Stock exchange over 11.000

Government prepares tax increases

Taking it from the rich?

5.000 bars and restaurants in danger

Stock exchange over 11,000

At the beginning of this week the stock exchange passed the 11,400 mark. The following days it fell down to 11.000. This means it has recovered to the level it was before the American bank Lehman Brothers went broke in September last year.

Government prepares tax increases

The Prime Minister has admitted the Government is preparing, for what he calls, “limited and passing” tax increases. The increases will be included in the, soon to be presented, state budget for 2010.  Spain has a tax pressure seven points below the European Union average. This will soon change radically, since the Bank of Spain is predicting a public deficit of 11 to 12% of Gross Domestic Product by the end of the year.   At the moment, the Government has accumulated debts of 422,882 million euros.

Taking it from the rich?

It has been proposed to tax mainly “the rich” however, the Ministry of Finance has warned against such a course at a time when it is essential to encourage new investment, as the number of taxpayers with a declared income of more than 60,000 euros represents only 3% of the total, even if they contribute 38% of total income taxes paid. The Government has declared they will not increase income tax levels. Where will the tax-axe fall ?

Low income for workers

Average annual gross income in Spain stands at 13,400 euros, however, 16.7 million employees earn less.   Since “thousand” is translated to “mil” in Spanish, the employees with such income are called “mileuristas.”  The four regions in Spain with most “mileuristas” are Andalucia 3.4 million; Catalonia 2.7;  Madrid 2.05 and the Valencia Region with 1.9 million.

However, Spain and Turkey are the world’s most generous in awarding compensation in the case of a working contract being cancelled with compensation of 95 weeks, in Austria it’s 2 weeks, Japan 4, Italy 11, Holland 17, UK 22 and France 32 weeks).

5,000 bars and restaurants in danger

The Association of Independent Workers has warned that due to the crisis 5,000 bars and restaurants are in danger of having to close after the summer season.   The prohibition of “chiringuitos” on beaches and the proposal of the Government to abolish the sale and use of tobacco in bars and public places are contained in a new law proposal called “Law on Tobacco.”

Less traffic accidents

In 1989 1,378 people died in traffic accidents on Spanish roads. Twenty one years later, and in spite of an increase in traffic of 2.2%, the death toll has been reduced to 377. This shows that the energetic campaigns by the traffic authorities has produced good results. 24% of those who died on the roads this summer were not using their seat belt.

Regions owe state 6,000 million

The Regional Governments owe the state 6,000 million euros. The crisis is the reason given by the Ministry of Finance for the fall in income. The Regions have 4 years to pay their debts.

GDP down 4.2%

GDP fell 4.2% in the second quarter, compared with 2008. This is the largest fall since the statistic was introduced in 1970. Over the same period 1.3 million jobs have been destroyed; consumption was down 7.3 points and investment in homes retracted 25.5% in the second quarter against 24.3% in the first. Exports are down 15.7%, imports down 22.3%.

Registered property companies lose 1,271 million

On the Stock Exchamge, the real estate companies Metrovacesa, Reyal Urbis, Urbas Guadahermosa, Martinsa Fadesa and Afirma, lost 1.271 million euros in the first half of the year. Martinsa Fadesa, which has been in the process of bankruptcy since July 2008, alone, registered losses of 527 million.

Benefits of El Corte Ingles down 46.7%

Net value of the of the big chain store  “El Corte Ingles” fell 46.7% in 2008, compared with 2007, even though turnover was down only 3.5%, resulting in a fall in shareholders dividends.   Shareholders received total payments of 73 million euros in 2007, however, for last year only 28.4 millions will be paid.

Unemployment continues to increase

After a lull during the summer months, unemployment is on the way up again. In August, a further 84,985 joined the list. Unemployment has increased 43% over the past 12 months. The government reports 3,63 million unemployed, in reality it is 5,05 million. The difference comes from those taking a course to prepare for employment, those who have not accepted the offer of a job, young people who have never been employed before or workers who have been so long on the list that they have lost their rights.

70% less real estate agents in Torrevieja

14 of the remaining real estate agents in the Torrevieja area have formed a “survival” association. In a presentation to the public they said 70% of agents have had to close their doors over the past two years. They admitted that many of their clients have a real urgency to selling their properties, which are falling in value each month.

“Swine flue” in Spain and the world

The Spanish Government has increased the reserve of vaccine against Flue A, raising the number who will now be able to be protected from 40 to 60% of the population.  However, at present only pregnant women, chronic sick, health personal and members of essential services, e.g. police, fire fighters and civil protection, will received the vaccine. If you are included in any of these groups, you should contact your local health office. You can also buy a vaccine in the pharmacy, without any prescription.

School children are not included in this first wave of vaccination, and the school year will start as normal.

Spain and the United Kingdom, so far, are the countries most infected with fourteen deaths from the flue. One of the reasons may be that Spanish tourists visit Mexico, from where the new flue is present.

On 13^th August the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that 182,166 were infected and 1,799 had died from the so called “New Swine Flue.”  Their comments are:

As of this week, there have been more than 182,000 laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1, 1,799 deaths, in 177 countries and territories have been reported to WHO. As more and more countries have stopped counting individual cases, particularly of milder illness, the case number is significantly lower than the actually number of cases that have occurred. However, through the WHO monitoring network, it is apparent that rates of influenza illness continue to decline in the temperate regions of the southern hemisphere, except in South Africa where pandemic influenza H1N1 appeared slightly later than the other countries of the region. Active transmission is still seen in some later affected areas of Australia, Chile and Argentina even as national rates decrease.

Areas of tropical Asia are reporting increasing rates of illness as they enter their monsoon season, as represented by India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, four places in the region which have active surveillance programs. Tropical regions of Central America, represented by Costa Rica and El Salvador, are also seeing very active transmission.

In the northern temperate zones, overall rates are declining in both North America and Europe though the virus is still found across a wide area throughout both regions and pockets of high activity are being reported in 3 U.S. states and a few countries of Western Europe.

It has been noted throughout the temperate zones of the southern hemisphere, which are now passing out of their winter season, that when pandemic H1N1 began to circulate, the relative importance of seasonal strains, represented by H3N2 in nearly all countries, rapidly diminished and pandemic H1N1 became the dominant strain. Some seasonal H1N1 strains were reported but were even less common than seasonal H3N2. It is too early to tell if this co-circulation of multiple strains will continue into the coming season of the Northern Hemisphere but it appears very likely that pandemic H1N1 will be the dominant influenza virus in the early part of the winter months.

Many countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S. have noted that their indigenous peoples appear to be at increased risk of severe disease related to pandemic influenza. While it still has not been clearly determined how much of the increased risk observed in these groups is due to issues related to access to care, high rates of chronic medical conditions that are known to increase risk, or other factors, countries with indigenous and other vulnerable populations should carefully evaluate the situation and consider ways to mitigate the impact of the pandemic in the coming season in these populations.

WHO has also been notified of 12 cases of oseltamivir resistant virus. These isolates have a mutation in the neuraminidase (referred to as H275Y) that confers resistance to oseltamivir, though the viruses remain sensitive to zanamivir. Of these 8 have been associated with oseltamivir post exposure prophylaxis, one with treatment of uncomplicated illness, and two have been from immunocompromised patients receiving oseltamivir treatment. These isolated cases have arisen in different parts of the world (Japan 4, USA 2, China, Hong Kong SAR China 2, and 1 in Denmark, Canada, Singapore and China), and there are no epidemiological links between them. There is also no evidence of onward transmission from these cases.