If there is something that characterizes Donald Trump’s policy, it is relentless pressure, blackmail for many, when something obsesses him. The president demanded this Friday that the Federal Reserve (Fed) drastically cut interest rates at the next meeting (September 15-16) or, otherwise, he will cut trade with countries with which the United States has trade deficits.
Seventeen years later, the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council has approved a proposal for new regional financing that, if it passes the procedure in the Congress of Deputies, would inject 21 billion more per year to the common regime communities. The Ministry of Finance calls it a historic day. However, the Government’s approach has been flatly rejected by all PP executives, as well as by two socialists, Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias.
The Fiscal and Financial Policy Council approved this Friday the proposal to reform the regional financing model that would provide 21 billion more in resources to fund public services in the common regime communities. In the final vote, the Ministry of Finance received support from the councillors of Catalonia and the Canary Islands. It should be remembered that the framework of the reform is based on the investiture pact of the PSC with ERC to invest Salvador Illa as president of the Generalitat. All the PP communities voted against it, precisely using that argument, that it is a measure previously agreed with an independentist party and, therefore, lacks consensus. Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias, governed by the PSOE, also voted against it. 87% of the autonomous communities oppose the Government’s proposal.
The survival of the Seat brand beyond 2030 “is still being analyzed” and there are “several scenarios” on the table. “The continuity of the Seat brand will be evaluated based on how regulations evolve, customer demand, and market conditions,” the company explained in a statement released this Friday. “No decision has been made yet,” the statement insists, and all options remain open.
Since the arrival of Donald Trump, one in five central banks worldwide has moved their gold bars in search of greater security, according to the World Gold Council. The latest to do so has been the central bank of the Netherlands, which has drastically reduced its gold reserves that were held in New York to move them to London.
The Government has managed to overcome Madrid’s boycott of the financing model reform and will try to regain the initiative in the Congress of Deputies after yesterday’s complex special plenary session. Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s Executive had called on the other PP communities to boycott the Ministry of Finance at today’s meeting of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council. The goal was to prevent a quorum to approve the reform. But Andalusia, the Valencian Community, and Aragon, among others, confirmed to La Vanguardia yesterday that they will attend the meeting.
Volkswagen questions the continuity of the Seat brand beyond 2029: the parent company plans to gradually eliminate it and integrate it into its sister brand Cupra, according to the German media WirtschaftsWoche with leaked internal documents reported yesterday. The measure could be one of many included in the global adjustment plan of the group approved yesterday. The supervisory board – where shareholders and unions are present – gave the green light to the plan late at night, and unanimously, although it lacks details. In a statement released after the meeting, the need to “simplify the group structure” in general is mentioned, without details about Seat. The simplification and possible impact are pending a review that the executive board will now carry out and will be specified. There was more concreteness about other measures such as an additional cut of 50,000 jobs, beyond the 50,000 already underway. From Seat, they pointed out that the possible elimination of the brand “is not official” and that “no decision has been made.”
The second time is expected to be the charm. The Ministry of Finance is set to approve this Friday the reform of the regional financing model after 17 years of debates and fruitless discussions. More than three decades during which public services have been strained and therefore need additional resources. To alleviate this deficit, the proposal that the central Government will put to a vote includes an additional 21 billion for the system. However, the Executive has only managed so far to gain the support of Catalonia and the Canary Islands, co-governed by the PP. The rest of the autonomous communities, all those with PP presidents and two socialists, Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias, have indicated that they will reject it. The Community of Madrid will not be at tomorrow’s meeting of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, having announced today that it will not attend and has called on other governments of the same political color to boycott it.
The Volkswagen Group casts doubt on the continuity of the Seat brand, according to the specialized media WirtschaftsWoche, which accessed a leak of internal documents that suggest this. According to this media, among many other measures, the group will propose at its crucial supervisory board meeting tomorrow to eliminate the brand starting in 2029 as it will be absorbed by its sister brand Cupra. Seat points out that “this is not official” and that “no decision has been made.”
The European Union is in the midst of negotiating its budget for the next seven years. The goal is not only to balance income and expenses but to ensure that political priorities have the necessary resources to be carried out. One of the key issues is decarbonization; the EU aims to be emission-neutral by 2050 and, to achieve this, it promotes electrification plans, investments in renewable energies, and prioritizes sustainable mobility. But transport is not just road or rail; European ports claim their role.
