Catalonia aims to make the definitive leap into the market in the quantum industry. After years focused on "generating knowledge," in the words of the Secretary of Digital Policies of the Generalitat, Maria Galindo, the country is experiencing a moment of "quantum effervescence" that allows it to aspire to compete with international powers. According to a sectoral report prepared by Acció, the agency for business growth of the Department of Business and Labour, this industry invoiced 91.4 million euros in 2024 – the last year with definitive data; a limited figure, but one that the sector celebrates within the framework of still incipient deep technology.

The European regulation of cryptocurrencies, known as the MiCA regulation, has reshaped the digital asset landscape on the continent. Far from the wild west that had dominated the early years of the industry, Brussels has managed to put fences around the field. To the point that the major player in the market, the giant Binance, has not been able to acquire the community permit to operate in the EU, and retired on July 1st. The new framework imposed by the European Commission aims to offer security to investors, and part of the sector crypto has taken the regulation as a business loophole. Catalonia is proof of this: the first cryptocurrency platform created in the country, Venga, received the MiCA license last week to operate in the region with a model far removed from the market's image. "We are an app for people who are new to the space. We built it from scratch so you can enter it easily," explains the company's executive director, Michael Stroev, in conversation with the "Companies.

The real estate franchise Tecnocasa has turned to the thousand offices it has throughout Spain to analyze the housing market situation and conclude that "clearly, there is a change in cycle", in the words of the company's CEO, Paolo Boarini. "It is very difficult for prices to continue rising," he warned at the presentation of the report prepared by the Tecnocasa-Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) Chair this Wednesday.

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.

The European Commission is looking for ways to spur European capital to foster its start-up ecosystem. The European Commissioner for Startups, Innovation and Research, Ekaterina Zaharieva, acknowledges a series of obstacles that still hinder the development of innovative sectors in the Twenty-seven. Among the most serious, she has pointed out the regulatory and financial fragmentation of the Union. She has also regretted the lack of venture capital to finance the large rounds and market exits with which many startups culminate their growth. Even more so with the advancement of the startup profile: in the last decade, the startup landscape was eminently digital and service-oriented. Now, with a focus on deep technology, much more capital-intensive, the problem becomes even more serious, according to sources in the technology sector consulted. A technology that, in its development phase, is more than present in the EU: "We have everything we need to lead," Zaharieva states.

Catalonia has a housing supply problem. This was highlighted by economist Carme Poveda, director of the Economic Memory of Catalonia 2025, a study that Catalan chambers of commerce have been producing for 61 years. This year the report includes a monograph on housing with articles by new experts. According to Poveda, "there is consensus" that there is a supply problem. In this regard, he highlighted that since 2021, 200,000 new homes have been created in Catalonia, while only 62,000 new dwellings have been completed.

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.

Barcelona scores a new victory in the European technology ecosystem. The British company Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), one of the regional benchmarks in quantum computing, will establish its new manufacturing and innovation center for this technology in the city. The project will represent a total investment of 92 million euros, and will be the most important quantum facility in Southern Europe. This is OQC's first location in continental Europe and, once operational, it will create approximately 210 highly qualified jobs.

The Grifols project in Egypt is accelerating its development beyond expectations. The joint venture between the Catalan multinational and the Egyptian government, dedicated to achieving self-sufficiency in plasma derivatives, will invest an additional 180 million euros by 2029 to complete the project and substantially expand the network of donation centers. Initially, the plasma-derived medicines company and the African executive announced an allocation of 280 million euros. With the new growth plan, total financing will reach 460 million euros.

The Catalan biopharmaceutical Ona Therapeutics has closed a Series B funding round of 74.2 million euros to continue developing its cancer treatments. The new capital injection has been co-led by Valencian investor Columbus Venture Partners and French manager Mérieux Equity Partners, in addition to the public Cofides and the family office Korys. Current partners also participated: Asabys Partners, Alta Life Sciences, Bpifrance, CDTI, FundPlus NV, and Ysios Capital.

The artificial intelligence has conquered the main global investment portfolios. This is identified by a report published by the consultancy PwC in collaboration with the technology congress South Summit, which states that AI tools concentrated more than 60% of the planet's venture capital in 2025. In just three years, according to the document, the ratio has more than doubled: in 2022, only 30% of the money mobilized for business initiatives ended up in AI. "AI is already positioning itself as the main driver of global venture capital fundraising," the authors observe.

One of the most important things that Foment del Treball does every year is to calculate the infrastructure deficit that Catalonia suffers from in order to denounce underfunding that particularly penalizes the competitiveness of the Catalan economy. The figure is obtained in a very simple way. The minimum investment that would correspond to Catalonia is calculated based on a percentage of GDP, which they set at 2.2%, and it is compared with the real figure, which is always lower. And if a sufficiently long period of time is taken, for example from 2009 to the present day, the resulting figure is scandalous, close to 50 billion euros. And if we add the cost of living, the figure climbs to 60 billion.

Josep Soler, founder and executive advisor of EFPA Spain (Spanish Association of Financial Advisors and Planners), believes that there is a need to improve financial literacy, one of the tasks he has been promoting for years. Furthermore, an effort must be made to incentivize, through taxation, citizens to move from saving to investing.

The state of infrastructure health in Spain requires urgent intervention. Seopan, the employers' association representing large construction and concession companies, has estimated the investment needed for the conservation and maintenance of the road, rail, and water networks over the next decade at 127,341 million euros. This figure is just the tip of the iceberg: if we add new projects and climate adaptation, the total needs rise to 407,341 million euros.

A broker linked to the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, allegedly attempted to make a multi-million dollar investment in the arms sector weeks before the joint US-Israel attack on Iran, according to the Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The stock of productive foreign direct investment (FDI) in Spain reached 627,795 million euros in 2024, representing an increase of 1.6% compared to the previous year and the consolidation of a decade of uninterrupted growth. "This trend confirms the sustained confidence of international investors in the Spanish economy, as well as the quality of its business environment," highlighted the Ministry of Economy, after learning the updated figures on foreign investment positions for the 2024 fiscal year.

The Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) downplays the risk of private debt funds, an investment instrument currently experiencing a crisis in the United States, with limited liquidity for investors in some cases, such as a playpenIn Spain, only eight of these free collective investment instruments operate, with a total of €913 million. This figure represents less than 1% of the total assets of this type of fund. In fact, the stricter controls primarily affect those acting as lenders, which have a quarterly or monthly liquidity window—shorter than other funds—for investors to withdraw their money. It does not affect free investment funds that invest in stocks, real estate, and other assets. Furthermore, there are practically no individuals or families among the capital of these free investment funds; the vast majority are institutional or professional investors, according to sources at the stock market regulator. The limited impact of these instruments, which manage around two trillion dollars in the US and have experienced periods of withdrawal restrictions, is due to European regulations and the oversight exercised by the CNMV (Spanish National Securities Market Commission). This structure, which provides loans to companies in exchange for offering participants higher returns in exchange for greater risk than other financial assets, also has many individual investors in the US. In Europe, it generally has a smaller presence.

The Governing Council of the Generalitat has given the green light this Tuesday to the new collaboration agreement between the Catalan executive and the other shareholder entities of Fira 2000 for the financing of the expansion of the Fira de Barcelona venues. Within the agreement, it stands out that the cost of the so-called Hall Zero, the new Fira building at the Gran Via site in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, will increase from the initially planned 200.8 million euros to 365.4 million, as reported by the Generalitat this same Tuesday. This "variation in the budget" for the construction of the building, amounting to nearly 165 million euros, is due to "the increase in construction costs and expropriations, and the built surface area of the project," according to a statement from the Government. The complex, located just opposite the Fira de Barcelona's current venue in L'Hospitalet, will feature an exhibition hall and an office building, and is approximately halfway through construction. The construction of the new Hall Zero pavilion on Gran Via is intended to expand Fira de Barcelona's capacity to host large congresses. Currently, world-class trade fairs such as the Mobile World Congress (MWC), held this week, or ISE, which took place last month, have expressed their desire to remain in the Catalan capital while continuing to grow in visitors and exhibitors, which will require more space. Furthermore, the office tower will initially be occupied by the Generalitat and Fira itself, although the door remains open to renting it out to third parties.

If ERC ultimately endorses the project, Catalonia will have a budget for 2026 for the first time in the last three years. In 2024, 2025, and up to the present day, it has had to extend its budgets due to a lack of support. It's close to 50 billion, a threshold that has been surpassed for the first time in history.This budget represents an increase of €9.1 billion in spending compared to the last budget approved three years ago, which at that time exceeded €40 billion for the first time. This time, the Catalan public accounts will no longer include the European Next Generation funds, which expire this year. Social spending will account for 74.3% of the total budget, the same as in 2023, but with increased resources and the incorporation of housing policies and public transport subsidies. The budget anticipates spending growth that will be slower than revenue growth, which includes record collections of over €6.4 billion in regional and transferred taxes. Unprecedented spending

Non-financial spending by the various departments will increase by 24.8% compared to the 2023 budget, reaching €40.399 billion. For Health, which usually exceeds the forecast – last November it already surpassed €14 billion due to spending from previous years – €13.840 billion is projected, representing a 21.3% increase compared to 2023, below the overall departmental average (24.9%); for Education, €8.356 billion, a 24.5% increase, also below the average; and for Social Rights and Inclusion, €4.248 billion, a 28% increase, above the average.

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The investment deficit in road network maintenance has increased from €9.453 billion in 2022 to €13.491 billion currently, according to calculations by the Spanish Road Association (AEC). Given these figures and the poor condition of some roads, such as the A2 between La Panadella and Cervera, which required emergency repairs on Friday after more than 20 vehicles suffered flat tires and car windows were broken by flying stones, the use of other road services is being considered. A user-pays system, which the Chamber argues should be applied to all high-performance roads in Spain, in accordance with the European Union's "user pays" and "polluter pays" principles, is being called for. The Chamber believes that the revenue from this user-pays system could guarantee the proper maintenance and improvement of the roads. However, the institution headed by Josep Santacreu makes it clear that the toll model "should be unique and equitable for the entire country," and its revenue should be allocated "exclusively to the improvement and digitization of the roads." The Chamber cites the Catalan example, where tolls were lifted in 2021, due to the end of the concession, on the AP-7, AP-2, C-32 North, and C-33, leading to a significant increase in traffic. In fact, the Chamber points out that the AP-7 "is already operating at its capacity limit," and in five years, the number of light vehicles has increased by 37% and the number of heavy vehicles by 55%. The result, according to the Chamber, is "congestion, accidents, and wear and tear on the infrastructure." It is worth recalling that the tragic train accident in Gelida, in which a train driver died, was caused by the collapse of a retaining wall on that highway.

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