Latest Spain Headlines
All the headlines from our Spain Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ Europe’s Debt Woes Worry G20
Nov 5 2012 // Leading world economies pressed the United States on Sunday to act decisively to avert a rush of spending cuts and tax hikes, warning that the so-called fiscal cliff is the biggest short-term threat to global...
Trial Underway for 4 Accused of Sinking Oil Tanker, Polluting Spain Coast
Oct 19 2012 // Four people went on trial this week for their role in the sinking of an oil tanker in Spain’s northwestern coast in 2002, triggering one of Europe’s biggest environmental catastrophes. The defendants include...
RBS Deal with Spain’s Santander Collapses; New Bidders Emerge
Oct 14 2012 // Shares of Royal Bank of Scotland are set to open lower on Monday following the shock decision by Spain’s Santander to pull out of a deal to buy 316 branches from the part-nationalised British bank. The collapse of...
Best’s Report on Spanish Non-Life Sector Finds Profits, Future Challenges
Oct 10 2012 // “The Spanish non-life insurance sector remained profitable in 2011, but growth remains challenging, as it continues to face one of the bleakest economic environments since the 1930s,” according to a new report...
Ratings Recap: Nacional Re, Barents Re, PMG, MS Frontier Re
Oct 4 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has assigned a financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and an issuer credit rating of “a-” to Spain’s Nacional de Reaseguros, S.A., both with...
Tornado Hits Fair in Spain; Flood Deaths Reach 10
Oct 1 2012 // A tornado swept through a fairground in a Spanish town, knocking down a Ferris wheel and injuring 35 people, while the death toll from flooding in the same southern region of the country rose to 10, authorities said...
Catalonia Shows Euro’s Weak Links: Commentary by James Saft
Sep 27 2012 // Just when Spain, and the euro zone, needed it least, along comes the Catalan secession drama to remind us exactly how many parties, peoples and factions have the potential to undermine the single currency’s...
W. R. Berkley Names Jiménez to Top Spanish Post as Esteban Steps Down
Sep 25 2012 // W. R. Berkley Corporation announced that Alejandro Jiménez has been promoted to presidente ejectutivo of W. R. Berkley Insurance (Europe), Limited Sucursal en España , reporting directly to Stuart Wright, CEO of W. R....
Europe Drawn Back to its First Problem – Greece
Aug 27 2012 // The euro zone debt crisis was born in Greece. Nearly three years and two bailouts on Europe must decide whether to give the country yet more help or cut it loose. For all its complexities, Greece’s problems...
Wildfires Threaten to Burn Precious Natural Parks in Spain
Aug 13 2012 // Fierce wildfires forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and were threatening some of Spain’s most precious natural parks, including one that is a UNESCO world heritage site, officials said Sunday. Fires on...
Recession, Libor, Facebook Punish Europe’s Banks
Aug 1 2012 // Leading European banks reported dismal profits on Tuesday, blaming everything from the continent’s debt crisis and Spain’s property market crash to Facebook’s disastrous stock market debut. Within a space...
ECB Head Sends Strong Signal Bank Will Act to Protect Euro Zone
Jul 26 2012 // European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his...
Euro Zone May Be Fragmenting Faster than EU Can Act
Jul 10 2012 // Signs are growing that Europe’s economic and monetary union may be fragmenting faster than policymakers can repair it. Euro zone leaders agreed in principle on June 29 to establish a joint banking supervisor for the...
Ratings Roundup: Delvag, Ocaso
Jul 2 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A'(Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit ratings to “a” from “a-” of...
Ratings Roundup: MAPFRE PRAICO, Tunis Re
Jun 28 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has commented that the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a” of MAPFRE PRAICO Insurance Company, its wholly owned subsidiary, MAPFRE...
Germans Say “Nein! No! Non!” Ahead of Euro Summit
Jun 28 2012 // EU leaders go into a Brussels meeting today, Thursday June 28, more openly divided than at any time since the euro crisis began, with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel showing no sign of relenting in her refusal to...
Best Sees No Change in MAPFRE USA Group Ratings
Jun 27 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has commented that the financial strength ratings (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings of “a” of the members of MAPFRE USA Group are unchanged following the recent market...
Best Sees No Change in MAPFRE RE’s Ratings despite Spain’s Economic Woes
Jun 27 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has commented that the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a” of MAPFRE RE, Compania de Reaseguros,...
Euro Zone’s Big Four Agree on $163 Billion Growth Boost; Split on Euro Bonds
Jun 22 2012 // The leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain agreed on Friday on a €130 billion ($163 billion) package to try to revive economic growth in Europe but differed over whether and how to launch joint bonds to combat the...
G20 Backs Europe’s Plans for Euro Zone Overhaul to Fight Crisis
Jun 20 2012 // Europe won support from world leaders on Tuesday for an ambitious, but slow-moving, overhaul of the euro zone, even as pressure built in financial markets for quicker solutions to its debt crisis that threatens the world...
