Financial Times


Spain recalls cabinet for crisis meeting
By Mark Mulligan in Madrid
Published: August 14 2008 03:09 | Last updated: August 14 2008 03:09

Spanish cabinet ministers have interrupted their summer breaks to discuss the country’s rapidly deteriorating economy.

In an unprecedented break with tradition, most of the cabinet’s 17 members have postponed their holidays or returned to Madrid.

José Luis Rodriguéz Zapatero, the prime minister, interrupted his holiday in the remote Doñana national park to chair the talks, while Pedro Solbes, finance minister, will hold off until after the conference before starting his break. Cristina Garmendia, science and innovation minister, has returned to Madrid from Marbella, on the Costa del Sol.

Thursday’s cabinet meeting will be the first called in mid-August in living memory. Key ministers and secretaries of state – members of a special economic commission – met late on Wednesday to compare notes.

Some forecasters say that growth this year could drop to about 1 per cent year-on-year, compared with 3.8 per cent between 2006 and 2007.

Mr Solbes recently admitted that Spain might enter technical recession in the final quarter of the year. A growing band of analysts expect year-on-year growth in 2009 to be flat or negative.

Estonia becomes first victim of Baltic recession
The Baltic states’ economies – last year among Europe’s fastest growing – have abruptly gone into reverse and Estonia is already in recession, official figures confirmed on Wednesday, writes Robert Anderson in Stockholm.
The downturn in the three states is a grave blow to their hopes of swiftly catching up with the rest of the European Union. Even Estonia, the richest of the three, still only has a gross domestic product per capita of about three quarters of the EU average. “The key thing is that it’s only going to get worse from now on,” Neil Shearing of Capital Economics, who forecasts a 2.5 per cent full-year decline in Estonian GDP, said.
The country’s economy contracted 0.9 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first, during which there was also a 0.5 per cent quarter-on- quarter decline, according to the statistics office. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.
Latvia is also poised to enter recession by the end of the year and Lithuanian growth is also slowing sharply, though it is likely to escape recession.
Both in Latvia and Estonia policymakers are now scrambling to revise their economic forecasts downwards and to balance budgets that are set to go into the red because of falling tax revenue.
“The situation is quite grave,” said Antoni Espasa, director of the Instituto Flores de Lemus economic forecasting unit in Madrid. “We see growth this year at 1.5 per cent and falling to 0.3 per cent next year.”

After being one of the economic stars of Europe in recent years, Spain has been hit hard by the credit crunch, which exacerbated a housing market collapse last year.

Along with rising joblessness and one of the eurozone’s highest inflation rates, this has battered consumer confidence. Industrial output fell 9 per cent in June – the biggest year-on-year drop in 16 years.

Inflation hit a 16-year high of 5.3 per cent in July, according to data released on Wednesday. However, the figure is expected to ease in coming months, reflecting the recent fall in oil prices. David Vergara, secretary of state for the economy, on Wednesday forecast that inflation would drop to 4 per cent by the end of this year.

After Thursday’s extraordinary cabinet meeting, the government is expected to give details of a series of measures aimed at helping hard-pressed small and medium-sized business, offsetting the downturn in residential construction and encouraging investment in other sectors.

The meeting is intended to show solidarity with voters over the country’s deteriorating economy.

Critics say Mr Zapatero has been too slow to act, after ignoring warning signs of an impending downturn last summer.

Esteban González Pons, spokesman for the opposition Popular party, suggested that the meetings were a “publicity stunt”.

“Spain doesn’t need photo opportunities and a prime minister who looks good,” he said. “It needs a hard-working prime minister who pays attention to the state of the Spanish economy.”

Quizas preparando el camino para unos nuevos Pactos de la Moncloa II para el proximo año.

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Toma jeroma.

Pero qué güenos que son nuestros ministros sacrificando sus vacaciones.

Todo esto me recuerda a cuando me quedaban asignaturas para verano en EGB y tocaba clavar los codos.
Lo dejaba casi todo para el último momento y aquello era insufrible, por no decir que era demasiado tarde.

Si, son estupendos...

Solo con lo que esos berzas van a cobrar por el día de hoy en sus apartados de "extraordinarios, dietas y otras finas hierbas" medio foro vivíamos a cuerpo de rey durante un lustro como mínimo.

¿O alguien ha pensado que asisten "gratis"?. Piénsalo, por ciertas cantidades, tú también irías...

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Zapatero, lento en reaccionar ante la crisis...
Amigo, que tenia que renovar la presidencia que no te enteras...

Lo que me pregunto yo, es hasta cuanta responsabilidad mister ZP ha tenido en agravar todavia mas la crisis unos meses antes de las elecciones, y unos meses despues de estas, negando lo que venia, y haciendo creer a algun pepito que podia meterse en la espiral piramidal.


Y lo que yo pienso si yo fuese aleman, frances, por que no una Europa con 6 o 7 paises mas fuertes y a los demas que les den por culo(España, Grecia,Portugal,Letonia....).

Es lo que se merece un pais de pandereta.

No han sido meses de prolongación de la agonía,han sido AÑOS, lo puedes comprobar en la evolución salvaje del endeudamiento privado estos años, algo en lo que el tancredismo de MAFO y la toma de relevo por parte de las cajas supongo que ha obedecido a algún dictado/promesa de garantías desde las más altas instancias. Aunque sea un periódico que chirríe a muchos, el análisis que os pongo es impecable,quizá sea una pena que este señor no lo escribiera mucho antes,cuando ya algunos sabíamos lo que venía. Especial antención merece el cuadro siete,donde podéis apreciar el salto brutal de la neodeuda neta sin que aparezcan contrapartidas del lado del PIB que lo justifiquen, pensad que el PIB real ha venido creciendo unos 35.000M anuales y el nominal 70.000.

La crisis financiera internacional y el crack financiero espaol - Alberto Recarte - La entrada en el euro y la transformacin de la economa espaola

Mala gente aquella que desea lo peor a su gente...
cuando votante de Chikilikuatre se habrá cipotecado en los 2 ultimos años arropado por el optimismo barato que predicaba el trilero.

Pero es que una sonrisa positiva ayuda mucho, hay que ser optimista hombre, como el Chiki.

Este Zapabobo se resta unos días de vacaciones -como si el resto del año tabajara-, con el fin de hacernos creer hasta donde llega su humildad. Pero de arreglar algo... ¡ Nada de nada ! Pura pantomima.

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y rajoy que! tambien se ha ido de vacas!. y rajoy?? lo hubiera hecho mejor!! Y los empresarios están también de vacas!. Eres un fascista!!

IRONIC MODE OFF