The manager Asabys Partners, a leading firm in life sciences investment, will launch a new investment fund of up to 120 million euros, primarily aimed at the technological transfer from universities and research centers to create new companies. Asabys has been selected in the Deep Start call, promoted by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology and Innovation (CDTI) –of the Spanish government– in collaboration with the European Investment Fund (EIF).

The executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, warned this Monday that the cushion offered by commercial reserves accumulated before the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will end in a matter of weeks. Reserves "are depleting very rapidly," Birol noted in statements to the press collected by Efe during the first day of the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting in Paris.

After Ángel Escribano left the presidency of Indra and his family exited the capital of the company now chaired by Àngel Simón, both Indra itself and EM&M, of the Escribanos, are strengthening their respective top management. Another notable change of the week is Ramon Alsina's promotion to the presidency of BonÀrea, replacing his father, Jaume Alsina.

Another former politician changes jobs. Former PP minister Luis de Guindos will leave the European Central Bank and will begin collaborating with IESE. A week of changes at the top of GSMA Ltd., the company that organizes the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona: John Hoffman becomes president and will be replaced as CEO. And the changes also affect the Mobile World Capital Foundation, from which Francesc Fajula departs. Meanwhile, Banco Sabadell begins a new era with the replacement of its CEO.

The electricity fraud detected in Catalonia in 2025 is equivalent to the consumption of 144,000 homes, meaning the electricity that a city the size of Sant Feliu de Llobregat would consume. This is data from the company Endesa, the main electricity distributor in Catalonia, which in 2025 detected 24,347 cases of electricity fraud in its Catalan electricity grid, equivalent to 67 manipulations per day on average, one every three hours. It is a figure 7% higher than the previous year. In total, more than 486 GWh were defrauded.

María Dolores de Cospedal, former PP politician, has been hired as a counselor for Naturhouse, the company controlled by Félix Revuelta, in a week that has also been marked by Àngel Simón, who is strengthening his position in the leadership of Indra, and Josep Oliu, who is leaving the board of directors of Puig as the Catalan fragrance and cosmetics company negotiates a possible integration with the US giant in the sector, Estée Lauder.

Knowing for sure what caused the massive blackout on April 28 last year, which left the entire Iberian Peninsula in darkness for hours, will be difficult. Several investigations have been carried out so far. Red Eléctrica, ENTSO-E (the European group of system operator companies), the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC), the Ministry for Ecological Transition, and others have conducted them. All indicate that there was a combination of circumstances that led to the blackout, but without pointing to anyone in particular.

A few years ago, personal shoppers, people who act as assistants for shopping, became fashionable. Now there is a Catalan start-up that has taken a step further. Is a person needed to accompany you shopping, or with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, is it no longer necessary? The system exists and has already been launched experimentally in some shopping centers, and the first results are quite promising, if we are to believe the feedback from those who have used it.

Seat-Cupra has managed to turn around its results in the first quarter of this year. Despite a decrease in car sales and turnover, the company achieved an operating profit of 43 million euros, 38 million more than in the same period last year, as the company reported this Thursday.

The company Ebro EV Motors, owner of the Ebro brand, lost 16.33 million euros last year –the first full fiscal year manufacturing cars in the Zona Franca–, 31.5% less than in 2024, but its revenues soared to 357 million (+920%), driven by sales of its models, as the company, listed on the BME Growth (the Spanish stock market for SMEs), reported this Tuesday. Revenues multiplied by ten compared to 2024 and those associated with the automotive business amounted to 335 million euros.

Apple announced this week a change in its executive structure. A change of CEO that, beyond the change of names, represents a whole new era for the apple company. In addition, this week the Port of Barcelona announced that it is restructuring its management team.

Has the rent cap in tense areas stopped price increases? No, of course not. The latest data from the Housing Agency of Catalonia, which is based on deposits made to Incasòl, shows that in Catalonia the average rent price is already higher than before the cap came into effect, in the first quarter of 2024. In the city of Barcelona, the average price still does not exceed that of that moment, but throughout 2025 it has been rising and, if instead of the average price we look at the price per square meter, it already exceeds that of before the cap.

The Port of Barcelona has launched the 5th Strategic Plan for the period 2026-2030, the largest investment cycle in the history of the port infrastructure, which will extend until 2040 with actions on accesses, terminals and facilities. This was explained at a press conference by the president of the Port of Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell, and the head of strategy for the infrastructure, Jordi Torrent, who presented the strategic plan approved at the end of January by the board of directors.

Antoni Cañete i Martos (Barcelona, 1963), has been the president of the employers' association Pimec since February 2021. With him, we review the recent controversy with the Minister of Health, Olga Pané, who withdrew a measure that had been well received by employers' associations: encouraging CAPs to reduce the number of work absences. We also analyze the process of regularization of foreigners that has been launched, as well as the consequences of the war in Iran for companies.

After Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas prices have plummeted in the markets. Specifically, on Friday afternoon, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil – the benchmark in Europe – fell by more than 10% and stood at around $89. Futures for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude—the benchmark in the United States—stood at around $83, almost 12% less than on Thursday. At some points during the conflict, the price of a barrel of Brent had touched $120. Despite Friday's drop, the price of oil remains above the $72 it stood at just before the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran.

The Catalan agri-food company BonÀrea closed 2025 with a record turnover of 2,826 million euros, 5.4% more than the previous year, and a net profit of 102.69 million euros, 15.6% higher, as the company reported this Tuesday. With this figure, the company exceeds the barrier of 100 million euros in net result for the first time in its history.

For almost 130 years, Ercros has been the benchmark in Catalonia for the chemical industry, one of the country's most important sectors, always at the top of the export ranking. The company's history is long. At the end of the eighties of the last century, ERT and Cros merged, and Ercros emerged, destined to be the giant of the Catalan chemical industry. In the nineties, however, with KIO as the main shareholder, it experienced the largest suspension of payments in Spain up to that point. The rescue was borne by small shareholders and, since then, the company has been led by Antoni Zabalza, an executive who is now stepping down after Bondalti's successful takeover bid for the Catalan chemical company.

An autonomy of 400 to 450 kilometers –depending on the version– and an entry price, for the cheapest version, of 26,000 euros –not counting electric car subsidies, which could lower the real price to 22,000– for a 100% electric car four meters long. These are the main features of the Cupra Raval, the first pure electric car designed and manufactured at the Seat plant in Martorell, and which was publicly unveiled for the first time this Thursday at Casa Seat in Barcelona, a space that will temporarily be renamed Casa Cupra Raval.

The Catalan energy company Estabanell has signed a syndicated loan of 22 million euros with Triodos Bank and the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) to deploy 16 of its own photovoltaic solar parks. In a statement, the Catalan company, based in Granollers (Vallès Oriental), explained that Triodos will contribute 15 million and the ICF the remaining seven million.

The day on the calendar is Thursday, April 9. Cupra will present the Raval model, the first 100% electric car designed and manufactured at the Seat plant in Martorell. It is the tangible result of a Volkswagen group plan to electrify mobility in Spain and which, despite presenting its first fruit, still holds many future uncertainties.