Here is The Leader daily briefing with the news from around Spain, things to do locally, the forecast for the day, and other notable events Today in Spain.
News Around Spain
Business and markets first and without notable macro references in Spain today, attention shifts to the eurozone, where retail sales for November, consumer confidence for December, as well as the Sentix index for January will be published. The beginning of the week will be led by the publication of Germany’s trade balance. These data will form a good x-ray of the economic evolution of Germany, which is going through a moment of uncertainty due to lower global demand and the context of uncertainty around the energy market. The week also begins with the publication of US consumer credit data for November, on a day in which the Japanese stock market closes for a holiday.
The Guardia Civil, through the Organised Crime and Anti-Drug Team (EDOA), arrested 18 people within the framework of Operation “Eagle” accused of the alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organisation, drug trafficking, illicit possession of weapons, and smuggling. The organisation was in charge of contacting the members who were in North Africa and who were in charge of transporting the drugs in boats to the coast of Almería. There, groups of 10 people were waiting for them to put the bales into cargo vehicles for distribution.
Renfe will allocate more than 2.6 million euro to improve several stations on the local rail network of the Valencian Community. These are investments in auxiliary works to be developed between 2024 and 2026. Within the works plan to be carried out, it is planned to implement improvements in accessibility at stations, the external image, and security, as well as other actions. Renfe will put out to tender a framework agreement to carry out the improvement works, which are expected to begin during the spring of 2024.
E-commerce turnover in Spain has increased by 12.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 to reach 20,5 billion euro, 12.7% more than the previous year, according to the latest e-commerce data available on the CNMCData portal. The activity sectors with the highest income have been travel agencies and tour operators, with 11.2% of total turnover; air transport, with 6.2% and clothing, in third place, with 5.6%. If we look at the number of transactions, in the second quarter of 2023, more than 371 million transactions have been recorded, 14.1% more. Games of chance and betting lead the ranking in sales (6.9%).
The Spanish Ministry of Culture has published the order offering a budget of 8 million euro in aid, to promote the video game, podcasts, and other forms of digital creation in 2024, so long as the projects have cultural character and/or interest. The activities targeted by the aid are the pre-production, production and distribution of video games, podcasts, and other forms of digital creation, although there are also conditions attached, but once those hurdles are jumped a small business or self-employed individual can receive up to 80,000 euro in funding for their project.
To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news.
Things to Do Today
If you’re thinking of visiting Torrevieja’s municipal swimming pool tomorrow, Tuesday, don’t, because it’s closed for the day whilst the venue has been taken over for the recording of a feature film starring the actress Macarena Gómez.
Local Markets
Monday is not a great market day, but you can pick up your bargains at Elche and Santa Pola.
The roads will of course be busy around those locations.
Traffic and Travel
Today is a very significant day on the roads of Spain because it is the first day most workers return to work and most students return to school, so the roads will be particularly busy at times when they are heading in and out of their respective locations.
In addition, talking about school traffic in particular, but not exclusively, there will be a lot of young people who have been given a new mode of transport for Christmas, in the shape of a bike or in growing popularity terms, a personal mobility vehicle, an electric scooter being the most popular. These road users are normally amongst the most vulnerable, but when they are just getting used to their new craft, they are in a particularly risky situation. Please, therefore, keep a sharper eye out than normal and allow plenty of space when overtaking, with maximum patience and consideration. You can read more about this on the N332 website, and in The Leader newspaper out today in the N332 section.
Delays are expected today on flights at Humberto Delgado Airport, informally known as Lisbon Airport.
For information and updates about driving in Spain, visit N332.es.
Weather for the Week
A cold air mass might bring a significant drop in temperatures in Spain this week, which, in turn, could lead to significant snowfall in places.
Locally, over the next 10 days, the forecast currently suggests a maximum temperature of 20°c will be reached next Wednesday, the 17th, whereas the lowest temperature is currently expected to be overnight this Thursday with a low of 7°c, depending how that cold front moves. We might also have a bit of rain on Wednesday this week.
