Economía

Division in the extraordinary plenary this Thursday at the Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona, which will experience one of the tensest votes of this last term. The executive committee, the highest governing body of the institution chaired by Josep Santacreu, approved last week an agreement to increase the so-called silver seats from 2 to 10, and now it is the plenary that must decide whether to accept this measure or not. What is at stake is the number of board seats linked to a voluntary financial contribution and that have historically been held by major corporations relevant to the Catalan economy. The pro-independence candidacy Eines de País – which won the 2019 elections and lost the 2023 ones against Santacreu – opposes it, as does the Catalan employers’ association Pimec.

From a profit record of over 2,000 million in 2025 (which represented an 89% growth) to a deep drop in net results, down 56%. The Anfac Annual Report, the Spanish association of car and truck manufacturers, highlights a clear reality in the sector: the transformation to electric vehicles is being extremely demanding for Spanish car factories, but automakers continue to draw on cash to move forward. During 2025, revenue grew by 3.8% compared to 2024, reaching 80,315 million euros; investment soared by 24.7%, up to 3,197 million euros, but at the same time, net results plummeted by 56%, settling at a mere 853 million.

The aid package approved to address the effects of the Iran war has managed to keep inflation in June at 3.2% for the third consecutive month. The outbreak of the conflict caused prices to soar by 3.4% in March, but since then it has remained at this rate of 3.2%, certainly very high, but not skyrocketing.

The Government continues with its plan, although it is not going as desired. This Tuesday, the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies has rejected the deficit path that would serve as the basis for the General State Budgets (PGE) for the 2027 fiscal year. As expected, the majority of the lower house, including PP, Vox, and Junts, voted against it. There were 178 negative votes, 167 in favor, and 5 abstentions.

Inflation fell more than expected throughout June in the United States, standing at 3.5% on an annualized basis. This significant decline was contributed to by the drop in oil prices due to the ceasefire in the Iran war, which helped contain the rise in the cost of living for Americans, after three months of sharp increases due to the conflict launched in the Middle East by President Donald Trump last February.

Donald Trump has been rubbing his hands for days, anticipating that CNN, one of his informational nemeses, will become a branch of Fox, his main propaganda outlet, under the Ellison family empire. Larry (the father) and David (the son) are both devoted to the President of the United States, and they own Paramount Skydance, which is expected to soon finalize the procedures to acquire the legendary Warner-Discovery studio for $110 billion, along with the conglomerate of companies it houses, such as HBO and CNN.

The employers’ association and the hotel sector criticize the possibility of increasing the tourism VAT to 21%. It is a position they have held for some time, but to which they have now added a new element. It is the report from the Institute of Economic Studies (IEE), published yesterday, which openly disagrees with this possibility recommended by the European Commission, the OECD, and also the group of Catalan economists who prepared the Fènix report.

The price of housing will continue to accelerate in Spain over the coming years. The rating agency S&P Global Ratings forecasts that real estate will increase by 9.1% in 2026, which would make Spain the second European country with the highest rise, only behind Portugal (10%). Additionally, it anticipates that it will lead price growth between 2027 and 2029.

The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has described the financing system proposal put forward by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, as “a betrayal and a trap aimed solely at treating Catalonia as a nation and buying support.”

Despite the perception that investment companies dominate the buying and selling of homes in Barcelona, the data shows that the vast majority of transactions in the Catalan capital are still carried out by individuals. According to a report prepared by the Cambra de la Propietat Urbana de Barcelona with data from the Notary Statistical Portal, individuals accounted for 87% of the sales registered in 2025, compared to 13% signed by legal entities. Last week, the Parliament gave the green light to urgently process the restriction on the purchase of homes in pressured areas unless it is to reside, for a family member, or to rent it out residentially, with the aim of avoiding real estate speculation by funds.