Who wins with the crisis?

In life there is always someone who is benefited from the misfortunes of others. The global financial crisis is not a exception.

During the past year there have been companies that have seen their incomes increase as the crisis also did.

Who is on the big side? who in the small side?

The big side: Some financial institutions apart from survive the crisis took benefits of it as is the case of the U.S. bank JP Morgan Chase and Barclays among others. The "parasites" of the bag are other beneficiaries of the crisis. These investors benefit from the stock market crash. Gold Investors are others because according to experts, gold is a safe bet in times of crisis. Whose offer the right product at the right time and Bankruptcy specialists they couldn't miss in this section all those specialists, financial advisers and lawyers specializing in bankruptcy.

The small side: The takeout companies because many families have already chosen to spend more time at home, watching a movie on TV instead of going to the cinema, cooking, or take some pizzas instead of going to a restaurant. Those who have spent years waiting, because they have been saving for years because before it was so expensive that they could not afford to buy anything but they can now afford to buy "cheap".

And finally ... journalists. If not, as one guy named "Martin" who says at a forum in cyberspace, "we would still talking about Britney Spears."

And you, what do you think?

Who has benefited from the crisis?

Nerea

SPANISH GOVERNMENT STOPS THE PRIVATIZATION OF 'BARAJAS' & 'EL PRAT' AIRPORTS

Ana Pastor minister told us that government has postpone the entry of private capital in Aena (Spanish airports and aerial navigation), waiting to know the value of it assets.

The new Public Works minister told us this decision on monday. This decision will affect to the two principal Spanish airports, 'Madrid-Barajas' and 'Barcelona-El Prat'.

She gave a press conference in Ministry's seat, giving the explanations of this postponement. She said that they have taken the decision to not disintegrate Spanish airports chain. The decision to privatize the two Spanish principal airports was taken by former president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

The 31th of January was the last day for the consortiums to present the offers. This process is what has stopped Mariano Rajoy's president new executive.

Erik Rios Salazar

Davos 2012: Soul searching at the World Economic Forum

Four years into a brutal recession that has left 200 million unemployed around the world, and with protest movements occupying public spaces in western cities, there is clearly some soul-searching going on.

Wednesday's programme in Davos began with a debate on whether 20th-century capitalism is failing 21st-century society. It notes that many of the indicators of economic and societal health are going in the wrong direction.

So, the good news in Davos is that the right questions are starting to be asked. Politicians, even right-wing politicians like Bismarck, eventually came to the same conclusion than Karl Polanyi: that capitalism in its pure, unadulterated form was unsustainable, and that it could only be made to work through deep-seated reforms.

The extent of the unease about today's toxic mix of unemployment and inequality was demonstrated in a straw poll of those attending the debate on capitalism showed that 40% thought it was failing 21st century society and 20% thought it wasn't.

The debate was somewhat one-sided: Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation was pitted against Brian Moynihan, chief executive of Bank of America, David Rubinstein, managing director of the private equity firm Carlyle, Ben Verwaayen, chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent and Raghuram Rajan, economics professor at Chicago University.

Burrow's view was that corporations have too much power, that capitalism was eating itself through high unemployment, the highest levels of inequality since 1930 and tax avoidance. The other panellists begged to differ. Verwaayen said corporations had too little power and that the key to the future was innovation and job creation rather than job security.

Rajan said globalisation and technological change was increasing the returns to talent. Moynihan said the banks reflected society, warts and all. Rubinstein, with a nod to Churchill, said capitalism was the worst system going, apart from all the others.

Conclusion: those running the global economy know there is a problem but, since they are doing well out of the system personally, lack the incentive to do anything about it.

Xabier

EUROPE DRAGGING THE WORLD

According to the IMF has said, the world economy is “deeply into danger zone” because of Eurozone.
So IMF’s predicts that the global economy will grow by 3,25 % in 2012, a 4% less than the earlier forecast.
In fact the Eurozone countries know that their economic will growth less than their first prediction, from 1.1% to 0,5%. The “fever” will also affects to the strongest economies such as France or Germany.
This stimate reduce the predictions of the german economy from the initial 1.3% to 0.3% for 2012.
With France we are going to see that it’s economy will down from the initial 1.4% to the final 0.2%.
However, the IMF thinks that the United States Economy will grow about 1.8%, thanks to it’s strong domestic data on jobs and manufacturing.
The crisis in the Eurozone is going to affect to emerging markets such central and eastern Europe or Asia too.
IMF goes on saying that Europa’s most pressing challenge will be to restore the confidence and put end to the crisis in the Eurozone.

Aitor

In the world "there are more poor" than previously thought

India is poorer than Africa. This is known as Multidimensional Poverty Index.

In India there are 421 million people living below the poverty line while 410 million live in Africa. That means that the world has 400 million more poor people than estimated to date. The index was applied in 104 countries and it measured 78% of the population.

To calculate poverty are based on income. For example, the World Bank considers poor person who has an income below $ 1.25 per day. But also take into account things like health, if their children went to school (education), if they had a dirt floor in their home, if they had access to electricity, if they had water well or if they cook with firewood.

Among Latin American countries, Uruguay is the one with the lowest poverty rate (1.7%), followed by Ecuador (2.2%), Argentina (3%) and Mexico (4%).

Niger is the poorest country in the world by the new index (92.7%), followed by Ethiopia (90%), Mali (87.1%) and Central African Republic (86.4%).

Nerea

GERMANY GROWN 3% IN 2011 AND REDUCED ITS DEFICIT TO 1%

German Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grown 3% during 2011, and its public deficit was only 1% of GDP, despite of debt crisis and world’s economic weakness.


Statistical office (Destatis) remembered today that german economy grown 3.7% in 2010, and that the GDP was reduced 5.1% in 2009.

Descent of that 1% will allow Germany to observe for first time in three years the limit of 3% that establishes euro’s stability agreement. Germany break that agreement in 2010 (4.3%) and 2009 (3.2%).

The office said that thanks to the good national situation, Germany got the last year to reduce its debt.

Last year, German state, federate state and town’s red numbers were 26,700 million euros, but two years ago they were 105,860 million euros.

German economic institutes say that probably the weakness of the crisis, and debt crisis in euro area will affect Germany. That effect will do that Germany only grows 0.5% in 2012.


Erik Rios Salazar

Back to the monthly electricity meter reading

The Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism has sent to National Comission of Energy a royal decree project on the electricity meter reading.

With this decree, the government will end with the reading system applicated since september 2008. This reading was made every 2 months, even if the users used to pay the electricity bill every month. So, one of the two readings was based on an estimate.

The Ministry has communicated that, with this new lar, the government wants consumers to pay just the electricity they use. The system still in force has generated an important number of claims by part of the consumers.

If the consumer wants to continue with the monthly billing, the electricity company will continue with the bimestral meter reading and months when there is not a real reading, it will be esmatimated.

Also, to make the billing easier, the royal decree project says that the consumers will be able to provide the meter reading, in the case that the distributor could not carry it out. The possibility of reading your own meter to help with the billing already exists for other supplies like the gas or the water.

Xabier