Can you imagine if the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, or the French president, Emmanuel Macron, quadrupled or quintupled their wealth during their term in office? Many of the corruption cases we are experiencing in this country, despite being extraordinarily serious, might seem like amateur games compared to Donald Trump's practices since he arrived at the White House. This first year in office, he has continued doing business (he and his family, directly or indirectly), despite being president and applying a very mercantile diplomacy and international policy as well.

More than 32 out of every 100 euros that the State lends to the autonomous communities to pay pending bills, through extraordinary financing instruments such as the regional liquidity fund (FLA) since 2012, are received by Catalonia. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Finance, the figure currently reaches, after distributing resources up to the third quarter, 170,152.1 million euros out of a total of 526,598.82 million for all autonomous communities. But the ranking changes when the amount is calculated per inhabitant. In this case, it is the Valencian Community that is at the forefront, especially after the resources to mitigate the effects of the storm in the autumn of 2024.

Ezequiel (Zequi) Giró, president of Grup Giró, shares the same name as his grandfather, the company's founder, and his father. Around four out of every ten fruit and vegetable mesh containers worldwide have come from the factories of this family business from Badalona, which celebrated its first century last year. With its annual mesh production, one could travel more than 36 times around the Earth or go to the Moon and back almost twice. Production will increase from the end of next year, when a plant in Morocco, which will be the sixth, plus two more for machinery, will begin operating, with an investment of 20 million. This year, the group is looking towards 200 million in turnover, after closing 2025 with consolidated sales of 190 million and an operating result of 25 million, explain at the company's central headquarters in Badalona, Giró and his nephew, Àlex Rivière Giró, who is the CEO.

The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has caused a real earthquake this week by advocating for a salary cut for those on sick leave. Spoiler alert: this already happens. In the case of common illnesses, such as the flu or back pain, for example, there is no benefit during the first three days; from the fourth day up to the 20th, the worker receives 60% paid by the company; from the 21st onwards, 75% is paid by Social Security. However, there may be modifications included in the collective agreement and other amounts or 100% may be paid, as is the case with maternity or paternity leave, which is paid by Social Security. When it is an accident or occupational illness, 75% is paid from the first day by the company.

The trend of retail investors resorting to the claims service of the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV, the Spanish stock market regulator) is growing. Last year, this body received a total of 1,398 submissions, a figure that consolidates the rise experienced over the last decade, with the exception of 2024, and more than 97% were from individuals, i.e., retail investors. The CNMV's claims service finalized a total of 1,273 cases, compared to 1,220 in 2024.

Singular Bank, the financial entity specialized in private banking, has incorporated the Dutch bank ING and the Mexican investment group Actinver as shareholders, in addition to the manager ProA Capital and numerous family offices. With these incorporations, the bank managed by Javier Marín begins a new phase of growth and expansion. The new shareholders have purchased all the shares that until now were owned by Warburg Pincus. Once the sale of shares and the capital increase have been completed, the Dutch bank ING will become the main shareholder, with a 40% stake. The rest of the capital is distributed as follows: the bank's management team and employees, 15.5% (and they will collectively become the second largest shareholder); ProA Capital, 15%; the Mexican financial entity Actinver, 8%, and the different family offices will add up to 21.5%.

The banking sector, which is undergoing a transformation due to digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), experienced a period of office closures and staff reductions starting from the financial crisis of 2008. From the 45,000 branches, with a ratio of 99.02 per 100,000 inhabitants, that existed in Spain that year, it has gone down to around 17,000 currently, with a ratio of 35.03, a 65% drop, despite population growth. And in Catalonia, the process has been similar, going from over 8,000 physical branches in 2008 and a proportion of 110.64 per 100,000 inhabitants, to 25.66, with a total of 2,085 branches, an even greater decrease, of more than 76%. From the 45,000 branches, with a ratio of 99.02 per 100,000 inhabitants, that existed in Spain that year, it has gone down to around 17,000 currently, with a ratio of 35.03, a 65% drop, despite population growth. And in Catalonia, the process has been similar, going from over 8,000 physical branches in 2008 and a proportion of 110.64 per 100,000 inhabitants, to 25.66, with a total of 2,085 branches, an even greater decrease, of more than 76%.

The Treasury last year settled a total of 547 million euros from individuals "with large assets", which represents a 4.4% increase compared to the previous year. To these actions through the different territorial delegations of the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), with 1,329 inspections – a 5.1% increase compared to 2024 – are added those of the Central Unit for the Coordination of Relevant Assets to detect, for example, false residencies. In fact, last year 68 million euros were settled from 145 taxpayers "artificially located in other countries" who actually reside in Spain and must pay taxes there.

41% of the Spanish population contributes more through taxes and fees than it receives in benefits. The proportion rises to 68% between the ages of 25 and 64, the active stage of citizens, and falls below 10% at the extremes of the life cycle, childhood and old age, which maintains a growing trend. The issue is that formulas must be devised to distribute the costs of population aging "in a more predictable and equitable way between generations" to "prevent them from being transferred in a less visible way to future generations through higher levels of debt," according to a study by the economic policy center EsadeEcPol. One of the solutions they propose consists of increasing the proportion of the working population aged 55 to 64, which is below the European average, and which contributes the most in social security contributions and taxes.

After three consecutive increases (March, April, and May), the daily one-year Euribor in June, the main reference for variable interest rate mortgages, has moderated and experienced a slight decrease compared to the previous month. The indicator closed the month at 2.728%, and therefore, an average in June of 2.798%, below the 2.8% of the previous month. In any case, the amount paid by mortgagors will continue to rise, with an increase of 66.40 euros per month and 796.8 euros per year on average, as it is compared to the 2.081% that existed a year ago.

Yosef Faradji continues to be the most indebted taxpayer with the Generalitat. This person, of whom further details are unknown, already headed the list of individuals and legal entities that have debts with the Catalan public coffers last year. The amount owed has gone from 52.3 million euros a year ago to 65.2 million now as a consequence of accumulating interest. The main debtor among companies also does not change, bingo PlayBadalona, with 8.3 million, which has reduced its burden in the last year by one million euros.

The singer and presenter Bertín Osborne and the tonadillera Isabel Pantoja remains among the taxpayers who appear on the list of debtors with the Tax Agency, to which they were already last year. The debt of the first has decreased in this period from 865,601.41 euros to 835,287.38; and that of the second has risen from 1,009,253 to 1,273,872.59 euros. Television personalities Patricia Conde, with 714,615.12 euros, and Kiko Matamoros, with 600,740.64, have re-entered the list from which they had left.

A few days ago, the governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, warned that housing is a true national emergency. He is not wrong. This problem, which is a growing concern for citizens, has become the main source of growth in social inequality. Whichever data you look at, the diagnosis is always the same: there is more demand than supply, expensive and practically inaccessible for a large part of the population. And of the supply that exists, some is in the hands of non-residents or are apartments used for tourist rentals. In total, there are about 900,000 across the country, according to data from the Bank of Spain.

Catalonia leads the Next Generation European funds allocated to autonomous communities, with a total of 10.180 billion euros since their launch in 2021, according to the latest data registered by the Department of Economy. This figure, announced by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, during an event at the Palau de Pedralbes on the impact of these resources in Catalonia, has allowed, he explained, "to drive an economic, social, and environmental transformation that has contributed to economic growth".

Catalonia has many assets, talent and growth, but it fails in wealth redistribution. It is a repeated diagnosis that has re-emerged during the Forbes Catalonia Economic Summit, organized by the magazine that periodically publishes the ranking of the richest people, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In an analysis from many perspectives, and with the participation of consultants, politicians, entrepreneurs and executives, the great values of the country have been highlighted, but also the pending issues.

Veolia, the French multinational that controls 70% of Aigües de Barcelona, plans to invest around 1 billion euros in Spain until 2030, an average of 200 million per year, according to the company's head in the State, Daniel Tugues.

When he was young, Pedro Escudero (Astorga, 1975) was on track to become a professional tennis player. He is from the same generation as Carles Moyà and Albert Costa. But a serious injury forced him to give up racquet sports. He went to the United States to recover and there he earned a scholarship to study in the country and stay. Since then, he has accumulated three decades as an investor on Wall Street, in recent years with his own fund with a return above that of the S&P 500. He is now launching a fund in Spain "to democratize elite investment" with which he plans to raise up to 2 billion euros, starting with stakes of 500 euros. The subscription period has begun once approved by the Luxembourg regulator with authorization to be marketed in Spain.

Until the return of the headquarters of Banc Sabadell last year, Caixa Guissona was the second Catalan financial entity, surpassed only by Caixa Enginyers. Today it is the third, with a classic banking model, which keeps and lends money and with little weight of services and, therefore, of commissions. With a network of five offices, results that grew by 23% last year, to 19.3 million euros; the cooperative of the BonÀrea Agrupa group has its sights set on Girona, the only province where they are not present, explains the general director, Martí Bravo (Sant Cugat del Vallès, 1992), who works at the entity, where he started as an office employee, 11 years ago.

There is a long way to go in male-female parity in company management. Half of the population is still underrepresented. But despite still low levels, the situation is slightly better in Catalan family businesses. This is highlighted in a study promoted by the Catalan Association of Family Business (ASCEF), according to which, companies of this type "are clearly more inclusive of women".

New change at the top of El Corte Inglés. The board of directors of the department store company, chaired by Cristina Álvarez, has appointed Javier Catena as CEO. The senior executive, who had left the company during Gastón Bottazzini's tenure as CEO, from 2024 to 2025, returned as operations director, which includes the areas of supply chain and real estate logistics, the position he currently held. Since the end of the pandemic, the department store company has changed its top executive five times.