Josep Maria Pujol Artigas (Rubí, 1934) is a historic figure in the automotive industry, a sector in Europe experiencing one of its worst periods in decades, threatened by technological change and the onslaught of Chinese manufacturers. Coming from a conservative family and a poor student, Pujol found his place when he opened a car wiring workshop at just 14 years old, thanks to the help of his father. Today, that small workshop is Ficosa. In this interview, we review Pujol's personal history, which took him from failing to finish school to building what is now a group that manufactures automotive components and has a turnover of nearly €1.4 billion. We also assess the future of the automotive sector, the backbone of European industry and currently threatened by China. Throughout the interview, Pujol constantly holds a pipe, an object that has been with him for seven decades.

Former Spanish king Juan Carlos I is preparing his imminent return to Spain, ARA has learnt from several sources. It would be the first time in almost two years that he visits the country where he reigned for four decades. His return, according to these sources, could take place in the next few days and would not last long, since his idea is to spend a few days or weeks in Spain before going abroad again. Consulted by this newspaper, a spokesman for the King's Household declined to comment and only stated "there will be clear information" when the time comes.

Employers' association Pimec claims 48% of the almost 150,000 Catalan companies that obtained a state-secured loan during the beginning of the pandemic will have problems to return the money. This is extracted from a survey of 417 companies, with the results of which the employer has asked for debts repayments to be postponed or cancelled, either fully or partially, in order to avoid "consequences that would be much worse," as explained Pere Cots, Pimec's director of strategic consulting.

Two weeks ago, the Catalan real estate sector took for granted that soon there would be Russian citizens selling off their properties in Catalonia (in some cases, mansions in coastal areas such as S'Agaró). The reasoning was that the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine have left many Russians with homes in Catalonia without access to their money, and that selling their properties was the only way to be able to get their hands on hard cash. But all these predictions have not come true. This is because banks across the continent have imposed unprecedented rules that prevent any Russian citizen from making a deposit of over €100,000. Therefore, if someone sells their house, they will have nowhere to deposit the money.

The escalation in the price of gasoline, which is at an all-time high in Spain, has opened the debate as to whether the Spanish government should lower the taxes it charges on fuel. Electricity taxes were already lowered in September, but fuel taxes were not. The future leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, accused the State of "making a killing" with the rise in prices and employers' association Foment del Treball called on the Treasury to stop making "windfall profits", in an allusion to electricity companies' inflated profits.

Electricity prices skyrocketed last year as anyone who pays their monthly electricity bill well knows. This resulted in a sharp increase in the profits of these companies, which tripled, as ARA explained this week. What is not so well known is that during that year six directors, the main executives of large Spanish energy companies, were paid over €27m. In other words, the leaders of these companies were paid 5.2% more while, on average, their workers' salaries increased less than a third of that percentage, 1.5%.

Last February 24 in the morning, a few hours after Vladimir Putin issued a televised message announcing the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president gathered about thirty oligarchs in the Kremlin. Despite the face masks, the photos revealed looks of tension among the attendees. One of them was Vagit Alekperov (see above), who, seated in the front row, listened to Putin's speech.

T-Mobilitat, the controversial project for top-up transport tickets to replace the current cardboard tickets in public transport, hung by a thread last autumn. After CaixaBank threatened to withdraw from the project, the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM) made a move to avoid it from happening and ensure that T-Mobilitat went ahead with the initial configuration, i.e. developed by a consortium (SOC Mobilitat) led by CaixaBank as well as Indra, Fujitsu and Marfina.

Delays in the roll-out of new public transport ticketing system T-Mobilitat have led to four changes in the awarded contract – three of them in the last two years – and huge cost overruns. There is no unanimity when it comes to specifying how much the bill adds up to (some people already put it at over €116m, double the initial price), but what had gone unnoticed by everyone was the cost of maintaining the old cardboard tickets with a magnetic stripe for longer than expected.

"At the beginning of the year, interest rates have risen because the interest rate curve is steepening". This sentence, a bit cryptic for the uninitiated, was pronounced a few days ago by a bank manager to a client and reveals a trend that is still difficult to detect but which seems increasingly unstoppable: the price of mortgages will soon start to rise for all those who want to take out a new one. Or also for those who already have a variable rate mortgage, whose price varies over time.

Employer association Foment del Treball has changed its tune regarding wages. If only a month ago the Catalan employers' association defended "moderation" of salaries in the midst of a record rise in inflation, today it has stated that salaries have to rise so that workers do not lose purchasing power. "Not only the minimum wage has to go up, but all wages," said the president of Foment, Josep Sánchez Llibre, in an interview on La 2 - Ràdio 4. Wages "have to be competitive and people have to earn a living," added Llibre.

A resounding defeat for Ana Botín, the president of Banco Santander, in the case that confronted her with Andrea Orcel. Santander will have to pay €68m over the botched signing of Orcel, as Madrid Court no 46 has decided. The bank has already said it will appeal.

Lionel Barber (London, 1955) argues that "there's life" after running the Financial Times (FT) for 14 years. It's hard to imagine when you read his book, The Powerful and the Damned, a fascinating look back of his experience as editor. The book – which will be published before the summer in Spanish – offers inside details of the newsroom, of the transition from an old paper-based newspaper to a new digital one, and also explains his personal relationships with the most powerful people on the planet. His best memory: a midnight interview with Vladimir Putin. His worst: Brexit.

A computer attack has forced Damm to halt its beer production in El Prat de Llobregat, where the company's has its largest brewery. Sources close to the company have explained to ARA that if the situation is prolonged the plant could run out of stock in a matter of days. The company is being held to a ransom for a figure that this newspaper has not been able to confirm.

Strategic shift in the banking foundation La Caixa. After a few years in which it has sold some of its main holdings (Abertis and Repsol, for example), the group had decided not to repeat major investments. On the contrary, it opted for diversification: a multitude of small investments that would allow it to spread the risk; to be more of a financial partner than an industrial partner. But this has begun to change, as advanced by La Vanguardia and confirmed by ARA.

The new Catalan bank 11Onze will start operating on October 1. The entity, which will receive deposits and issue debit cards, will open its doors from that day to the first 5,000 people who want to become their customers, as explained in a statement. People who do not make it in this first batch will be registered on a waiting list and "we do not know how soon they will be joining us," according to a spokesman for the new Catalan fintech. Originally, entry is being offered to people who are registered in La Plaça, a social network where the company's customers interact.

12 February 2020 was the darkest day in the history of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the most important trade fair in the mobile technology industry. The coronavirus was still a distant issue for Catalans, and many found hard to understand the cancellation rumours flying around Mobile. When some companies began to announce that they would not be attending, it was even said that it was in response to a supposed boycott by Chinese companies, which dominated the Barcelona event. In the end, the event's organiser, the GSMA, decided to suspend Mobile. The CEO of GSMA, John Hoffman, appeared deeply affected and in some interviews he even cried.

The OECD has given Spain good news and bad news. The good: that it will be the Eurozone country where the economy will grow the most this year. The bad: that, among advanced economies, it will be the second slowest to recover the GDP per capita it had before covid, only behind Iceland.

Apolitical, aggressive and unapologetic. This is how Patronal Catalana defines itself, the new business entity presented this Thursday and which has set itself the objective of reaching 90,000 members. This would allow it to be considered a representative entity and, as such, to be a social agent that can, for example, participate in collective bargaining.

Major surprise in the new Government: Jaume Giró will be the new Minister of Economy, ARA has known. This ex-director of La Caixa, who lately gained a special public notoriety as a Joan Laporta's right-hand man in the FC Barcelona elections, has been the person chosen for this key position in the new Government.