Finance Snippets October 12

Gold astatine grounds high

Gold, a accepted safe-haven asset, has surpassed $4,000 per ounce for nan first time, reaching $4,030.30, according to EFE. With a 51.59 per cent summation successful 2025, golden is connected way for its strongest capacity since 1979. The surge is driven by world uncertainties, including nan US authorities shutdown delaying cardinal economical data, which complicates Federal Reserve liking complaint decisions. Political turmoil successful France, pinch nan premier minister’s resignation, alongside Trump’s waste and acquisition warfare and geopolitical crises successful Ukraine and Gaza, has further boosted request for safe-haven assets for illustration gold.

Sweet temptation

Mercadona, nan supermarket concatenation owned by Juan Roig, has launched a caller pistachio barroom priced astatine €4.10, hoping to sweeten nan modulation from summertime to autumn. The barroom has already caused a buzz, pinch TikTok personification Iris sharing a viral video review, amassing complete 100,000 views. She praised nan cake’s rich | pistachio flavour, tender texture, and generous filling, though noted its aggravated achromatic cocoa and precocious sweetener content, standing it 8.5/10. However, immoderate users criticised nan overuse of pistachio successful products, contempt nan cake’s popularity, reflecting mixed sentiments astir this trendy flavour successful today’s market.

Financial literacy

Spaniards are making slow advancement successful financial literacy, lagging down nan European mean contempt efforts from nationalist and backstage sectors. Technology is emerging arsenic a cardinal ally, peculiarly for younger generations, simplifying individual finance management. A Funcas study reveals 27 per cent of Spaniards consciousness ill-equipped to negociate their money, while nan 2023 European Commission Barometer shows only 19 per cent person precocious financial knowledge, compared to Europe’s 26 per cent. Initiatives for illustration Finanzas para Todos purpose to span this spread done education.

Amazon anniversary

Amazon celebrated nan 5th day of its state-of-the-art robotic logistics centre (SVQ1) successful Dos Hermanas, Sevilla, pinch a high-profile arena attended by Andalucia President Juanma Moreno and section leaders.

Since opening, Amazon has poured complete €1.2 cardinal into nan region, boosting GDP by €900 cardinal and creating 1,600 nonstop jobs astatine nan facility—Europe’s largest solar-roofed storage pinch 13,000 panels powering 1,500 homes annually.

The centre, featuring 15km of conveyor belts, supports 2,500 section SMEs, enabling €135 cardinal successful exports past year.

Airbus flying

Airbus delivered 73 commercialized craft successful September, totalling 507 units successful nan first 9 months, a 2 per cent summation from 497 successful 2024. These see 454 single-aisle craft (62 A220, 392 A320), 20 A330, and 33 A350, delivered to 79 customers.

In September, Airbus sealed deals connected orders for 10 further aircraft, bringing nan yearly nett to 514. CEO Guillaume Faury plans to retrieve ground, targeting 820 deliveries successful 2025, surpassing nan 766 successful 2024.

Sun power

In a historical milestone, star photovoltaic power has overtaken upwind powerfulness arsenic Spain’s ascendant renewable source, pinch capacity reaching 32,350 megawatts (MW) successful 2024, a 22.8 per cent emergence from 2024. Wind lagged astatine 32,100 MW, up conscionable 4.1 per cent.

Overall, renewables deed 66,756 MW, a 12.2 per cent increase, according to Informa’s DBK report. Solar income roseate 17.8 per cent to 43,181 gigawatt-hours, though revenues dipped owed to marketplace volatility. Andalucía leads maturation astatine 23.15 per cent, nearing Castilla-La Mancha’s apical spot.

Steel clampdown

European Commission proposes doubling alloy import tariffs to 50 per cent from 25 per cent, targeting Chinese overproduction to safeguard Europe’s alloy sector. Quota-free imports will halve to 18.3 cardinal tonnes, improving traceability to curb evasion.

The EC vows to protect 2.5 cardinal jobs amid unfair competition.

Smishing victim

Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) has successfully intervened to guarantee a BBVA customer recovers nan afloat €8,620 stolen via smishing, a text-based phishing scam. The fraudsters sent deceptive SMS messages tricking nan unfortunate into revealing information. The slope reimbursed nan full magnitude pursuing OCU’s advocacy, highlighting nan value of user protection successful integer fraud cases.

Cash is king

European Central Bank (ECB) has clarified really overmuch money households should stash distant astatine location to upwind crises for illustration blackouts aliases wars. In a caller report, it stresses cash’s domiciled arsenic a captious backup erstwhile integer payments fail. Experts urge 200-500 euros per personification for essentials. Financial resilience pinch preparedness.

Bounce back

Supermercados Dia has turned profitable, reporting a nett profit of €37.8 cardinal for nan first half of 2025, compared to €94 cardinal losses past year. The fig includes €12 cardinal from discontinued operations. Strong Spanish operations and a sustainable worth strategy for shareholders and stakeholders fuelled nan recovery, per CNMV filings.

Power surge

Spain’s wholesale energy prices dropped 10.8 per cent successful September to €61.04/MWh, driven by surging star power accumulation and a 14.7 per cent autumn successful state costs to €32.04/MWh. Midday rates plummeted 54 per cent year-on-year contempt higher request and reduced upwind output. Renewables deed 60 per cent of generation, though grid limits favour gas.

Iberian China

Amid escalating EU-China waste and acquisition tensions, pinch tariffs up to 62.4 per cent connected European pork, Spanish Iberian ham exports to China surged to €28.08 cardinal successful 2024. First-half 2025 income deed €11.74 million, a 8.4 per cent rise. Iberian pork products evade duties, fuelling promotions for illustration ‘Awaken Your Ibérico Sense’.

Defence boom

Spain’s defence, security, aeronautics, and abstraction manufacture achieved €16.153 cardinal successful 2024 revenues, a 16 per cent jump, driven by Ukraine warfare and China tensions. TEDAE reports 2.3 per cent of nationalist business turnover, 260,000 jobs, €9.931 cardinal exports, and €2.614 cardinal R&D.

Blackout Risk

Spain’s power manufacture blasts Red Electrica de España (REE) for alerting CNMC to imaginable blackouts for illustration April 28’s, blaming renewables, synchronous consequence lags, and unseen autoconsumo up to 8 GW. “REE admits power nonaccomplishment complete years,” sources say.

Boeing military

Boeing delivered Germany’s inaugural P-8A Poseidon, first of 8 replacing P-3C Orions, improving NATO deterrence successful nan Baltic against rising Russian submarines. This “flying guardian” boasts 907 km/h speed, 12,496m ceiling, Harpoon missiles, and 129 sonobuoys. Germany eyes 4 more, joining 8 P-8A operators pinch complete 700,000 formation hours.