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The government has presented a second action plan to cushion the economic impact of the current high inflation. According to government estimates, this second package will have a budget impact of more than 9 billion euros (0.7% of GDP), which includes 5.5 billion in new expenditure and 3.6 billion in reduced revenues due to cuts in electricity taxes.

In the midst of the storm sparked by the pandemic, the real estate market has maintained a positive tone. Although the heightened uncertainty and the restrictions led to the postponement of home purchase decisions, prices decelerated only slightly and still rose by around 8% in 2020.

The strong performance of the Spanish economy in 2025 is mainly explained by the vigour of domestic demand, driven by a dynamic labour market, the decline in interest rates, migration flows and European funds. These factors have more than offset the negative impact of the tariff hikes imposed on our goods exports to the US.

We look at the dangers of a wage-price spiral in the US and the euro area, in the current context of inflationary pressures. 

We Europeans feel that economic policy failed to live up to the circumstances during the Great Recession. Some feel this way because not all the necessary reforms were carried out – and many are still pending to this day. Others feel let down because public sector support during the crisis and the subsequent recovery was insufficient. No doubt everyone is partly right, and that explains why the frustration was widespread. This time can be different. This time must be different.

Like Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot, economists, academics and central banks have spent the last decade waiting for inflation that never came. At least until COVID-19 arrived on the scene. The rallies in the inflation data and expectations with which 2021 began have revived the debate about its arrival.

Once the pandemic is over, the very need to act decisively in monetary and fiscal terms will have repercussions that, depending on how these are managed, could affect the performance of economic policy in the future.

The independence of central banks seems indisputable, even more so in these times of pandemic, in which they have increased their use of unconventional policies and provided coverage for the high funding needs of states. In this article we will explore the theory and empirical evidence supporting the importance for central banks to maintain their independence.

The Silicon Valley Bank intervention and the shock wave it triggered throughout the rest of the international financial system has been yet another obstacle on the path towards the normalisation of the international economic cycle, it can be seen as a test for the central banks’ dual mandate.

The global economy sustains the momentum, but pockets of instability persist. The US faces the impact of the longest shutdown in its history; the euro area holds up but lacks momentum, and China’s slowdown is accentuated at the end of the year.

In the continuation of the article «Advanced economy housing markets in a scenario of tighter monetary policy (part I)» we calculate the potential adjustment in housing prices which could occur in some of the international housing markets that are showing signs of overvaluation.

In many developed economies, housing prices have been rising significantly for years – a trend which only accelerated during the pandemic. However, some of those housing markets have begun to experience a correction in the current context of higher interest rates and an erosion of household real disposable income.

Employment in Spain has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The unemployment rate has also fallen sharply, but it remains one of the highest in the euro area. Can the labour market continue to support Spain’s economic growth?

In the midst of the low season for much of the sector, the figures published month by month continue to confirm strong demand despite the challenging economic environment that is affecting the global economy, particularly the European one. Will this dynamic continue in the coming months?

The 12-month Euribor has rallied from –0.50% at the end of 2021 to over 1.0% in the second half of June, its highest level since early 2014. Why has it increased and what impact does this have on the economy? What can we expect over the coming months?

The umpteenth change in the economic narrative in recent months – this time going from soft landing to no landing – appears to work in favour of the central banks’ intention to stay on the current course, to continue to raise rates and, once the peak is reached, to remain in restrictive territory for longer than previously expected.