According to a survey, the Olympic Games in London could be good news for the Spanish tourist industry with around 10 million people trying to avoid the chaos by booking their holidays to coincide with the event. Most will apparently be heading to Europe with Spain named as the most popular destination.
Electricity up 7%, gas up by 5%
On Saturday the Official State Gazette (BOE) published details of the decree requiring the cost of the electricity system to be reduced and today, April 1st, the price to the consumer has increased by 7%.
Record number of evictions in 2011
The Spanish Courts processed 58,241 eviction orders during 2011, a record high and a 22% increase over 2010.
Government approves €27.3 billion budget cuts
The Government has approved a record €27.3 billion package of austerity measures including freezing public sector workers’ salaries and reducing departmental budgets by 16.9%. The government says it will raise 12.3bn euros this year, aided by an increase in tax for large companies.
Cost of electricity to rise by up to 7% on April 1st 2012
The price of electricity will go up between 5% and 7% on April 1st 2012 according to the Minster of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria.
21 consecutive months of decline
The number of new mortgages signed during January was 41.3% down on the same month last year, the twenty-first consecutive month of decline on an interannual basis.
Poll on general strike
A poll carried out by Simple Lógica shows that 47.6% are against the proposed general strike on March 29th with 44.6% supporting the action. This is despite the vast majority apparently opposing the labour reforms.
Irregularities cost Spain €38 million
The General Court of the European Union has upheld a €38 million sanction imposed on Spain in 2010 relating to irregularities in the management of European aid to the fruit and vegetable sector.
Spain will miss deficit target for 2012
As EU leaders agree a new treaty to enforce budget discipline, two countries have announced that they will miss the agreed budget deficit targets set for 2012, these being Spain and the Netherlands.
Driest winter for seventy years
This winter has been the driest for seventy years according to the State Meteorological Agency with only sixty litres per square metre of rain since December.