The giant TotalEnergies has yielded to political pressure and announced this Thursday, on the eve of the May Day holiday, that it is extending the fuel price cap “while the crisis in the Middle East lasts,” at the 3,300 service stations it owns in France.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided, as planned, to keep the cost of money with the deposit interest rate at 2%, for the sixth consecutive time since June 2025. The entity does not consider that the current economic disturbances, with a resurgence of inflation due to the energy crisis following the Iran war, justify at this time implementing a more restrictive monetary policy.
Puig continues with negotiations with the American group Estée Lauder for a possible merger, but admits that there is no guarantee that the operation will go ahead. “As long as there is no agreement, it cannot be guaranteed that there will be an operation or its terms,” reiterated the Catalan fragrance multinational in its communication to the CNMV of the results up to March.
Despite the geopolitical environment, CaixaBank managed to increase its profits by 7% in the first quarter to 1,572 million euros. The bank also maintained an upward trend in the net interest margin in the first quarter, something it also achieved in the second half of the year.
The price of Brent crude oil has exceeded $125 early this Thursday after negotiations between the United States and Iran stalled, increasing uncertainty about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and pushing away the possible definitive end of the war.
Household consumption has driven the economy in the first quarter of the year, allowing GDP growth of 0.6%, which represents a moderation compared to the pace at which activity closed in 2025, although more limited than expected. Where analysts pointed to a GDP increase of four or five tenths, it has finally been six, according to data published this morning by the INE. Therefore, it remains below the 0.8% growth of the last quarter of last year.
The rental housing market in Spain is experiencing an unprecedented situation of legal uncertainty after the Congress of Deputies repealed the Government’s royal decree-law that allowed an extraordinary and mandatory extension of up to two years in lease contracts.
The Government wants to accelerate the approval of measures related to the housing rental market. Once it was confirmed that the royal decree-law extending contracts did not have support to be ratified, the Ministry of Housing will once again put on the table a package focused, on the one hand, on fiscal incentives and penalties for property owners and, on the other, on precise regulation of temporary rentals, where a part of traditional leases is being diverted.
The Federal Reserve closed its April meeting with the third consecutive cautious pause in interest rates (3.5%-3.75%), without changing its agenda since the cut last December, amid economic tension and uncertainty generated by the war in Iran. This is supposedly the last meeting led by Jerome Powell at the helm.
The twelve-month Euribor will close April around 2.742% (with one data point pending to close the month), which represents its highest level since the end of 2024 and confirms the trend change started in March. The indicator rises 0.177 points compared to the previous month and 0.599 points compared to the same period in 2025, when it stood at 2.143%. This increase consolidates a scenario of rising credit costs after months of stability, in a context marked by geopolitical uncertainty and inflation expectations.