The Catalan cava industry sold a record number of 244 million bottles last year
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.
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Criteria CaixaCorp’s net profit increased by 38% in 2010
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.
Madrid allows the Catalan Government to issue new debt
The Spanish Government gave eight autonomous communities the green light to issue a fixed amount of new debt in order to refinance old loans. With this, Catalonia will be able to issue new debt of 1,866 million euros. However, 1,090 million of this will be used on old healthcare payments from 2006.
The Gastronomy Forum ends with 30,000 visitors
Top chefs such as Ferran Adrià, Carme Ruscalleda and the Roca brothers gave talks at the cuisine and gastronomy congress. The Fòrum Gastronòmic held in Girona is one of the top fairs of its kind in Europe.
Abertis makes 662 million euros of net profit in 2010
The Catalan company, which manages transport infrastructures, increased its net profit by 6.1% in comparison to 2009. Abertis announced yesterday it would split its business in two different companies.
The Catalan President asks the foreign consular corps for help to put Catalonia on the world map
“We are not a peripheral region of the Iberian Peninsular, we are Mediterranean people very committed to Europe”, stated Artur Mas, President of the Catalan Government. Mas met with all the consular corps in Barcelona, which is one of the four non-capital cities with the most consulates in the world.
Catalan airline Vueling made 46 million euros of net profit in 2010
Despite volcanic ash clouds and air traffic controllers’ strikes The Catalan airline increased its net profit by 66% in comparison with 2009. In 2011, the company plans to increase by 15% its number of flights and passengers.
Gas Natural Fenosa makes a net profit of 1,201 million euros in 2010
The net profit for last year illustrates a 0.5% increase in relation to the 2009. The Catalan multinational’s activities in Latin America grew by 30.4%. The energy giant is confident it will reach an agreement with the Algerian company Sonatrach on a pending issue on natural gas price adjustments.
The insurance group VidaCaixa makes 249 million euros of net profit in 2010
The insurance group of the Catalan savings bank ‘la Caixa’ earned 19,5% more than in 2009. The acquisition of Adeslas is a positive result for the VidaCaixa Grup.
The Catalan Finance Minister affirms that the savings bank reform will not affect their social work
Andreu Mas-Colell, the Catalan Minister for Economy, reflected on the issue at a ceremony, where savings bank La Caixa and Catalan universities were giving away up to new 20 grants for research projects. The objective is to prevent a possible brain drain in Catalonia. Mas-Colell said that once the sector reforms were accomplished, the financial entities would get more freedom.
Chef Ferran Adrià will facilitate a course at Harvard for the next five years
The famous Catalan chef Ferran Adria was speaking at the Gastronomic Forum in Girona today. He said he would not be participating in conference for the next three years as he will be concentrating on his own brand new foundation. The Gastronomic Forum is a leading congress on cuisine that brings 30,000 people from all the world together.
The culinary world bids farewell to Santi Santamaria in his native Sant Celoni
The top Catalan chef Santi Santamaria, who has 7 Michelin stars, died from a heart attack in Singapore on Wednesday. His remains arrived today in his native town of Sant Celoni (45 minutes North from Barcelona). The chefs Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari Arzak, Sergi Arola, Pedro Subijana, among others, attended the good-bye ceremony.
The Valencian Government stops Catalan Television broadcasts in Valencia
For many Catalan speakers in Valencia, the measure is a clear attack against their linguistic rights. The Valencian Government created a law foreseeing harsh fines per every day of emissions. The Spanish Supreme Court is to decide on the matter, but meanwhile the emissions had to stop yesterday after 25 years of broadcasting.
The retail group Inditex that owns Zara will invest €190 millions in Catalonia
The multinational clothing company Inditex has announced the expansion of its logistics centre in Tordera (North of Barcelona coast), which will create 500 direct jobs. According to the company, the centre will become the largest and most modern clothing distribution centre in Europe. Inditex CEO announced the decision after a meeting with the Catalan President.
The Catalan chef Santi Santamaria, with 7 Michelin stars, dies at 53
Santamaria was at his Singapore restaurant when he died. The actual causes of the death are still unknown, but the family talks about a heart attack. Santamaria was a defender of the Catalan traditional cuisine. He had two restaurants close to Barcelona and one in Madrid, Toledo, Dubai, and Singapore. He was the first Catalan chef to get three Michelin Stars for his main restaurant, ‘El Racó de Can Fabes’.