Economía

At the European Central Bank (ECB), they do not talk about a bubble around AI, but they are already hinting at the term and beginning to imagine such a scenario. A group of economists from the institution has just published an article measuring the eurozone’s exposure to the “AI boom” and describing the different transmission channels to the European economy in case of a market crash. They estimate that only households in the eurozone have invested, often unknowingly, more than 440 billion euros in the uncertain business battle around this technology, but the total figure for all European investors is much higher.

The recent earnings season in the European engine sector confirms the trend. These are times of suffering, due to internal issues from wrong decisions, halted investments, and the need to cut back, as well as Chinese competition that already accounts for around 10% of the market. With declining results, doubts have long been reflected in the stock market with sharp drops. In the year’s balance sheet, only Ferrari survives, overcoming even the controversy surrounding the launch of its first electric vehicle, the Luce.

The financial health of Spanish consumers suffers some setbacks when summer arrives. Consumer loans taken out in the months prior to the holiday period have grown strongly this year and have reached their highest level in two decades, only comparable to the times of the real estate bubble. The trend is an indication that a larger part of consumption is sustained by debt, despite the rise in interest rates.

In the last decade, Catalonia has become one of the main laboratories for housing regulation in Spain. The puzzle of the housing emergency has left behind a trail of measures promoted by the administrations to protect the most vulnerable households, expand the stock of social housing, or contain rents amid the unstoppable rise in prices, while new rules have been introduced to define who is a major holder or to limit the use of seasonal contracts. The latest of these laws promoted by the Generalitat, against the “speculative purchase” of properties, did not pass the examination of the Consell de Garanties Estatutàries this summer. The Catalan government has committed to modifying the regulation, which has been strongly criticized by employers’ associations and real estate sector entities, as they consider it will worsen the supply crisis. While property owners warn that overregulation has generated even more legal uncertainty, the movement for the right to decent housing alerts to the loopholes in these regulations.

The announcement of the extension of the operation of the Almaraz nuclear power plant for three more years, until 2030, has already resonated among the Catalan municipalities that are hoping for a similar decision for their reactors. The mayors of Ascó and Vandellòs, Miquel Àngel Ribes and Assumpció Castellví, respectively, have welcomed this “good news” and expressed confidence that this extension will pave the way to also extend the schedule of the Catalan nuclear power plants.

Sumar has rejected the decision of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition to authorize the extension of the life of the Almaraz nuclear power plant until 2030 and considers that the measure constitutes a breach of the agreements for the formation of government between the PSOE and the political formation.

Foreign employment has accelerated strongly in Spain coinciding with the launch of the extraordinary regularization process for migrants carried out by the Government of Pedro Sánchez. Social Security reached a new record of 3.51 million foreign affiliates on average in July, after adding 66,046 employed in a single month and 420,875 in the last year, according to data published this Friday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations.

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) has renewed the operating license for the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant for Units I and II, according to the order published this Friday in the Official State Gazette (BOE). The decision will allow the two reactors of the Extremadura plant to remain operational at least until June 8, 2030.

The National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported this Thursday that inflation in July remained at the level maintained in the previous three months and rose to 3.6%, mainly due to gasoline and electricity. This figure is one tenth above the 3.5% advanced on July 30. In a 2026 marked by the war conflict in the Middle East, inflation had remained at 3.2% between April and June, so the final figure for July is four tenths higher than the previous one. It is now five consecutive months with an annual rate above 3%. In its case, electricity recorded an annual rate of 8.4% and natural gas, 4.1%.

The Consell de Garanties Estatutàries de Catalunya has endorsed the proposed Chambers law, including the scheme of the silver seats, those seats reserved for the companies that contribute the most money to the entities. These had been the focus of controversy due to their reservation, which led in July to the Comuns and the CUP requesting an opinion from the Consell regarding this chapter and two others, focused on their representation and their role in vocational training (FP). The advisory body sees the entirety as compliant with the framework of the Statute and the Spanish Constitution. The law is being processed in the Parliament, which is inactive until the end of September.