Search results

We analyse how the wealth of European households has evolved, comparing the major countries, using new experimental statistics published by the European Central Bank.

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most disruptive and promising technologies of our time. Its ability to create, imitate and improve content of all kinds makes it a general purpose technology with a potential for economic and social transformation comparable to that of electricity or computer science. Its potential impact and how to use it in the best possible way – a major challenge for Europe and for the whole world – is what we will discuss in this article.

In this article we briefly review the main factors that have led us to slightly revise the macroeconomic outlook for 2024 and 2025.

The price of industrial metals has rebounded this year with the revival of global economic activity and the persistence of constraints on some supplies. Will this upward trend continue?

We analyse the recent trend in consumption in Spain based on data from the CaixaBank Research Real-Time Economics portal, which we have expanded with information on direct debit payments, as well as more detail on each individual sector and on the evolution of e-commerce.

In our previous article dedicated to analysing the evolution of investment in Spain, we focused on describing the pattern of investment by type of asset and by sector, and on comparing it with the euro area. In this second article, we want to focus on incentives for investment.

As we approach the end of a good year from a macroeconomic perspective, 2025 is expected to be another buoyant year for the Spanish economy thanks to a growing role of private domestic demand.

Income is the main variable that determines individuals’ economic prosperity, hence it is used to analyse economic inequality. One of the most commonly used metrics is the Gini index, due to its simplicity and ability to summarise income dispersion in a single figure.

Portugal’s National statistics Institute confirmed that the economy grew by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 (1.9% year-on-year), with a significant contribution from domestic demand, highlighting the strength of private consumption.

Although significant progress has been made in recent years in disconnecting from Russian energy supplies, major challenges remain in order for Europe to have a sustainable, secure and competitive energy system.

We take a snapshot of the incomes of what is considered to be the middle class in Spain in recent years, and we look at why we have the feeling that it is in retreat.

In this second article of the Dossier “Solidarity in Spain: snapshot of a committed society” we analyse how and to what causes Spaniards donate, based on an unprecedented data source: the donations made by CaixaBank customers through their banking transactions, duly anonymised.

Macro fundamentals have closely aligned with observed sovereign risk premiums in recent years. In fact, the sustained moderation of the main euro area risk premiums clearly aligns with what is predicted by the fundamentals. However, a country‑by‑country analysis reveals a more nuanced picture.

GDP stagnated in Q1 2026 in quarter-on-quarter terms, while it recorded a 2.3% growth rate year-on-year. This performance is due to the improvement in the contribution from domestic demand and a more negative contribution from external demand. 

The macroeconomic outlook is once again influenced by increased geopolitical uncertainty due to the conflict in Iran, which is primarily affecting energy prices. Spain is facing this scenario from a solid starting position, following a dynamic 2025 and a better-than-expected Q1 2026.

In Europe, a significant portion of household wealth remains concentrated in housing and deposits, whereas in the US, the greater presence of investments in stocks and funds reflects the existence of deeper, more liquid and developed capital markets.