A total of 109 companies and entities have contributed measures for more than a year to combat the climate crisis in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The proposals, within the framework of the so-called Climate Chapter of the business association Barcelona Global, were presented this Wednesday at the headquarters of the consulting firm EY in Barcelona. The report includes cases such as the manufacturing of a new Barcelona paving stone with 47% fewer emissions and 40% recycled aggregates by Sorigué, BSM (Barcelona de Serveis Municipals) parking lots converted into hubs with about 600 electric car charging points, or surplus fruit from Mercabarna that reaches social entities.

Puig, the Catalan family-owned beauty and fashion multinational, expects to reach sales of over 8 billion euros by 2032, compared to the more than 5 billion last year. This is one of the objectives that the company chaired by Marc Puig has set for itself in its new strategic plan, after overcoming the failed merger with the American company Estée Lauder, presented this Wednesday at its Investor Day. One of the group's goals is to position itself among the top four global premium beauty companies and one of the top two in fragrances by 2032.

During the third quarter of this year, banks tightened access conditions for consumer loans, which are those intended to finance the purchase of a car, household appliances, travel, or renovations. According to the bank lending survey conducted by the Bank of Spain, these restrictions are linked to the increase in interest rates, which the European Central Bank (ECB) raised from 2.25% to 2.50% in September; however, they have not yet affected mortgages. The institutions, some of which decided to reduce the pace of granting loans for home purchases, anticipate that conditions will continue to tighten until the end of the year.

Do not rule it out. After the general elections on November 29, a new state-wide business association could be born. Once the link with Conpymes was broken by the Catalan Pimec, which was a founder, and a group of 18 other organizations, this state entity is beginning to be glimpsed to defend small and medium-sized enterprises. Those who have unsubscribed consider that Conpymes is now left as "a group of friends with little representativeness", while from the organization chaired by José María Torres they ensure that the entities that have left already had an expulsion file open and state that they maintain some 60 organizations as members.

A market that reached 2 billion dollars in July now exceeds 9 billion dollars. It is that of credit default swaps (CDS) linked to debt issued by the main technology companies tied to artificial intelligence (AI). These are financial derivatives that became popular during the 2008 financial crisis and which, in essence, allow for protection against possible defaults by bond issuers. They are bets against a possible downturn with the risk of losing money if the trend turns around.

Cybersecurity and the risks of attacks on websites and systems have returned to the spotlight in the markets. Stock exchanges experienced a day of declines this Thursday as a result of the global alarm caused by two critical vulnerabilities in PHP, the most widely used language for websites and applications worldwide. On a day also marked by the new rise in oil prices and French debt, the Ibex-35, the main benchmark for the Spanish stock exchange, fell 410 points, or 2.12%, losing the 19,000-point level (18,913.5). In fact, it recorded the largest drop among the main European markets. In any case, the rest of the continental stock exchanges also painted their boards red, such as Frankfurt (-1.07%) or Paris (-1.39%). The Euro Stoxx, the benchmark for large Eurozone companies, fell by 1.94%.

A major burden for the takeoff of public-private collaboration is mutual distrust. Both the public and private sectors admit this, but at the same time, they agree that it will be difficult to reach national goals in such transcendental matters as housing, the energy and digital transition, and infrastructure, without the sum of both parts. All of this was confirmed during a conference on this subject organized by the Economy and Business Foundation, of the Association of Economists, and the Cerdà Institute.

Consummate break. Pimec and 18 other organizations have decided to withdraw from the state employer association Conpymes. With this decision, the Catalan business organization presided over by Antoni Cañete culminates a long period of discrepancies with the entity it helped found in 2021 to act as a counterweight to the CEOE. The Catalan SME association and the others that have chosen to leave and who claim to represent 80% of Conpymes' representation denounce “a prolonged process of irregular management that the entities consider unilateral, undemocratic, and distant from the collective project that motivated their participation”.

The Catalan economy will grow by 2.6% this year, three tenths more than what was forecast in the spring, but with risks due to the threat of rising inflation and the slowdown in investment. These are the forecasts from the Generalitat's Ministry of Economy, published this Monday for 2026 and 2027. In general, "a notable dynamism will be maintained despite the energy crisis," the document highlights. Looking ahead to 2027, the growth of the gross domestic product (GDP) will be more moderate and will stand at 2.1%. And the unemployment rate will remain at the lowest levels since 2008.

The Spanish economy remains at the forefront of advanced countries in growth, with a forecast of 2.6% this year according to the Bank of Spain and 2.5% according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But inflation, they also warn, eats away at the purchasing power of wages that are not enough to buy or rent a house. The remuneration of employees has gained weight in the Spanish economy, but it is starting to lose it in favor of the profits of some business sectors. Workers perceive that with every euro they buy fewer and fewer things, or that they need more to acquire the same. There is a palpable reality, the rise in prices, which has stalled the contribution of wages to the total wealth this year, and a psychological element, according to the experts consulted, which makes many ask themselves: "Now that the economy is doing well, when is it my turn?"

Artificial intelligence (AI) will change the way we work and many other things. Among them, taxes. The tax system of countries will have to adapt. Currently, a large part of tax revenue comes from labor income (wages) through a progressive tax (the more you earn, the more you pay), which is the personal income tax (IRPF). But to the extent that AI will reduce jobs – at least during a transition period during which many jobs will disappear, be transformed, or require less personnel – public coffers will notice it.

Pimec has achieved one of its goals: to become part of the Economic and Social Council (CES), an advisory body to the Spanish government in the socioeconomic and labor sphere. The employers' association, which will hold the representation together with the organization for SMEs of the Balearic Islands (Pimeb), has received a letter from the Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, inviting them to appoint who will occupy their seat in the renewal of the CES promoted by Díaz. Ferran Bel, permanent representative of this business organization in Madrid and former senator and deputy for the PDeCAT, will take the position.

The lawyer Joan Piqué Vidal, known for having led the defense of Jordi Pujol in the Banca Catalana case and having been convicted later for corruption, died in Castelldefels on October 7th at the age of 93. His life is the story of a fall. From being one of the most influential lawyers in Catalonia in the 90s, a member of what was then known as golden robes, he went on to enter prison following the Estivill case and to fall into absolute discredit, the example of what someone who believes in the functioning of the law must never do.

Don't get overwhelmed. We aren't going to talk about out-of-body experiences here, but rather about possible economic leaders for the Spanish government after November 29th. And they don't need to be affiliated with the party. In his first terms, Pedro Sánchez turned to Nadia Calviño, an economist with good contacts in Brussels –where she was a director-general, for example–, who had also held senior positions with Pedro Solbes as minister in the executives of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Once appointed president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), in 2023 she was replaced by Carlos Cuerpo, former secretary-general of the Treasury. With a technical and low-key profile, this doctor of economics does not have a PSOE membership card, like Calviño, and projects a solvent image.

Artificial intelligence (AI) affects the entire value chain of banking, and the impact is "brutal". This was stated by the director of the Department of Experimentation and Laboratory of Applied Technologies (Delta) of the Bank of Spain, which is headquartered in Barcelona. During a breakfast organized by the executive organization CEDE at the headquarters of Foment del Treball, he assured that all financial institutions are incorporating this technology, from personnel management and more basic activities to business processes, ranging from credit to risk and monetary policy. The main entities, such as BBVA, CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell, have reinforced this commitment in recent times.

Household debt stood at 729 billion euros in the second quarter of this year, 1.5% more than twelve months ago, but its weight in the gross domestic product (GDP) fell to 41.9%, the lowest level since the third quarter of 1999. According to the financial accounts published by the Bank of Spain, companies also reduced the weight of their liabilities relative to the state's total wealth during this period, between April and June of this year. In this case, it stood at a total of 1.077 trillion euros, 2% more than a year ago, but at 61.9% of GDP, the lowest level since the third quarter of 2001.

Not everyone can save. In fact, 70 out of every 100 Catalans do so, while 30% claim they cannot put money aside with what they earn per month. And among those who do save, the most common amount is about 150 euros per month, while the average is 292 euros. In any case, of all those who can save a monthly sum, only 13% account for about half of all savings, with an average of over 300 euros. At the Spanish level, those who hold half of the saved money, which is 21%, set aside an average of 400 euros.

The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who initially did not plan to participate in the family business congress, which was held this Monday and Tuesday in the capital of Spain, finally intervened and warned the business owners that the Spanish government has "called elections to prop up communist ideas".

Banc Sabadell, with the new stage under Marc Armengol as CEO and with the BBVA takeover bid in memory, is pressing the accelerator. The French BPCE, which groups entities such as Banque Populaire and Natixis and is the second-largest banking entity in France, has entered the capital of the Valles-based bank with around a 7% stake, valued at approximately 1.2 billion euros.

"We must all ensure that moderation is sexier than polarization." This was one of the statements by Eloi Planes, president of the Family Business Institute (IEF), at the 29th edition of the congress that brings together this type of company. Consensus is not the solution to everything, but it is essential, he added, to build with solidity.