The International Monetary Fund (IMF) calls on governments to implement "temporary" policies to protect their economies from the energy shock caused by the war in Iran, with special emphasis on protecting the most "vulnerable" segments of the population, according to the April report of Fiscal Monitor, which the economic body publishes semi-annually. In the study, the IMF warns that some countries —such as many members of the European Union, China, or the United States, among others— have limited room to maneuver to carry out public policies to support the economy due to the high levels of public debt they have accumulated in recent years and low growth levels.

The State closed 2025 with the lowest public deficit since the outbreak of the financial crisis of 2008, thanks to a new historic record in tax collection, as reported this Tuesday by the Ministry of Finance.

Donald Trump's threats against European allies, both territorial—a possible annexation of Greenland—and commercial—with more tariffs—have, for the moment, been put on hold after the US president backed down a week ago. Despite this de-escalation, European states anticipate renewed tensions with Washington and are studying measures to counter US attacks on the continent's countries, especially the member states of the European Union. One lever that EU governments and institutions can use is the strong dependence of the US government and US companies on their European partners. In the case of private companies, many US-based multinationals are deeply integrated into European economies through customers, suppliers, and investors who buy their shares and corporate debt. Similarly, a very large portion of US public debt held by foreigners is spread throughout Europe. If investors and governments in EU countries were to suddenly divest themselves of these assets, the global economy could suffer seriously, but especially the US economy.

Catalans are the second most indebted residents of any autonomous community, after Valencians. Specifically, from birth, they carry an average debt of €10,880 due to Catalan public sector debt, compared to €11,367.2 for residents of the Valencian Community. These figures are based on public administration debt for the third quarter, published by the Bank of Spain. The amount in Catalonia decreased by around 0.9% thanks to population growth over the past year, but it remains more than double that of the Community of Madrid (€5,277.9), where this figure grew by 1.3% in a year.

The Spanish Treasury expects to reach a net debt issuance of €55 billion next year, the same as in the current fiscal year, focused on medium- and long-term bonds, which will account for almost 91% of the total, or €50 billion. This is the strategy of the agency, which reports to the Ministry of Economy headed by Carlos Cuerpo, and which was announced today. In total, gross issuance will be €285.693 billion, 4.18% higher than the figure for the end of 2025. This increase is due to higher debt amortizations (€126.935 billion, compared to €121.524 billion in the current fiscal year). Net issuance, initially projected at €60 billion to allow for flexibility in the event of situations such as the severe weather in Valencia, ultimately reached €55 billion this year. According to official data, "the positive performance of the Spanish economy is reflected both in the markets and in the main credit rating agencies." This is reflected in the risk premium compared to the 10-year German bond, which is the benchmark. The Treasury also highlights the improvement in public finances, with "sustained reductions in public debt and deficit." "The financing strategy is explained by the strong performance of the economy and resources (revenues). The improved rating gives a positive image to the markets. The risk premium compared to Germany has halved in the last two years, and today it is at levels not seen since 2009," highlighted the Minister of Economy, Carlos Núria Rius MontanerIn fact, it maintains the approach of 2025 and states that "it is a prudent but also flexible strategy given the context of international uncertainty." In 2025, virtually the entire program planned by the Treasury was implemented a few weeks before the end of the year.

The Catalan government will request a total of €8.538 billion from the Regional Liquidity Fund (FLA) next year, a similar amount to that requested in 2025 (€8.488 billion, of which it received €8.113 billion). This decision means moving away from resorting to the markets for financing again, as it had planned to do starting next year. to obtain around 5% of the total debtIn fact, the date has been repeatedly postponed, although the finances, still complicatedThey have been improving and the Catalan government has achieved for the first time in 13 years Financing from banks totaling 3.5 billionto lower the cost of the 2023 FLA (Regional Liquidity Fund). Agencies such as Fitch, Moody's, and DBRS have also removed the junk bond label from Catalan debt and given it a rating that considers it more reliable.

Since Donald Trump's return to the White House, confidence in the US economy has been shaken. The trade war against its trading partners, plans for massive tax cuts, and inconsistent foreign policy have damaged the US's reputation as a leading economic power. This has been reflected, in part, in a fall in the price of the dollar—the global reserve currency—and, by extension, may affect the role of US Treasury bonds as safe haven assets essential to the functioning of the global economy.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump He denied in a press conference that he planned to fire Jerome Powell., the chairman of the Federal Reserve (the Fed, the US central bank). That same morning, several media outlets such as Bloomberg and The New York Times They had published that Trump had a draft letter to send to Congress to oust Powell, which led to an immediate drop in the dollar on the foreign exchange market and put the US stock market in the red. Only with the president's denial, a few minutes after its publication, did the situation in the markets normalize.

Just days after announcing a battery of tariffs against most of the world's countries in an event he dubbed Liberation Day, US President Donald Trump reversed course and suspended most of them in an attempt to "negotiate." Although stock markets reacted sharply and most governments criticized the measure, Trump's retreat was largely due to the rise in the price of Treasury bonds, US government debt securities.

Public debt rose to 103.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year, a new record, 1.7 percentage points higher than at the end of 2024. The absolute figure stood at €1.667 trillion, according to data from the Bank of Spain. In an annual comparison, the debt ratio is 2.8 percentage points lower than the same period last year (106.3%).

US 30-year Treasury bonds have soared their yield to above 5% (5.07%), the highest level in almost two decades. This trend—the movement between prices and yields is inverse, with lower prices leading to higher interest rates and higher prices leading to lower yields—means that money is fleeing these assets, meaning demand is falling, whereas until recently they were considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty. The US must pay more, that is, pay more, to raise funds to finance itself.

The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIREF, the state agency that oversees public accounts) has lowered its growth forecasts for the Spanish economy for this year and next due to international uncertainty. In response, it has stated that the State will have to take measures starting in 2027 to comply with the fiscal commitments required by European regulations.

Spain ended 2021 with a deficit of 6.76% of GDP, Finance Minister María Jesús Montero announced on Thursday. That is €81.5bn. This figure is much higher than the 2.9% it registered at the close of 2019, but much better than that recorded in 2020 (10.97%), the first year of the pandemic, when public spending soared to cope with the covid-19 health crisis. This means the State deficit has improved by over three points, moving away from the limits reached during the last two major crises – in 2010, as a result of the financial crisis, the deficit reached 11.2% – and is also moving away from the forecasts of the Spanish government itself, which had estimated that it would end 2021 with a deficit of 8.4%. This translates into an improvement in the deficit of up to €19.5bn compared to the government's forecast.

The impact of the pandemic on the State's public accounts is undeniable. The measures adopted by the State have brought the the public deficit to 11% of GDP, bordering on the historical record. But, in addition, the state debt has reached another historical record in 2020: €1.35 trillion, 120% of GDP, according to data published on Tuesday by the Bank of Spain. The pandemic has shattered the objectives of the beginning of the year, when the Spanish government was set to end the year with a debt of 94.65% of GDP, after finishing 2019 at 95.5%.