Spain Says Adios to Xmas as 19% Jobless Hits Spending

A

ASusilovic

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time in their lives, Consuelo Serrano’s kids won’t get a visit from Santa Claus.

The Spanish mother will give presents only on the Jan. 6 Epiphany holiday, a Christian feast that marks when three wise men visited Jesus. As Spain grew faster than the region over the last decade, Serrano and millions like her handed out gifts at Christmas too. Now, she’s the sole breadwinner as the nation’s jobless rate soared to the euro area’s highest.

“The children used to ask for PlayStations and computers but they know that won’t happen this year,” said Serrano, 43, who earns 1,100 euros ($1,620) a month at a bakery in Madrid and has three children aged from 11 to 14.

Spanish holiday spending will drop 9.1 percent this season, according to Deloitte, more than the 6.3 percent decline forecast for western Europe. El Corte Ingles SA, the nation’s biggest department store operator, is advertising 70 percent discounts to lure shoppers.

The credit crunch exacerbated the collapse of Spain’s housing boom last year, leaving people struggling to pay household debt that is among the highest in the euro region. The protracted crisis means more than half the jobless, including Serrano’s husband, have been out of work too long to get full benefits. Spain’s unemployment rate is 19 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=amPsYJYIG7ys&pos=15

Not good at all...
 
Quote from syswizard:

It's very interesting to note that more women are working than men in this great recession. Why ? They're cheaper.
More...

Not really, the sectors that were hit hardest in Spain just like in most places were Construction and Real Estate - how many female builders and crane operators you know (ratio being less than 1-20 I imagine).
 
I've noticed this with the greek and spain stk mkts. they bounced 60-80% off there march lows yet have corrected very little based on armageddon news. spains mkt hardly looks down off the top and greece is maybe 15-18% down. i'm really starting to believe unless the world ends mkts won't fall much. MY QUESTION IS WHY IS JAPANS MKT NOT BACK TO 40K?japan seems like a steal here
 
Japan is an export economy, combined with a very strong yen that is not good. Add demographic problems, the huge public debt and tough competition from Korea and China and the result is what we have now but I do agree that it's undervalued now. Japan is a much more developed nation and a lot more export oriented compared to Greece or Spain, not even in the same category I'd say.
 
Quote from zdreg:

china is just waiting for an opportune time to buy japan in a leveraged
buyout.
More...

is this you assumption or do you have evidence they are planning this.
 
The economy in Europe is bad just like in the USA. I went to Spain last summer and can tell you it's still a great place to party. I can't see how the strong Euro is really of any benefit for the Eurozone in the short run.

Spain rocks! :cool:
 
Quote from syswizard:

It's very interesting to note that more women are working than men in this great recession. Why ? They're cheaper.
More...

No, its something else.

There appears to be more of a sea change in employment preference - face it - women are favored these days. Also because more women work in health care and government related sectors, they are being laid off less than men in this recession.

Anecdotally almost every double income couple I know that has gone to a single income family has had the male lose their job, not the female. Not scientific, but information starts at the margins.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top