Spain narrowly escaped negative GDP with a very marginal 0.1% increase in GDP on the quarter in Q2 2008. This is up 1.8% from last year, but way below growth rates seen in Spain over the past decade.
The latest bulletin of the Bank of Spain confirms the havoc wreaked by the economic crisis in [...]

Housing: US, UK and SpainBright spots in the housing nightmare – MSNU.S. Mortgage Rates Soar on Inflation Fears – Housing WireU.S. Existing Home Sales Continue Freefall – Housing WireOversupply killing U.S. lender giants and house prices – Irish IndependentUK Major mortgage lenders cut interest rates TelegraphWhat to do if you’re trapped in [...]

Spain had an unemployment rate of 10.4% in the second quarter of 2008, up sharply from 9.6 in the first quarter. The Spanish National Statistics Market said employment in construction jobs were particularly weak as the housing bust in Spain takes hold. Construction jobs fell 4.5%. But manufacturing, agriculture and services also saw [...]

While I don’t agree with all the opinions expressed in the articles below, they are all still very good reads. Today, there is a lot more on politics. Warning: some articles may be controversial.
PoliticsWhy Jesse Jackson Hates Obama – WSJSenate Clears First Hurdle for Oil Speculation Bill – BloombergInfrastructure Spending and Stabilization Policy – Economist’s [...]

Top StoryWhy No Outrage? – James Grant, WSJ (A MUST read.)
Jim Grant: “Why No Outrage?” – Naked Capitalism (Yves’ take on the article, you’ve seen mine)Financial ServicesBanks responsible for the loss of trust – LA Times
A Call to Ease the Way for More Bank Mergers – DealBook
David Einhorn’s Gloomy Month – DealBook
Citi’s Dividend Debate: [...]

Martinsa-Fadesa, a large real estate company in Spain has gone to the wall. As is usual, bankruptcy came in the form of a liquidity crisis, not as a technical bankruptcy. Below is a report from El País in Spain, followed by a report from Bloomberg from before the company filed for protection from its creditors.
This [...]

The global economy is gripped by its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. People are losing their homes and their jobs, banks are going bankrupt, and stock markets in the U.S. and elsewhere have fallen significantly from recent highs. Yet, I am more optimistic than I have been for some time. [...]

On the heels of a story about Spanish giant Santander buying Alliance & Leicester in the UK, it comes as good news in the marketplace that another Spanish giant, BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), is on the prowl as well.
After initially focusing on the Hispanic market in the U.S., Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA [...]

Banco Santander of Spain is using the down market to snap up some UK assets on the cheap. It has announced the acquisition of Alliance & Leicester, the former building society which demutualised in 1997, for £1.3 billion ($2.6 billion)
Despite speculations of other bank mergers in Europe, few have occurred as many European banks [...]

After a brutal week in the market, my goal is to find enough positive stories to compliment the negativity that is the global markets. These round-ups mirror what is in the business press and economic blogs of importance and most of it just plain stinks. I’ll keep it short for that reason. No [...]