catalan way

Banc Sabadell’s President defends the work of the current Bank of Spain Governor

May 31, 2012 12:23 AM | CNA / Josep Molina

Josep Oliu, President of Banc Sabadell, thinks that if somebody is to be made responsible for the current crisis, a thorough analysis of the decisions of sector managers during the 2003-2007 period should be made, and not among those currently in charge. Oliu, who has been a banker “all his life”, feels he is a “victim” of a situation provoked by managers who were “not acting as bankers”. The Catalan banker recognised that the Spanish banking system can still face the new requirements on its own but it is getting “closer to the limit of its own economic capacity”. Besides, Oliu was very satisfied with the European Commission’s green light for CAM’s integration into Banc Sabadell’s business.

The Catalan Government had a 6.23% budget surplus in the first four months of the year

May 30, 2012 12:54 AM | CNA / Josep Molina

The Catalan Government’s finances corresponding to the first four months of 2012 showed a €535 million budget surplus. Spending has been reduced by €240 million in comparison to the same period last year, when the Catalan Government’s budget had a deficit of €1.13 billion. The budget surplus is mostly due to the transfers made by the Spanish Government, which partially correspond to payments from 2010.

‘Study in Catalonia’ presented at an international education fair in Houston

May 30, 2012 12:02 AM | CNA

Catalan universities are present at the Annual Conference and Expo of the Association of International Educators (NAFSA), which is the world’s largest event of its kind. The conference is organised in the United States and this year’s edition is being held in Houston (Texas) until Friday June 1st. The website www.studyincatalonia.com has been presented and aims to promote the studies offered by Catalan public and private universities worldwide. The presence of foreign students in postgraduate and master courses at Catalan universities increased by 34% in the last school year (2010-2011).

Controversy surrounds Barcelona’s Immigrant Internment Centre after an intern’s death last January

May 25, 2012 01:46 AM | CNA / Alberto Fernández

The death of a Guinean intern in the Immigrant Internment Centre (CIE) in Barcelona last January, plus the recent prohibition by the Spanish Government’s Delegate in Catalonia to allow the Catalan Ombudsman to visit the facilities of the centre, a month ago, has increased the feeling of distrust towards this type of institutions where immigrants without their residence permit are preventively held until they are sent back to their original countries.

Massive demonstration in Barcelona in defence of public education

May 22, 2012 08:31 PM | CNA / Lara Hitos

Teachers, administrative staff, students and parents have protested against budget cuts by the Spanish and Catalan Governments affecting primary, secondary and university education. The protest was organised throughout Spain. In Barcelona, 25,000 people according to the police and 150,000 people according to the organisers demonstrated through the city centre. Protests were also organised in other Catalan cities, such as Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.

Grifols strengthens its presence in the Chinese market

May 22, 2012 03:33 PM | CNA / Laura Quintana

The Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols, third worldwide company in plasma derivatives, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Blood Bank. The agreement, which strengthens the presence of the Catalan company in China, promotes blood genotyping research. The Chinese institution will use the Grifols’ genetic test BLOODchip in transfusion compatibility studies. Shanghai Blood Bank serves over 20 million people and receives more than 300.000 donations per year. In 2011, Grifols sales in China grew by 30%.

The Catalan Oncology Institute gets maximum international distinction for its fight against tobacco

May 21, 2012 11:04 PM | CNA / Adrià Attardi

The centre received the ‘Gold Level Award’ from the Global Network for Tobacco Health Care Services, thanks to its fight against the effects of smoking. The jury emphasised the training given to both hospital workers and patients in order to give up smoking and the achievement of a strict non-smoking area in this health centre’s facilities. Only ten hospitals around the world have this distinction, among them another Catalan institution: Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Manresa, in Central Catalonia.

Twitter includes Catalan among its official languages

May 19, 2012 01:45 AM | CNA

The world’s most popular short-message network has included Catalan as one of its 28 official languages. Twitter has opened a Catalan ‘translation centre’ to adapt its content. In the first 24h, more people had registered voluntarily than the number of those who did it within the 6 months after the Finnish version was released. Twitter’s CEO had already announced at the 2011 Mobile World Congress, which is held every year in Barcelona, that the company would do it, but he did not specify a date. Wikipedia opened its Catalan version 11 years ago and Youtube incorporated Catalan in early 2011. Catalan is is the world’s 8th language with the most blogs, the 13th most used language in Wikipedia, and the 14th search language in Google.

Catalan Mesoestetic Pharma Group exports 85% of its production and is present in 62 markets worldwide

May 19, 2012 12:18 AM | CNA / Bertran Cazorla

The Catalan company Mesoestetic has built a new factory that multiplies by ten its previous facilities. Furthermore, the company will increase its staff by 30%. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment has praised the company as a model for innovation and internationalisation. He has spoke of the long tradition of the pharmaceutical industry in Catalonia as well as the Catalan economy’s export capacity.

Green light for the Catalan Government’s plan of adjusting €4.3 billion to meet this year’s deficit target

May 18, 2012 12:55 AM | CNA

The Catalan Government will adjust its budget by €4.295 billion in 2012, through spend cuts of €2.680 billion and increasing revenue by €1.615 billion. With this plan, the Catalan Government will meet the 1.5% deficit target. The Council of Fiscal and Financial Policy (CPFF), which brings together the Spanish Government and the 17 Autonomies, has approved Catalonia’s budget adjustment plan for 2012-2014. The Spanish Government would pay part of the money owed, but not all of it. The Catalan Government has included a plan B in case the Spanish Government does not honour its fiscal obligations towards Catalonia.

Barcelona Bridal Week shows the strength of Catalonia's wedding industry

May 16, 2012 10:52 PM | CNA / Gemma Nieto

Four days on the Gaudí catwalk and over 230 national and international exhibitors in the Gran Via fairground reaffirmed the convention as the quintessential meeting of the bridal industry worldwide. The Catalan designer Rosa Clarà was chosen another year to open the four days of catwalks at the ‘Pasarela Gaudí Novias’. Exports from Catalan wedding products made the industry generate a turnover of 10% more than in 2010. Currently, the industry is opening to Mexico and China.

The Catalan Government presents its third austerity plan based on further budget cuts “obliged” by Madrid and Brussels

May 16, 2012 12:59 AM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The third plan represents an additional budget cut of €1.5 billion, in order to meet the 1.5% deficit target for this year. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, said that the plan “guarantees essential services”. He also stated that if the Spanish Government had paid what it owed last year, the current reduction would be halved. The plan decreases budget allocations for public companies, reduces public employee salaries once again, decreases the amount allocated for subsidies, delays investments, privatises some public companies, sells public buildings, and implements the measures decided by the Spanish Government regarding health and education. The opposition criticised the plan for not being concrete and effective enough.