If investors are patient and don't let nervousness get the better of them when prices fall or rise, stocks are the financial asset that offers the highest returns. Since 1900, shares in companies listed on the Spanish stock exchange have yielded an average of 2% more than bonds and long-term government debt, according to the study. Global investment returns yearbook 2026 (Global Investment Performance Yearbook 2026) published by the Swiss bank UBS in collaboration with Professor Paul Marsh and Dr. Mike Staunton (London Business School) and Professor Elroy Dimson (University of Cambridge) with data from 35 countries.

Pronounce the word playpen In the financial sector, it's like shouting "Bomb!" inside an airplane, even if there isn't one. Nothing is more unsettling than going to withdraw your money and being told you can't. The truth is, we operate in a system based on trust. We all know that no institution can return money instantly if everyone demands it at once. And when this happens, the... playpenThis involves preventing or limiting withdrawals so that financial institutions don't run out of liquidity. Argentinians know this well, having experienced it in 2002; Cypriots in 2013; and Greeks in 2015.

If the stock market is the thermometer that indicates the health of an economy, in the case of the Spanish economy there would be no cause for complaint. Despite the highly polarized political context, it seems that for now it hasn't significantly impacted economic activity. Another issue, aside from macroeconomics, is the lack of budgets for the third consecutive year in both the national and Catalan governments.

A large portion of the Ibex 35's trillion-euro value, the main index of the Spanish stock market, is held by funds and similar entities, with a significant foreign presence. Among the main shareholders are the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, and Criteria, the investment arm of La Caixa bank, which holds the largest portfolio of corporate holdings in Spain, valued at over €37 billion. The state's shareholding is gaining ground in the share ownership structure, reaching levels not seen for more than two decades, while direct investment by households is declining, falling to what it was 32 years ago, according to a report by Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the Swiss operator of the Spanish stock exchange. Institutional investor participation continues, driving companies and stock market indices to record highs thanks to the gains experienced by shares despite geopolitical uncertainties. Four companies listed on the Ibex 35 have a market capitalization exceeding €100 billion. They are Inditex, Banco Santander, Iberdrola, and BBVA.

Qivalis is the name of the consortium of 10 European banks, including CaixaBank, that will launch their own digital currency during the second half of next year. Specifically, a stablecoinThat is, a digital currency linked in this case to the euro. stablecoin It will allow for near-instantaneous, low-cost payments and settlements, available 24/7, including cross-border transactions, improved supply chain management, and settlement of digital assets such as securities and cryptocurrencies.

The stock market and capital markets have yet to fully capture the interest of Spanish families. The level of investment by Spanish households in these markets remains low compared to other eurozone countries. Currently, savings allocated to listed shares, bonds, investment funds, and other products represent the equivalent of 66% of gross domestic product (GDP), well below the European average (94%). This figure also differs significantly from economies such as Denmark (194%) and the Netherlands (164%), according to the latest report from the Association of Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), covering the first half of this year.

First it was in 2023, then in 2024, and then in 2025. And now next year, in 2026. The Generalitat (Catalan government) plans to finance at least 5% of its debt in the markets starting next year. A sign that this could become possible, unlike in 2012, when the autonomous regions had to turn to the state through various instruments such as the regional liquidity fund (FLA), is the agreement by which the major banks are once again supporting the Catalan government after thirteen years. This is provided there are no elections beforehand, since the current budget is for 2023 and has been extended since then.

Good news for stock market investors. With the words of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as a backdrop, the Ibex 35 has once again reached annual highs like those seen 17 years ago (December 2007), with an advance of 0.61%, to 15,396.8 points. With this trend, it is increasingly closer to its all-time high of 16,040 points, reached in the last month of that year.

A global bank, BBVA, with significant subsidiaries in Mexico and Turkey, wants to take control of a deeply rooted bank, Banc Sabadell. These are two very different business models. And a year after the takeover bid (OPA), which was described by the Catalan bank's board of directors as hostile, uncertainties remain. The market is betting that the group chaired by Carlos Torres Vila will ultimately improve the offer, even though he has publicly rejected it. In fact, he can't do anything else, since it's unlikely he'll announce it in advance.

Have companies buying their own shares gone crazy? Some people are asking, given the trend, which last year amounted to more than €167 billion worldwide; this year, they are poised to continue along these lines of shareholder compensation. The trend has also taken hold in Spain and doesn't seem to be stopping. Since the beginning of 2025, transactions of this type worth more than €7 billion have been registered with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), involving companies on the main stock market index, the Ibex 35, but also companies listed on the continuous market.

US President Donald Trump's tariff threats have sent shockwaves through the stock markets in recent weeks. The warnings from the leader of the world's leading power and the global trade war he is beginning to unleash have only generated uncertainty.