catalan way

Catalan GDP will grow 1.1% in 2011 and 1.6% in 2012 according to CatalunyaCaixa

July 6, 2011 01:30 PM | CNA

A new study by the Catalan savings bank corrects and improves the previous economic forecast. It is now believed that in 2011, Catalonia will grow at a 1.1% annual rate, and at 1.6% in 2012. However, without the public sector budget cuts, the Catalan economy will grow at 2% this 2011. The export sector has reached historical maximums, and will lead economic growth. However, economic growth in 2011 will not be translated into an improvement in employment.

The British School of Catalunya to be opened in 2012

July 5, 2011 09:06 PM | CNA / Marc Navarro

The private school will follow the British curriculum so, that when the students finish high school, they will be able to attend any public or private university either in Spain or in the United Kingdom. It is the latest addition to a series of international schools in Catalonia, which infuse an international and intercultural perspective into their teaching programmes, or they directly follow a curriculum from another country.

CaixaBank begins its trading on the stock exchange and Moody’s improves its rating

July 2, 2011 06:51 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The new bank becomes Spain’s third financial institution for its stock exchange value and the ninth in the Ibex-35 Spanish index. CaixaBank is the result of Barcelona-based savings bank La Caixa’s transformation into a private bank in order to strengthen its structure and position in the market, after the sector restructuration. The day CaixaBank was listed for the first time on the stock exchange, the rating agency Moody’s improved CaixaBank’s appreciation. However, after an initial increase CaixaBank’s value dropped by 1.1%. It is the first Spanish savings bank that concludes its transformation and trade on the stock exchange.

42.9% of Catalans would vote for independence and 28.2% against it according to the first official poll on the issue

June 30, 2011 01:29 PM | CNA / Patricia Mateos

However, if the question is open to other options, 33% would prefer a Catalan State within a Federal Spain, 31.8% the current situation as an Autonomous Community and 25.5% want Catalonia to be an independent nation. The poll results also show that 75.5% of Catalans want the Catalan Government to raise all the taxes, while only 18.2% prefer the current system through which the Spanish Government raises the main taxes. The poll was compiled by the Catalan Polling Centre (CEO), which is managed by the Catalan Government.

Ryanair to close its base at Reus airport next October

June 30, 2011 12:27 AM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The Irish company has accused the local administration of not honouring current agreements, in place until 2013. The Catalan President has assured that the Government has absolutely “fulfilled” the current agreements and that the “problems started when these agreements wanted to be modified”. The low-cost airline is in a dispute with the Catalan Government over its continuity in Girona-Costa Brava; Ryanair is asking for an extra 7.5 million euros. The Catalan Minister for Transportation considered Ryanair’s attitude as “blackmail”. The Government announced this evening that it will freeze current negotiations with Ryanair until it has the “assurance” that the Irish company “fulfils what it signed”.

The Catalan Government rejects PM Zapatero’s proposal to impose an expenditure limit for the Autonomous Communities

June 28, 2011 11:15 PM | CNA / Patricia Mateos

PM Zapatero today proposed an expenditure limit for the Autonomous Communities before the Spanish Parliament . The Spokesperson for the Catalan Executive considers it an attack to self-governance and fiscal autonomy. In addition, he stressed that the Catalan Government is the only administration in Spain, at all levels, that has cut its expenditure by 10% in one year. He also asked the Spanish Government to make its own adjustments and pay what it legally owes to the Communities, and to Catalonia in particular.

The IMF considers that Spain’s greatest financial risk is certain Autonomous Communities not meeting the deficit objective

June 22, 2011 01:30 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The International Monetary Fund wants the Spanish Government to “strengthen” the labour market reform, not give up on spending cuts and restructure the financial system. The same day, the Bank of Spain's Governor, Miguel Angel Fernández Ordóñez asked the Spanish Minister for Economy to be “stricter” on the Autonomous Community government’s deficit reduction. The Catalan Minister for Finance said on several occasions that Catalonia would meet the deficit objective for 2011 if the Spanish Government showed some institutional loyalty and paid the money it legally owes to Catalonia.

University fees to be raised 7.6% next September in Catalonia

June 22, 2011 12:57 AM | CNA / María Belmez

Public university undergraduate students will have to pay between 64 and 100 euros more per year. Those repeating once will pay the same amount, but those taking a course for the third time will pay 60% more. The measure would bring in 20 million euros in one year. 25% of the revenues from the fee increase will be reinvested via scholarships, the first that will be aimed at university students managed by the Catalan Government.