The electricity bill has become more expensive by more than 19% this August, despite high sunshine, which has led to increased photovoltaic generation. The causes of the price increase should be sought in an increase in demand, due to continued heatwaves that have boosted air conditioning use, and the rising price of gas, as during hours without solar production, generation with combined gas cycles has soared.

Although the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil has managed to fall below 90 euros this week, this decrease is not reflected in fuel prices. On the contrary, gasoline and diesel prices in Spain continue to rise and have already been increasing for eight consecutive weeks, that is, throughout the summer. Thus, on the eve of the holiday return operation – the State Directorate General of Traffic expects 6.9 million journeys this weekend – fuel prices are the highest of the entire summer and are close to annual highs.

After the extraordinary expenses of the holidays, many families have to face a new impact on their domestic economy: the return to school. Different studies by major consumer organizations place this impact at a minimum of 500 euros per child, although with many differences depending on the community they are in and also on the type of school the children attend. Private schools can triple the cost of public ones.

Almaraz nuclear power plant gains time. The Spanish government authorized this Friday the extension of the lifespan of its two reactors after the favorable report of the Nuclear Safety Council a month ago. Thus, as published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has renewed the operating authorization for units I and II of the plant until June 8, 2030. It should be remembered that, until now, the Extremaduran nuclear power plant had permission to operate one reactor until 2027 and another until 2028, and was the first in the State to be shut down.

If there is a businessman who symbolizes the bursting of the real estate bubble in Spain – which, added to the failure of Lehman Brothers, generated the Great Recession – it is Enrique Bañuelos (Sagunt, 1966). In the Spain of easy credit of the early 2000s, Bañuelos created Astroc, a real estate company whose primary purpose was to buy land to reclassify it. At first, the business was not going badly. In 2006 the company went public and in less than a year its shares went from 6.4 euros per share to over 75. And Bañuelos, until then an unknown businessman, made it onto the Forbes list and made a place for himself among the richest people in the world.

Less housing supply and, therefore, rising prices. These are the forecasts for the housing market made by BBVA Research (the research service of the blue bank) for 2026. Thus, the bank forecasts that purchase and sale transactions will fall by 7.3% in the State as a whole, while prices will rise by an average of 12% in Spain.

The shareholders' meeting of the Catalan telecommunications operator Parlem has certified this Friday the change of ownership that gives the majority of the capital to the Inveready fund and Global Portfolio Investments –the holding company of the family that owns Mayoral–. All points on the shareholders' meeting agenda have been approved, with support exceeding 99% for those related to the restructuring of holdings, and a lower percentage for those concerning appointments to the board of directors, according to sources present at the meeting. Thus, even the company's own chairman, Ernest Pérez Mas, would have supported the shareholding changes.

Catalonia is becoming the spearhead of electromobility in Spain. In the Principality, a higher proportion of plug-in cars are registered than in Spain as a whole. In addition, there are two manufacturers that have focused on making plug-in hybrid and electric cars. And it is, by far, the community with the most public access charging points for electric cars.

The famous rocket and feather effect – which states that gasoline rises quickly when oil becomes more expensive, but when oil is cheaper the fuel price falls very slowly – has occurred again. During the last month, fuel prices in Spain have risen by almost 20%, even though from July 31st until yesterday the price of oil has fallen by 10%.

One in four cars registered in Catalonia during 2026 is electrified, according to data from manufacturers and dealership associations. Despite this, non-plug-in hybrids are dominating new car sales. Although they have an electric motor in addition to an internal combustion engine, they are not considered electrified because they are not powered by the electrical grid.

The arrival of foreign tourists in Catalonia has not slowed down despite many voices indicating that the peak has been reached and advocating for a change in model. In the first half of 2026, 9.57 million foreign visitors arrived in Catalonia, a figure that is 3.5% higher than in the same period last year, according to data published this Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Movements at the top of Grifols in the United States. These movements suggest that the Catalan hemoderivatives company continues with its intention to take part of its biopharmaceutical business in the North American country to the stock market. Another move this week has been the announcement that the director of the State Tax Agency, Soledad Fernández, will leave her post, which has occurred just as the income tax campaign is closing.

Colonial SFL, until now focused on the office markets of Barcelona, Madrid, and Paris, has overcome one of its pending tasks: setting foot in Berlin. For some time now, the top executives of the Catalan real estate company, Juan José Brugera (president) and Pere Viñolas (CEO) had expressed interest to bring its business model to the German capital.

Catalan firms dedicated to the auditing sector in Catalonia have noted that the emergence of new technologies and artificial intelligence is making it difficult for them to attract talent, as the profile of the professionals they need has changed. According to the Catalonia Audit Barometer presented at the Auditorium Forum, 80.3% of companies in the sector consider attracting qualified professionals their main concern.

High-speed rail wins by a large margin in terms of passenger numbers on the main state corridors, but despite this, the number of planes making the same journeys has not decreased, although it is true that the number of seats offered by airlines has fallen. This is the main conclusion of an article prepared by researchers from the University of Barcelona, the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and the Open University of Catalonia, signed by Daniel Albalate, director of the Observatory of Analysis and Evaluation of Public Policies at the UB; Albert Gragera, professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the UAB, and Pere Suau, head of the Sustainability, Management and Transport Research Group (SUMAT), attached to the Research Centre on Digital Transformation and Governance (UOC-DIGIT), and professor of Economics and Business studies.

Less bureaucracy, more administrative agility, and facilitating urban planning and land transformation. This is the recipe from the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) to increase housing supply and, therefore, reduce housing prices.

Changes at CaixaBank. The long-standing Director of Communication and Institutional Relations, Maria Lluïsa Martínez Gistau, is stepping down. She has been at the helm of the entity's communication for 25 years and for the last 10 years has also been a member of the bank's management committee. Her position will be filled by Jordi Soldevila, who until now was in charge of the entity's real estate business. In addition, the Spanish government has rushed to find a name to replace Cani Fernández to chair the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC). The Council of Ministers approved proposing Juan José Ganuza Fernández to assume the position.

Revolution in the Communication and Institutional Relations department of CaixaBank. The historic Maria Lluïsa Martínez Gistau steps down from leading this department after a quarter of a century, and will be replaced by Jordi Soldevila, until now heading the entity's real estate business as CEO of BuildingCenter and Director of Real Estate for Repossessed Assets at CaixaBank. This was notified this Friday by the entity chaired by Tomàs Muniesa to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

Catalonia has a housing supply problem. This was highlighted by economist Carme Poveda, director of the Economic Memory of Catalonia 2025, a study that Catalan chambers of commerce have been producing for 61 years. This year the report includes a monograph on housing with articles by new experts. According to Poveda, "there is consensus" that there is a supply problem. In this regard, he highlighted that since 2021, 200,000 new homes have been created in Catalonia, while only 62,000 new dwellings have been completed.

Catalonia had 51,305 tourist homes in May, 5,546 fewer than a year earlier, that is, 9.7% less, according to data from the experimental statistics on tourist homes from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published this Wednesday. The number of places in tourist homes in the Principality in May this year was 284,653, 7.8% less than in the same month of the previous year, when there were 308,770 places available.