Europesadilla / Euro-nightmare

In July 2012 we published the post Apecracy about a book and video by Aleix Saló on the Spanish politics situation.

On past April 2013, this author presented a new book and video entitled Euro-nightmare. Someone has eaten the middle class. 

If you liked Apecracy, we expect you will like the Euro-nightmare video also. It is about 4 minutes long. The video is in Spanish but we include an English transcription.

0:11 Hi kids. I introduce you to Professor Vicens Nuvarro and Doctor Huerta de Seto.
0:18 Professor Nuvarro loves bulky states, but Doctor Huerta de Seto hates them.
0:28 Nuvarro believes that the private sector tends to abusive practices and defends a state with many state enterprises, public banks and heavily regulated market economy. For Professor Nuvarro there is no prosperity without a state that guarantees redistribution of wealth.
0:50 Huerta de Seto believes instead that over-regulated economy suffocates businesses, encourages offshoring and promotes unemployment, and as public enterprises do not pursue benefit, they lose competitiveness and become a bottomless pit for public money, so that in the end, as Huerta de Seto, the state no longer redistributes wealth, that is only for it. His recipe for prosperity is a market with free competition allowing the most competitive companies grow and increase hiring.
1:26 On a scale between the two theories, how would you distribute the policies of the major parties?
1:33 Like that? Like that? Like that? Like that?
1:37 Well, actually their governance enroll in another dimension.
1:42 The reason? The propagation of a parasite in their top management, the Iberian vampire! A species that is mediocre and unable to succeed in real life. Hence its desire to enter politics and stick to a position as if his life would depend on it.
1:56 His tactic is to place his fellows as he rises in the party to infect the board and parallel strata.
2:04 His staunch supports ensure impunity for any offense and when he controls the state, he distributes public funds between media, unions and other bodies, depending if they are friends o rebels, cronies or unruly.
2.22 Cookie! No cookie! Cookie! No cookie! Cookie! ¡No cookie!
2:27 Thus, instead of redistributing wealth, we have patronage.
2:33 Blackmail spreads to economic market where the state granted favorable treatment to a select group of companies, that appreciate the gesture by paying commissions, or by placing politicians in their boards.
2:50 The other companies are marginalized to deal with a mammoth bureaucracy.
2:57 If this is free competition my b…. are carnations.
3:02 The problem for Nuvarro is an economics power that corrupts to the political power.
3:06 For Huerta de Seto, it is a political power that corrupts to the economics power.
3:12 Anyway, this two-headed monster captures our limited resources and refuses self-dismantle.
3:22 The ones from above against those below? The ones in the left against those in the right? Or better, outsiders against those inside?
3:30 Welcome everybody to the tunnel of terror.

En julio de 2012 publicamos la entrada Simiocracia sobre un libro y video de Aleix Saló acerca de la situación política española.

El pasado mes de abril de 2013, este autor presentó un nuevo libro y  vídeo titulado Europesadilla. Alguien se ha comido a la clase media.

Si le gustó Simiocracia, esperamos que el video de Europesadilla le guste también. Dura unos 4 minutos y está en español.

Related posts / Entradas relacionadas
Simiocracia / Apecracy
La crisis española desde un punto de vista diferente / A different view on the Spanish crisis

The Economist y la recuperación en España / The Economist and the recovery in Spain

Past December 19th, The Economist published the Special Christmas double issue including a short article entitled Spain’s prime minister. One year on. We copy the most positive paragraph in the article:

At least the bank rescue, at a cost of up to €50 billion, has so far turned out cheaper than was feared. Regional governments, which pushed the deficit off-target, are being tamed. And labour reforms allow wage cuts to make Spain more competitive. Predictions of recovery in 2014 are credible, even if Spaniards face a harsh 2013.

Other articles included in the same issue that we recommend are All hope not lost and, for those interested in history, The Holy Roman Empire: European disunion done right.

El pasado 19 de diciembre, The Economist publicó un número doble especial de Navidad que incluía un breve artículo titulado Spain’s prime minister. One year on. Traducimos el párrafo más positivo del artículo:

Al menos, el rescate bancario, con un costo de hasta 50 mil millones de euros, hasta el momento ha resultado más barato de lo que se temía. Los gobiernos regionales, que impulsaron el déficit fuera del objetivo, están siendo domados. Además, las reformas laborales permiten recortes salariales que hacen a España más competitiva. Las predicciones de recuperación en 2014 son creíbles, incluso si los españoles se enfrentan a un duro 2013.

Otros artículos incluidos en el mismo número que recomendamos son All hope not lost y, para los interesados en la Historia, The Holy Roman Empire: European disunion done right.

Related posts / Entradas relacionadas
The Economist y España / The Economist and Spain (June, 2012)
Simiocracia / Apecracy (July, 2012)
The Economist and the pain in Spain (August, 2012)
La crisis española desde un punto de vista diferente / A different view on the Spanish crisis (November 2012)

La crisis española desde un punto de vista diferente / A different view on the Spanish crisis

If you are interested in other opinions on the Spanish economy, see this interesting video (in English with Spanish subtitles).

Si usted está interesado en otras opiniones sobre la economía española, vea este curioso video (en inglés con subtítulos en español).

Related links / Enlaces relacionados
Simiocracia / Apecracy Highly recommended video! ¡Vídeo muy recomendado!
Grant Thornton. An instinct for growth
Vozpopuli. Un video de una consultora internacional sobre España arrasa con más de medio millón de visitas

The Economist and the pain in Spain

The cover and the articles below, included in The Economist edition of July 28th, talk about Spain. These articles are very controversial and readers have written hundred of comments.
La portada y los siguientes artículos de la edición de The Economist del 28 de julio están dedicados a España. Los artículos son muy polémicos y los lectores han escrito centenares de comentarios.

Spain and the markets. The Spanish patient

A full bail-out of the euro area’s fourth-largest economy is looming.

The euro. The flight from Spain

Spain can be shored up for a while; but its woes contain an alarming lesson for the entire euro zone.

Europe’s troubled regions. Another weak link in the euro zone

The beleaguered governments in Madrid and Rome are battling with their highly indebted regions.

Simiocracia / Apecracy

Apecracy, Chronicle of the Great Economic Hangover, by Aleix Saló, is a book published past April. The fourth edition was out only a month later, It gives a clear, easy to understand and funny view of the crisis that we are currently suffering in Spain. Polaris World is explicitly mentioned in the book.

A video over 6 minutes long was produced to promote the book. It is a kind of book-trailer, available on YouTube. At the time of writing this post, it has received close to 2 million hits (the Spanish version without subtitles). If you have not seen it, do not miss!

To better understanding the video, take into account that some capital letters stand for the next meanings:

• A: Public Administrations
• B: Banks
• C: Saving Banks (Cajas de Ahorro)
• E: Economy
• I: Real Estate and Building Companies (Inmobiliarias)

The video of the previous book by the same author, entitled Españistán, from the Housing Bubble to the Crisis, has received over 5 million hits. In our opinion it is also very funny although more sectarian. More information at Aleix Salo.

El libro Simiocracia, Crónica de la Gran Resaca Económica, de Aleix Saló, salió a la venta el pasado mes de abril. Sólo un mes después, iba ya por la cuarta edición. Da una visión clara, asequible y muy amena de la crisis que padecemos en España. Polaris World aparece citado explícitamente en el libro.

Para promocionar el libro se elaboró un vídeo de algo más de 6 minutos. Es una especie de book-trailer, disponible en Youtube, En el momento de escribir estas líneas, ha recibido cerca de 2 millones de visitas (la versión en español sin subtítulos). Si no lo ha visto todavía ¡No se lo pierda!

El vídeo utiliza dibujos animados de letras mayúsculas para representar a los actores de la crisis:

• A: Administraciones públicas
• B: Bancos
• C: Cajas de Ahorro
• E: Economía
• I: Inmobiliarias

El vídeo del anterior libro del mismo autor, titulado Españistán, de la Burbuja Inmobiliaria a la Crisis, lleva recibidas más de 5 millones de visitas. En nuestra opinión es también muy divertido aunque más sectario. Más información en Aleix Saló.

The Economist y España / The Economist and Spain

Recent articles about Spain published in The Economist / Artículos recientes sobre España publicados en The Economist

Spain’s bail-out. Insuficiente
Why the rescue plan for Spain is not enough.

The Spanish bail-out: Going to extra time
The €100 billion pledged to help Spain was meant to rescue the banks and calm the euro zone. Instead it has added to the drama.

The property bust: Trickling in
The poster-child for the property crash is showing signs of cut-price life.

Ranking de empresas de la Región de Murcia / Ranking of companies in Region of Murcia

The online economic newspaper MurciaEconomía.com has published a ranking with the 2,500 largest companies in the Region of Murcia, in terms of turnover.

The list is based on the latest annual accounts submitted by each company to the Registro Mercantil (Commercial Registry), usually filed during 2011 and containing the data for the previous year.

POLARIS DESARROLLO SL is 12th and POLARIS WORLD REAL ESTATE 32nd, but their sales figures are from 2009, not 2010.

In general, we can say that the 'big' firms in the region have resisted the onslaught of the crisis. Construction companies and ancillary firms are the exception. Business volumes have halved in most cases.

Agricultural and food companies have presented accounts similar to the ones for the previous year, thanks to exports. They have had to sell more products to keep revenues steady owing to the general fall in prices.

Full article and ranking available here.

P.S. Tip: look for information about NEW GOLF PROPERTIES SL in Internet. There seems to be a close relationship with Polaris.

El periódico económico MurciaEconomía.com publica el ranking de las 2.500 principales empresas de la Región de Murcia, por volumen de facturación.

El listado se basa en el último informe de cuentas anuales presentado por cada empresa ante el Registro Mercantil, generalmente el entregado durante el año 2011 y correspondiente al ejercicio anterior.

POLARIS DESARROLLO SL aparece en el puesto 12 y POLARIS WORLD REAL ESTATE en el 32 pero sus datos de ventas corresponden a 2009, no a 2010.

En general puede decirse que las 'grandes' firmas de la Región han resistido los embates de la crisis. Las empresas de construcción o las auxiliares son la excepción. Sus volúmenes de negocio han descendido a la mitad en la mayoría de los casos.

Las empresas agroalimentarias han presentado unas cuentas similares a las del año anterior gracias a las exportaciones. Han tenido que vender mayor cantidad de producto para mantener ingresos, debido a la caída generalizada de los precios.

Noticia y el ranking completos disponibles aquí.

P.D. Sugerencia: busque información sobre NEW GOLF PROPERTIES SL en Internet. Parece que hay una estrecha relación con Polaris.

Financial Times Special Report: Investing in Spain 2011

Article published by Financial Times on October 5th, 2011. Available (for the time being) here.

Artículo publicado en el Financial Times el 5 de octubre de 2011. Disponible (de momento) aquí.

MurciaEconomía.com

If you are interested in Economy, and in particular in Murcia's Economy, then for sure this link will be of your interest: MurciaEconomía.com.

It is the only online economy newspaper focused on the Region of Murcia. It is owned by ABR Comunicación, a firm created by two Murcian journalists, Javier Abad and Fernando Bosch, less than a year ago.

MurciaEconomía.com has a nice design, clear, well structured and friendly. Contents are plentiful and updated. An electronic newsletter is available. Users can subscribe to it in order to receive the headlines of the day.

It is in Spanish only and does not include any automatic translator. This makes dificult to receive visits from many Europeans owners and/or residents in the Region of Murcia, that barely know Spanish.

Si le interesa la economía, y en particular la de Murcia, entonces seguro que también le interesará este enlace: MurciaEconomía.com.

Se trata del único periódico económico digital dedicado a la Región de Murcia. Es propiedad de ABR Comunicación, una empresa creada por los periodistas murcianos, Fernando Abad y Javier Bosch, hace menos de un año.

MurciaEconomía.com tiene un diseño muy cuidado, sencillo, bien estructurado y amigable. Sus contenidos son abundantes y actualizados. Dispone de un boletín electrónico. Los usuarios que se suscriban a él recibirán cada tarde las principales informaciones del día.

El único pero es que está sólo en español y no incluye un traductor automático. Esto dificulta las visitas de muchos europeos propietarios y/o residentes en la Región de Murcia, que apenas conocen nuestro idioma.