Business News & Financial News

In Spain, Uncategorised 17th March 2026

Von der Leyen backs Iberdrola, Endesa, and Naturgy’s request to extend Almaraz nuclear power plant lifespan

Ursula von der Leyen has endorsed the request made to the Government by the Spanish utilities Iberdrola, Endesa, and Naturgy to extend the operational life of the Almaraz nuclear power plant (Cáceres) until 2030. She reaffirmed this position in her letter to European Union leaders ahead of the summit of presidents held this Thursday in Brussels. In her missive, she stresses the need to “avoid the premature retirement of assets,…

In Europe 11th March 2026

Germany’s trade surplus grows to €21.2 billion in January (against €17.4 billion previously), while France reduces deficit by remarkable 55.8% to €1.9 billion

Singular Bank | According to Destatis, in January, German goods exports fell by 2.3% compared to the previous month (against an increase of 3.9% in December), standing at €130.5 billion. Meanwhile, imports of goods recorded a notable drop of 5.9% month-on-month (against an increase of 1.3% in December) to a total of €109.2 billion. Given this development, Germany’s trade surplus increased to €21.2 billion (against €17.4 billion in December), exceeding…

In the World 17th March 2026

US industrial production rises 0.2% in February compared with January, capacity utilisation remains stable at 76.3%

Link Securities | According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production in the US rose by 0.2% in February compared with January, slightly less than the 0.3% expected by the consensus of FactSet analysts. Meanwhile, manufacturing output grew by 0.2% in February compared with January, a figure in line with analysts’ expectations. Similarly, mining output rose by 0.8% over the month, whilst utility output fell by 0.6%, with electricity companies remaining…

“We need to approach negotiations with the U.S. on terms that are completely different from those currently being proposed”

Says Antonio Bonet, president of the Club of Spanish Exporters and Investors. He points out that “Europe has a single tariff applied by all member states, but the U.S. applies a tariff to each country, meaning it can decide that the tariff applied to Spanish black olives is higher than that for Italian olives, as it did at one point. So there is a part of the negotiation between Europe…

“Fifteen years ago, the European economy was larger than that of the U.S. Today, the U.S. economy is one and a half times that of Europe”

“It is a shame that we are able to mobilize economic resources for large-scale projects abroad, but not in our Spanish market”

In an interview with Consejeros magazine, Sacyr’s coordinating advisor, Elena Jiménez de Andrade, explains that now “We have great capacity to win projects, a capacity that until now contrasted with a series of financial limitations and balance sheet size. However, in this strategic cycle, we are going to eliminate those barriers. That is why we have set an ambitious goal for 2033: to triple the value of our assets. We…

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