Tag: Mariano Rajoy

• Wednesday, May 9th 2012 - 18:18 UTC

  Spain to unveil on Friday plan to clean up exposed banks to the property crash

  

  Spanish shares have fallen and the interest rate on the country's benchmark 10-year bond has risen amid fresh worries over the banking sector. The Ibex market fell by 3% and bond yields rose above 6%, a level seen as unsustainable.

• Monday, May 7th 2012 - 17:33 UTC

  Argentina takes official control of YPF; Rajoy asks: who can trust that country?

  

  The Argentine decision to seize control of 51% of YPF oil and gas giant came into effect on Monday as a decree was published on the Official Gazette. From Spain a new barrage of criticisms in support of Repsol and condemning Argentina started the week.

• Saturday, April 28th 2012 - 06:01 UTC

  Spain faces a “crisis of huge proportion” with “terrible figures”

  

  Spain's sickly economy faces a “crisis of huge proportions” said Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo as unemployment hit its highest level in two decades and Standard and Poor's weighed in with a two-notch downgrade of the government's debt.

• Thursday, April 19th 2012 - 21:21 UTC

  “President Rajoy, in Colombia we don’t expropriate, we welcome foreign investment”

  

  Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos welcomed Spanish corporations and guaranteed his visiting Spanish peer Mariano Rajoy that in Colombia there will be no surprises because the country follows the rules of the game: “President Rajoy: here we don’t expropriate”.

• Thursday, April 12th 2012 - 17:08 UTC

  Spain warns Argentina that any hostile action “will bring consequences”

  

  Amidst the cross-fire between the Argentine government and Repsol-YPF oil giant, Spain’s Industry, Energy and Tourism Minister José Manuel Soria, warned on Thursday that “any sign of hostility” against Spanish companies “will be considered as a hostile sign against Spain and its government, and will bring consequences.”

• Friday, March 30th 2012 - 16:58 UTC

  Spain announced toughest austerity budget since the return of democracy

  

  Spain is cutting 27bn Euros from its budget this year as part of one of the toughest austerity drives in its history. Changes will include freezing public sector workers' salaries and reducing departmental budgets by 16.9%.

• Friday, March 30th 2012 - 07:51 UTC

  Rajoy challenged by general strike, recession and more loss of jobs

  

  As Spain heads for its second recession since 2010 and unemployment stands at 23%, workers angry at a labour reform the government calls an “unstoppable” necessity staged a general strike on Thursday, bringing factories and ports to a standstill and igniting flashes of violence on the streets.

• Thursday, March 29th 2012 - 01:25 UTC

  “Malvinas and the ‘Gallegos’ (Spaniards) always get the blame” in Argentina

  

  “Malvinas and the Spaniards (‘gallegos’) are always to blame” warned UK PM David Cameron to his peer Mariano Rajoy when they met in London over a month ago to talk bilateral issues and the growing irritation caused to both countries by Argentina with its claims over Falklands’ sovereignty and natural resources.

• Tuesday, March 27th 2012 - 12:20 UTC

  Spanish conservatives win in Socialist stronghold but fall short of full control

  

  Spain's conservative People's Party won a regional election in Andalucia but did not secure the outright majority it expected, depriving Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of a symbolic boost to help him push through harsh spending cuts.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 19:32 UTC

  Spanish unemployment keeps rising; dispute with the EC over the deficit target

  

  The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in Spain rose by 112.269 in January, taking the overall figure to 4.7 million. Spain’s unemployment rate stands at 22.9%, the highest in the 17-nation Euro-zone.