 peak. But until recently Spanish banks have refinanced billions of euros of debt in the hope of an economic upturn. Liquidations are now more likely, bankers say, as prices continue to slide in a protracted recession and lenders, after a government-led clean-up, have set aside money to cover losses. ... Sources at three bank creditors told Reuters the hard line taken with Reyal Urbis could be a taste of things to come. "Many loans were refinanced one or two years ago, in the hope that things would get better, but it has not been the case and there is now more realism about the situation. Why would you extend a new loan today?" ... As well as Sareb, which is owed 785 million euros, the company's creditors include Spain's biggest banks - Santander , owed 550 million euros; BBVA, owed 120 million; and Banco Popular owed 220 million. Barclays sold 450 million euros of its debt to U.S. hedge fund Appaloosa, while Royal Bank of Scotland is owed 300 million euros Reyal Urbis, which valued its property portfolio at 4.2 billion euros in June 2012, said it would continue to operate as permitted by Spanish insolvency laws. Its insolvency petition now goes to court and its fate will be in the hands of a judge, who will decide whether to appoint independent administrators. "Sareb holds some of the debt but has said it is not in the business of refinancing so it will be interesting to see what they do. On top of that, any liquidation wouldn't impact lenders as harshly as it would have two or three years ago," the source said, referring to the funds set aside by banks to cover losses. At the end of 2011, Reyal Urbis owned some 888 finished homes in a country where over 3 million homes lie empty. The company also had 8 million square metres of land for development and 237,000 square metres of commercial property, including offices, shopping centres, industrial property and hotels. "The high amount of land and low level of income producing property in the portfolio is clearly contributing to the pressure Reyal Urbis is under," said Roger Cooke, managing director at property consultant Cushman & Wakefield in Spain. Land and work in progress accounted for about 65 percent of its portfolio at the end of 2011, according to the company's last annual report. www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-02-19/spains-second-largest-bankruptcy-roils-real-estate-market-leaves-tepper-potentially-
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 25, 2013 9:05:20 GMT -6
Spain's Breaking Point? " ... Parliament cancelled its session for the day .... The ministry claims violent, anti-establishment groups are behind the rally. .... sparked almost daily protests. my jeffolie view: violent revolution potential will spur political action as the POLITICS OF THE BACKLASH perhaps as soon as the heat of summer, August peaks. ============================== Spain's jobless above 6 million for first time Spain's unemployment jumps to record 27.2 pct in Q1 _ 6.2 million people out of work " ... The number of people considered long-term unemployed — out of a job for more than a year — increased to 3.5 million while the unemployment rate for those aged under 25 was a staggering 57 percent. The government body also said its survey found the number of households without any one working had risen by 72,400 to a 1.91 million. "The situation is really bad, with all the cuts that there have been, there are families that are going through a bad time because a lot of families have all the members unemployed and they don't have any income," said shop assistant Rodrigo Limpias , 30. Labor Ministry employment secretary Engracia Hidalgo described the figures as "dramatic" but said the government was working non-stop to try make Spain a job creator once again. Spain has been in recession for much of the past four years as it struggles to deal with the collapse of its once-booming real estate sector in 2008. In the previous decade its economy was thriving, generating millions of jobs. " ... The government's handling of the crisis has sparked almost daily protests. On Thursday, 1,400 police were to be deployed around Parliament and the building was totally cordoned off ahead of an evening demonstration. Parliament cancelled its session for the day but blamed reasons other than the rally. Several previous rallies close to Parliament have ended in clashes with police. The Interior Ministry said police arrested four people and confiscated material they believe was to be used to start fires at bank offices in the city. The ministry claims violent, anti-establishment groups are behind the rally. news.yahoo.com/spains-jobless-above-6-million-111922401.html
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Post by jeffolie on Apr 30, 2013 13:28:18 GMT -6
Europe's Scariest Chart Leaves 1 in 4 Young People Unemployed 04/30/2013 While near record low sovereign bond spreads and near record high equity prices have been taken as vindication by the European elites that all is well and 'we just need a little less fauxsterity' to be done with this crisis; the data, as it so often does, says the exact opposite. European unemployment just broke above 12% for the first time ever and European youth unemployment remains miserably above 24%. And while 1-in-4 under-25s unemployed is a bad enough statistic in terms of likely emergence of social unrest, the individual countries are in general deteriorating once again at a faster rate. French youth unemployment has risen for 13 months in a row to a record 26.5%; Spain (at 57.2% of under-25s unemployed) is catching up fast to Greece's stunning 59.1%; but perhaps the most concerning for the broader economies is the fact that Italy's youth unemployment has now topped that of Portugal at 38.4%. The only nation to see a drop in its youth unemployment was Ireland - which fell back modestly to January levels. Not a rosy picture, but then again, it doesn't matter... Ugly... www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user3303/imageroot/2013/04-2/20130430_Job2.jpg and even worse for the youth... but does it matter? Charts: Bloomberg www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-30/europes-scariest-chart-leaves-1-4-young-people-unemployed
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 2, 2013 13:00:57 GMT -6
Spain's Breaking Point? 2014 my jeffolie view: Spain's breaking point will not happen until most likely in 2014 ... Mish has guessed 2013, I disagree because Merkel needs an intact EU to win in September 2013's German national elections. July 02, 2013 Credit Contraction Exceeds 6% in Spain, Highest Ever in Crisis According to prime minister Mariano Rajoy, Spain has been on the verge of recovery for two years. Rajoy has also promised to bring Spain's budget deficit to 3% of GDP for two straight years. And EU has extended the timeline for Spain to hit that goal from 2012 to 2013 to 2014 to 2015 and now to 2016.
Last year Spain's budget deficit was 7.1% and the unemployment rate is nearly 27% with a youth unemployment rate over 56%. Spain's Misery Index Today we can add another piece to Spain's misery index. Via Google Translate, please consider Credit Contraction Exceeds 6% for First Time. Despite the efforts, or the good wishes of the Government, the day of the reopening of the credit tap still seems distant. According to the Bank of Spain, loans to the private sector residents, families and businesses have registered a fall of 6.1% in the month of May, the highest percentage in the entire crisis. The evolution of the total loan portfolio shows that quarter to quarter, month to month, continues to reduce credit volume in rapid steps. Spain Lending Stats •February Down 5.5% •March Down 5.7% •April Down 5.8% •May Down 6.1% •House Purchases Down 3.7% first quarter •House Purchases Down 4.5% in May •New Loans Down 26% January-April 2013 vs. January-April 2012 •Small to Medium (SME) business loans Down 15.1% from same period last year And we are supposed to believe conditions are improving, recovery is just around the corner, and Spain will reduce its budget deficit to 3%. Mike "Mish" Shedlock Read more at globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/#oMwLKAmQSWw3xLSg.99
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Post by jeffolie on Jul 19, 2013 6:21:06 GMT -6
Spain's Breaking Point? 2014 my jeffolie view: Spain's breaking point will not happen until most likely in 2014 ... Mish has guessed 2013, I disagree because Merkel needs an intact EU to win in September 2013's German national elections. July 02, 2013 Credit Contraction Exceeds 6% in Spain, Highest Ever in Crisis " ... Spanish protests against Rajoy turn violent ... The treasurer testified in court that Rajoy took under-the-counter payments[/u], and analysts say the scandal could bring down his government, with consequences for Spain and the euro. Rajoy denies the accusations, and this week said he would not step down. Spain's Breaking Point? 2014 my jeffolie view: Spain's breaking point will not happen until most likely in 2014 ... Mish has guessed 2013, I disagree because Merkel needs an intact EU to win in September 2013's German national elections. ============================================================ July 19, 2013 Spanish protests against Rajoy turn violent Spanish protesters calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy over a corruption scandal have clashed with police, according to media reports. The protests started peacefully on Thursday but turned violent around midnight, and Spanish newspapers reported 12 people were injured. Tensions have been running high this week after text messages surfaced that appear to show Rajoy comforting a former Popular Party treasurer under investigation over payments from a slush fund. The treasurer testified in court that Rajoy took under-the-counter payments, and analysts say the scandal could bring down his government, with consequences for Spain and the euro. Rajoy denies the accusations, and this week said he would not step down. www.marketwatch.com/story/spanish-protests-against-rajoy-turn-violent-2013-07-19?dist=beforebell
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Post by jeffolie on Sept 11, 2013 15:49:40 GMT -6
A 250-mile show of support for Catalonia independence September 11, 2013 More than 1 million flag-draped and face-painted Catalans held hands and formed a 250-mile human chain across the northeastern Spanish region Wednesday in a demonstration of their desires for independence. It was the second Catalonian National Day in as many years marked by a massive turnout to show support for breaking free of recession-beset Spain and its proliferation of internal disputes, corruption scandals and debt woes. Secession proponents and the regional government said more than 1 million supporters of independence joined in the chain of humanity bedecked in clothing and face paint in the red, yellow and blue of Catalonia's flag. The hand-holding lineup stretched from Barcelona's main square, through its Sagrada Familia cathedral, the Camp Nou Stadium soccer venue of FC Barcelona and along streets and highways stretching for a reported 250 miles. Catalonia, population 7.5 million, is one of Spain's wealthiest regions. The independence drive being spearheaded by regional leader Artur Mas is fueled by resentment of a $20-billion annual imbalance between the tax revenues collected in Catalonia and the government services and benefits it gets in return. Mas has threatened to hold a referendum next year on Catalonia's status within the Spanish kingdom, although Spain's Constitution doesn't empower the regions to call votes on sovereignty or national security issues. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and King Juan Carlos have urged Catalans to refrain from rekindling the nationalist sentiments that threw Spain into civil war in the 1930s and dictatorship that endured until the 1975 death of Gen. Francisco Franco. Much of the emotion and fervor of the National Day events of late are thought to be the regional leadership's attempt to put pressure on Madrid to cede more autonomy to Catalonia and grant it more control over its finances. A poll carried out for Cadena Ser radio network and reported on the English website of Spanish daily El Pais revealed 52% support for independence among Catalans surveyed. The poll also showed that 80% of those asked supported the idea of holding an independence referendum, regardless of where they stood on secession. www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-catalonia-independence-demonstration-20130911,0,7827367.story
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