CatalunyaCaixa won 109.1 million euros in 2010, 1.1% less than in 2009. The second Catalan savings bank is the result from the merger of Caixa Catalunya, Caixa Tarragona and Caixa Manresa. The resulting savings bank currently has 6.9% of core capital, far from the needed 10% by next September. The savings bank already announced its plans to become a regular bank.
The Catalan Health Minister, Boi Ruiz, announced today that waiting lists will increase - with the exception of “life or death” situations. Hospitals will see their budget in health treatments and explorations decrease by 2%. In addition, the construction of new hospitals and health centres will also be put on stand by.
The ‘Fundació Mona (‘Monkey Foundation’), in Riudellots de la Selva, is unique in Spain in rescuing primates illegally introduced from Africa. It celebrated its 10 years.
Maria Busqué decided to move to Berlin so that she could live off a musician's income, something she found almost impossible in Catalonia. This is a story from the new Catalan emigration.
602,611 people were unemployed at the end of February in Catalonia, which is 2.2% more than at the end of January.
Barça go to Mestalla tonight (22.00h CET) for the first of a series of tough away matches. Xavi and Alves are back after missing the Mallorca game, and Guardiola will also travel.
With the aim of fostering vocational training in Catalonia, the Catalan Government approved a decree to modify it today. All students will have to learn foreign languages. Combining studies and a job will be easier. Programmes’ curriculum will be adapted to sector needs and student requirements.
Spain saw 2010 end with 9.24% of public deficit; 4.97% corresponds to the Spanish Government, 3.39% to the autonomous communities and 0.64% to the local administrations. According to the Spanish Government, half of the autonomous communities saw the year come to an end far away from the objective of 2.4% - Catalonia included. The Catalan Government emphasised that the Spanish Government cut down the revenues of the autonomous communities.
Thanks to exports, 2010 was a great year for the Catalan cava industry. The total revenue reached 1,031 million euros, 10.87% more than 2009.
Tito Vilanova, the FC Barcelona assistant coach, has confessed to a press conference that Barça never find it easy to travel to Mestalla. “We have always found Valencia hard. We’ve never won there” he said.
The festival consolidates its position in the animation movies industry. Chinese professionals bought Catalan-made products. A documentary film on the score composers of Disney movies kicked off the festival. The festival was held in Lleida from Thursday evening to last Sunday.
The Islamic intellectual, Tariq Ramadan was interviewed by CNA. “We are afraid of the arrival of immigrants, but the best thing to do is develop the countries of origin”. The grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder criticised Europe’s lack of commitment with the democratization of the Muslim world as revolts go on and racism grows in countries like Switzerland and Spain.
The industrial holding of the main Catalan savings bank, ‘la Caixa’, made 1,823 million euros of net profit in 2010. Criteria will be the embryo of La Caixa’s new private bank, which will be called CaixaBank.
FC Barcelona may have been without Valdés, Alves, Puyol and Xavi for the game in Mallorca, but they again demonstrated the depth in talent that Guardiola has at his disposal. Messi, Villa and Pedro were on target in the 3-0 win and Montoya made his first team debut.
The Mediterranean Railway Corridor has been constantly overlooked even though it is a key infrastructure for Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalucía,and also for Spain and even the European Union. In the last few years, the Socialist Spanish Government was constantly pushing for the Central Pyrenees Corridor (going through the Pyrenees in Aragon) for electoral and regional equilibrium reasons but the Mediterranean one was hardly mentioned. Is the EU going to include the Mediterranean Railway Corridor in its agenda?