In Spain today, Guardia Civil carries out first aerial rescue at night with night vision goggles, Constitutional Court to decide future of Inheritance Tax, and Great News – Spanish banks increase profits by 9% to 6 billion euro despite higher tax.
Plus, PMI in the Eurozone will be the financial focus.
And, a word of warning, tonight, at 01:49 in Spain, we have a full moon! Don’t go out!!!
Today is also World Book Day, and World Copyright Day, and celebrates the birthdays of both Shakespear and Cervantes. It is a significant day for celebration in parts of Spain, and, in a manor not unlike Valentine’s Day, in Catalonia, for example, the gifts of books and roses are traditional today.
Many other places celebrate the works of Cervantes and so hold their own local celebrations, perhaps none more so as in Castille y La Mancha in recognition of the Don Quixote.
There are numerous local holidays celebrated around Spain today.
Of course, we must not forget to recognise that today is St George’s Day, also an important day for England, as well as Spain, and therefore a unifying factor for both countries.
Spanish News Headlines
The Guardia Civil has carried out the
first aerial rescue at night, with night vision goggles (GVN), of a person who had suffered an impact on the head and was in the Eloa shelter (Ávila).
The rescue occurred when the Guardia Civil Air Service received notice from the Ávila Service Operational Centre (COS) to activate the helicopter to carry out a rescue in the Sierra de Gredos area (Ávila), where they warned that a person was hurt.
Due to the low light in the area due to the arrival of dusk, the rescue personnel chose to go out equipped with night vision goggles in case their use was necessary.
The Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court (TC) has included a last-minute entry in its agenda for today, to study whether or not to admit for
processing the Government’s appeal against the Proposal of Law by which the Inheritance and Donation Tax is repealed, as requested and promoted by the PP.
The Executive argues that this proposal to appeal the tax goes against article 136.6 of the Constitution, which stipulates that ” any proposal or amendment that involves an increase in credits or a decrease in budget income will require the consent of the Government for its processing.”
The six main Spanish banks -Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank, Sabadell, Bankinter and Unicaja Banco- obtained a
joint profit of around 6,2 billion euro in the first quarter of the year, according to analyst estimates, which represents an advance of 9 .2% compared to the same period in 2023, despite the Government taxing them more.
The extraordinary tax devised by the Government and that the entities account for in the first three months of the year, although they have appealed it, will not prevent the results of the sector from continuing to grow at an interannual rate, thanks to improving income.
To read these articles in full, visit
SpainToday.news
Business, Markets and Statistics
On Tuesday the 23rd, the preliminary reading for April of the Eurozone PMIs will be published, after confirming the data from the previous month the divergent evolution of activity between the main Member States.
In the USA, we will know the first April reading of the composite PMI, which in March was in expansion territory (52.1 points).
UK Public sector finances will be under the spotlight.
