Economía

Homeowners and housing developers have seen their opposition to the law to limit home purchases promoted by the Govern and the Comuns endorsed. The report published this Tuesday by the Consell de Garanties Estatutàries (CGE) coincides with much of the private sector’s objections: the regulation being processed by the Catalan Parliament violates the right to private property, freedom of enterprise, and other points of the constitution. It also points out that the acquisition of apartments cannot be restricted through the Urban Planning law, as intended by the Catalan Executive and the party of former mayor Ada Colau.

The Consell de Garanties Estatutàries (CGE) questions the commoners’ bill, agreed with the PSC Government, to restrict the buying and selling of homes in stressed areas whenever it is not for residential use for violating the right to private property.

New blow to music festivals. The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda announced this Tuesday that it has imposed a sanction for having introduced “various abusive clauses that limit the rights of consumers” on a company that organizes festivals in several autonomous communities. According to La Vanguardia, it is Reggaeton Beach Festival, an event that was held in Barcelona and nine other Spanish cities, managed by a company headquartered in Badalona.

The labor market maintained the record-breaking path for job creation in July. Spain surpassed 22.5 million Social Security affiliates for the first time, according to data published this Tuesday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migrations, led by Elma Saiz. Affiliations increased by 41,727 people, 0.19% more than the previous month, reaching a total of 22,508,065.

The MMM group, a historic manufacturer of automotive tubes, has closed its Molins de Rei plant unable to overcome the bankruptcy proceedings. However, the Chinese group PXI Automotive, with a presence in Catalonia, has decided to save part of the business.

Tourism once again represents a strong boost for the Spanish economy, and the spending figures of international tourists prove it. Until June, foreign visitors have left 63.8 billion euros in the country, which is 7% more than in the first half of 2025, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) published this Monday.

Real estate companies are heading off on vacation this summer satisfied after having definitively closed their accounts for the first half of the year. Overall, the major listed companies on the Continuous Market comfortably exceed 500 million euros in profits. Between January and June 2026, data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) have had greater weight than ever in the figures presented, as companies that use them pay rents to these businesses, with special relevance to the two in the Ibex 35: Merlin Properties and Colonial SFL. In the case of the former, AI plays an essential role in the data centers it owns, while Colonial SFL has seen a notable increase in the weight of companies working in this area for its revenue.

“We are very calm,” assures Carlota Pi, co-founder and CEO of Holaluz. With her captivating smile, the businesswoman staunchly defends the company’s innocence regarding the Government’s disqualification file. Although the content is confidential, industry sources say it has been opened due to possible non-payments by Holaluz to energy distributors (Iberdrola, Endesa, Naturgy), who demand energy retailers to pay “tolls” for using their networks.

It has been a year and two months since the electric system operator, Red Eléctrica (REE), decided to implement what it has called a “reinforced operation” to cover the risk of a repeat of the blackout on April 28, 2025.

Finding a rental apartment in Mollet del Vallès seems like a treasure hunt. No sign of offers in the windows of the real estate offices in the city center. Inside, there is no better luck either. “To rent, sign up on the waiting list,” they explain in one of them. Among the information they request are marital status, salary, or possible guarantors.