Black economy clouds Spain's recovery from crisis

Madrid (AFP) - Many of Spain's five million unemployed dream of finding a steady job in the economic recovery vaunted by the government -- but a legion of undeclared workers still scrape by cash-in-hand.

Spain wins third credit upgrade as economy brightens

Madrid (AFP) - Standard and Poor's boosted Spain's credit rating on Friday, hailing signs of economic recovery despite massive unemployment in the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy.

Spanish public debt hits new record in 2013

Madrid (AFP) - Spain reported Friday its public debt soared to a new record high in 2013 despite a slew of budget-cutting measures, ballooning to nearly 94 percent of the economy's entire annual output.

Spain's Rajoy, intent on job creation, ups growth view

(Reuters) - Spain's economy is on track to expand by a better-than-expected 1.0 percent in 2014, allowing moderate job creation for the first time in six years, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday in his annual state-of-the-nation address to Parliament.

Spain's budget to focus on nascent recovery, reforms

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will boost economic and job forecasts in the 2014 budget to be presented on Friday, moving away from tough spending cuts and relying instead on lower borrowing costs and momentum from previous reforms to achieve fiscal targets.

Down So Long, It Looks Like Up to the Euro Zone

FRANKFURT — This is what passes for good economic news in Europe: Spain just added 265 jobs.“Clearly encouraging,” the nation’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said of the development.

Spain, Portugal meet to find ways to help economy

MADRID (AP) — Spain and Portugal's premiers are meeting to discuss the economic turmoil plaguing their countries and the measures the European Union should take to ease the crisis.

Tens of thousands in Spain protest economic policy, corruption

MADRID: Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched through cities across the country on Saturday to protest deep austerity, the privatisation of public services and political corruption.

Spanish prime minister denies corruption allegations

The Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has issued a televised denial or corruption allegations that are threatening to engulf his government and destablise the eurozone.

Protests become way of life in Spanish recession

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish workers are increasingly walking off the job to protest wage reductions and privatizations by the government as it tackles a steep public deficit that last year threatened to bankrupt the country.

Spain rules out Irish-style bailout

MADRID: Spain on Wednesday ruled out any Irish-style bailout for the recession-hit, jobs-starved economy, but said it was still undecided about seeking intervention by the European Central Bank to bring down its debt financing costs.

Merkel Says Euro Crisis Recovery Is Worth Austerity Pain

Chancellor Angela Merkel said the promise of lifting the euro area out of its debt crisis is worth the pain that’s being caused by German-inspired austerity.

Spanish Bonds Rise After Debt Sale, EU Agreement on Greek Aid

Spanish bonds advanced for a third week in four as borrowing costs fell at a debt sale and after European leaders signed off on the next aid tranche for Greece, stoking optimism the euro-region debt crisis is being contained.

Debt crisis: Spain's forecasts are 'optimistic', says Governor of the Bank of Spain

The Governor of the Bank of Spain warned that Madrid’s financial forecasts are “optimistic” adding to the mounting pressure on Mariano Rajoy from European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Spain's PM says bailout not imminent

Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has ruled out a multi-billion euro bailout before this weekend, despite the worsening economic situation and pleas from Madrid's neighbours for a resolution to the current crisis.

Spain borrowing needs rise on banks, regions; debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to 90.5 pc in 2013 vs 85.3 pc in 2012

MADRID: Spain's borrowing needs will rise in 2013 from this year as the government pours cash into its battered banking system and its cash strapped regions, the detailed budget document showed on Saturday.

Spain Budget Concentrates on Spending Cuts Over Revenue

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain announced a detailed timetable for economic reforms and a tough 2013 budget based mostly on spending cuts on Thursday in what many see as an effort to pre-empt the likely conditions of an international bailout.

Spain's bailout hesitation 'highly risky': EU commissioner

BRUSSELS: Uncertainty over whether Spain intends to seek a full bailout is "highly risky", Joaquin Almunia, the EU's competition commissioner, warned Madrid during an interview with AFP.

Euro Posts First Decline in Six Weeks as Economic Growth Stalls

The euro fell for the first time in six weeks versus the dollar as reports showed the region’s economy struggling amid the debt crisis.

Eurozone crisis: Spain refuses bailout terms

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has said he is more determined than ever to avoid having to ask for a bailout – despite the insistence last week by ECB president, Mario Draghi, that it would be a condition of the central bank helping to keep down a country's borrowing costs.