Mallorca 16 – 22 November 2023 Issue 2002 by Euro Weekly News Media S.A.

• Issue No. 2002 • 16 - 22 November 2023

Brit Fest

Credit: ajuntamentdecalvia/Facebook.com

CALVIA, Mallorca’s beloved English tourist hotspot, is set to debut ‘Brit Fest’ in 2024, cele brating Saint George’s Day as a token of thanks to its British visitors. Announced by Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual at the London World Travel Market, the festi val coincides with Inter national Book Day on April 23. It promises an engaging mix of British literature, traditional sports, and English prod ucts. The British Consul General, Lloyd Milen, expressed deep thanks for this initiative. This festival, part of Calvia’s ‘Municipal 365’ strategy, aims to transform the town into a vibrant, yearround destination, embracing cultural di versity and community.

Mayor Juan Antonio Amengual and Lloyd Milen.

FREE

ILMAINEN

GRATIS

VRIJ

FREI

LET’S DANCE

Credit: conselldemallorca.cat

Mallorca

LINE DANCING: Llorenc Galmes dancing with some of the participants.

MALLORCA’S Council has inaugurated its first Line Dance Day for the elderly which attracted 1,500 participants from across the island. Held at the Balearic Islands Velodrome Stadium, the event started with a showcase class from online dance instructors. Council President Llorenc Galmes enthusiastically expressed the Council’s support: “From the first minute we have been with the associations and federations of the el-

derly, to know first-hand their needs, preferences and priorities... this day of line dancing was a request from all of them.” The highlight was a performance by world line

dance champion Unai Pino. Antoni Fuster, councillor for the Presidency, praised the efforts, and emphasised the Council’s commitment to the elderly.

GRATUITO

GRATIS G

LIVREE

FFREE

GRATIS S

G GRATUIT

Olive boom MALLORCA is experiencing a remarkable increase in olive oil production. President Marga Prohens re cently visited the Son Mesquidassa oil mill in Felan itx. This visit, part of the assessment for the DO Mallorca oil, revealed impressive statistics with over 2.5 million kilos of olives harvested and more than 350,000 litres of oil produced. The government’s commitment is further under scored by an increased budget of €152 million for the coming year. DO Aceite de Mallorca oil, renowned for its quali ty and resilience against price hikes, exemplifies the island’s dedication to sustainable, local products and Mallorca’s ties to its agricultural heritage.

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16 - 22 November 2023

Volunteer revival CALVIA’S Civil Protection Group, a vital volunteer organisation in the municipality, is witnessing a resurgence. After a period of decline, where vol unteer numbers dwindled from 70 to just seven, the group is now revitalising. The General Assem bly, including volunteers, City Council members, and the Local Police, has appointed Juan Julian Jareño as the new Group Leader. Jareño, a respected veteran within the group, steps into a role vacant for two years. The deputy mayor for security, Esperanza Catala, sees this as a significant step: “The municipality needs it and we are lucky to have volunteer citizens who altruisti cally want to join the project with enthusiasm and a desire to work.” The recovery efforts have al ready attracted around 20 new volunteer applica tions, signalling a promising future.

Active outings ON Tuesday, November 14, over 700 seniors con verged in Calvia for two outdoor activities, part of Mallorca Council’s ‘InterMoute’ initiative. These gatherings, including one at Burotell and another at the newly renovated Galatzo shelter, drew par ticipants from 39 municipalities and two senior homes. They’re among the nearly 2,000 enrolled in the ‘Move with health!’ programme, conduct ed weekly in partnership with local town councils. The Council of Mallorca is spearheading this drive towards healthy ageing. In 2024, a substan tial investment of €560,000 will expand senior ac tivities, impacting almost 11,000 individuals.

Mallorca aid John Ensor THE Council of Mallorca, in conjunction with IMAS, is launching a new grant programme with a substantial fund of €400,000 to aid social en tities distributing essen tial goods to Mallorca’s most vulnerable popula tions. President Llorenc Galmes announced the initiative during a visit to the Red Cross headquar ters in Palma. The grant will support two main ar eas: €240,000 for entities aiding in the distribution of food and hygiene products to those at risk of poverty, and €160,000 for organisations assist ing particularly disadvan taged groups. Galmes emphasised, “This Council has ac quired the commitment to help the prisons, and we will work to make it a

RED CROSS VISIT: New grante programme launched.

reality during these four years.” The Red Cross, a key partner in this en deavour, has shifted from physical distribu tion to a prepaid card system, ensuring more personalised aid. This new approach caters to individual di etary needs and intoler ances, allowing benefi ciaries to purchase their required items from local

LOCAL NEWS

Urban renewal Credit: conselldemallorca

supermarkets. Applications for the grant will soon open and will cover expenses in curred from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. This initiative exempli fies the Council’s and the Red Cross’s continuing commitment to address ing social emergencies and promoting wellbe ing among Mallorca’s at risk populations.

PALMA’S latest ‘Palma a Punt’ oper ation in sectors 56 has successfully wrapped up, bringing significant im provements to several neighbour hoods. Over the past two weeks, areas in cluding Santa Catalina, El Forti, and Son Cotoner have seen the elimina tion of 232 instances of vandalistic graffiti. This cleanup initiative also extend ed to the maintenance of 1,091 litter bins and the disposal of over 25 tons of bulky waste. The concerted effort involved more than 100 municipal workers from various departments, embody ing the collaborative spirit of ‘Palma a Punt.’ Infrastructure teams have been particularly busy, carrying out upwards of 80 street repairs and re newing over 600 metres of pave ments along Francesc Marti Mora. Residents of Son Armandans, El Jonquet, and neighbouring districts can now enjoy cleaner streets and improved public spaces. This opera tion is a testament to the local gov ernment’s commitment to enhancing urban life in Mallorca’s capital. The culmination of this fortnight’s work not only enhances the city’s aesthetic but also its residents’ quali ty of life.

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STORIES IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION

NIBS EXTRA Emergency stop AN afternoon flight from Germany made an emer gency landing at Palma Air port on Friday, November 10 due to a baby’s health emer gency. Air traffic controllers organised a direct approach, and gave priority to the air craft. The plane parked as ‘closest possible’ for the ben efit of emergency teams to administer immediate medi cal attention to the infant.

Sant Joan blaze A FOREST fire in Sant Joan was extinguished early on Monday, November 13, which affected 0.1 hectares of vegetation. Reportedly the fire started at 6.50am in Son Llendera, the blaze was quickly controlled and fully extinguished by 7.53am, thanks to rapid response from Emergencies 112 and Mallorca Firefighters.

Road hazard A REPORT from the Council of Mallorca has highlighted a significant rise in accidents on the MA19 motorway since the introduction of the BusVAO lane. Accidents have doubled towards Pal ma, while the level of the lane’s usage has dropped. The lane’s inefficiency and safety concerns are prompt ing its reassessment and po tential removal.

Charger fire A SOLAR charger caused a severe fire in the car park of Palma’s Son Castello food bank, leading to €300,000 in damages. A homeless man was found responsible and has been arrested. The blaze, which engulfed 11 lorries, raises complex issues regard ing liability and responsibility, given the man’s financial sit uation.

euroweeklynews.com Ellen Greene THE Mallorca Dance Festival concluded its second edition in Calvia, firmly establishing the town as a global dance hub. Over the weekend, more than 1,000 dancers from over 30 countries showcased their tal ents, celebrating the universali ty and diversity of dance. This year’s festival was mo mentous, featuring the World Dance Sport Federation Euro pean Senior 2 Championship and the World Dance Sport Federation World Champi onship Solo Female, both firsts for the event. These prestigious competi tions, along with two national ranking events and choreo graphic dance contests, high lighted the skill and creativity of the participants. Local talent shone, with Vi

16 - 22 November 2023

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Dance Festival Europe’s best Credit: ajuntamentdecalvia/Facebook.com

LOCAL NEWS

SHOWCASING TALENT: Local talent shone brightly.

Nautical extravaganza THE Palma International Boat Show sails into its 40th year, promising a grand display of maritime excellence from April 25 to 28, 2024, at Palma Old Pier. Celebrating four decades, the show intertwines the past and future of nautical innova tion, marked by the revival of the ‘Night of the Sea’. This year’s edition emphasises digitisation in the nautical sector and includes the Palma Superyacht Village, showcas ing boats over 25 metres in length. The event, crucial for the Balearic economy, is organised by the Institute of Business Innovation of the Balearic Islands and the Balearic Yacht Brokers Association. Photographer Nico Martinez’s ‘40 years at full sail’ symbolises the show’s journey, reflecting his renowned nautical expertise. The show has become a gateway for foreign brands and a platform for local companies, enhancing the Balearic Islands’ status as a leading nautical hub. Last year, the fair featured 271 companies and 600 boats across an 81,000 square me tre space, spotlighting the global nautical scene.

Council investments THE Council of Mallorca has announced a substantial invest ment of €71 million for the island’s municipalities in 2024, mark ing a historic commitment to local development. President Llorenc Galmes and Minister Pilar Amate detailed the invest ment plans, which focus on boosting municipalism and enhanc ing local services. Significant increases are planned for the Munic ipal Works and Services Plan (POS), doubling its budget to €19.5 million. The Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (PAESC) maintains its €3 million funding. A major highlight is the €20 mil lion Water Pact, a collaborative effort with the Balearic Govern ment to improve water networks. Galmes emphasised the recordbreaking nature of this invest ment for local councils, addressing longstanding issues like wa ter supply. An additional €5 million has been allocated to re building work following February’s storm Juliette. This funding initiative represents a major stride in enhancing the quality of life and infrastructure across Mallorca’s municipalities.

cente Munar and Rosa Maria Perello dominating the Euro pean Senior 2 Championship, and Irene Costa, Spain’s reign ing champion, delivering a breathtaking performance in the Solo Female category. Held at three venues the Municipal Hall of Galatzo, Sala Palmanova, and the Rever ence Mare Hotel the festival offered over 50 hours of dance, enthralling attendees with a myriad of styles and ex pressions. The event, organ ised by Club de Ball Esportiu Center Ball Mallorca under the guidance of Jordi Fabrega and Maria Pomar, highlighted Mal lorca’s evolving cultural land scape.

Culture cash Credit: noticies.palma.es

AMBITIOUS: Presentation of the cultural budget.

John Ensor PALMA’S deputy mayor, Javier Bonet has unveiled an ambitious 2024 budget for the Culture Department, marking a historic investment of €1.4 million in the city’s cultural landscape. This financial boost aims to rejuvenate Palma’s artistic and cultural venues, particularly highlighting the ex tensive reform of the Casal Sol leric. Bonet emphasised the transformation of this longne glected facility into a vibrant cultural hub, saying, “This situ ation will change radically with these new budgets.” A signifi cant €190,000 is allocated for Solleric’s comprehensive reha bilitation, symbolising a new era for Palma’s cultural offer ings. The budget also includes substantial investments in oth er key cultural projects. These initiatives reflect the council’s commitment to en

hancing cultural programming quality and expanding Palma’s appeal as a destination for sig nificant international projects. With a broader aim of invigo rating the city’s cultural fabric, the budget also focuses on supporting local artists and modernising facilities.

MALLORCA’S Hotel El Vicenc de la Mar has been honoured as Europe’s Best New Hotel by Conde Nast Johansens. Just over two years since its opening, this five star adultsonly hotel has become a stand out in Mallorca, ac claimed for its per fect blend of landscape, serenity, and architecture. Located next to Cala Molins Beach, El Vicenc de la Mar of fers panoramic Mediterranean views. It features luxurious accommo dations including the Penthouse Suite with a private terrace and pool. The rooftop hosts the Restaurant El Vicenc, led by Michelin Star Chef Santi Taura. Amenities include the U MAYOL restau rant, C Wellness Stu dio, a bike centre, and a private cine ma. This latest acco lade follows the ho tel’s recent success at the World Travel Awards, solidifying its status as a pre mier Mallorcan desti nation.

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16 - 22 November 2023

THIS Sunday, November 19, marks a special event in Mallorca’s cultural calendar. The Municipal Band of Calvia will pay homage to Santa Cecilia, the patron saint of music, with a concert at Sa Societat theatre. Directed by Josep Oliver, the evening promises to be a memorable fusion of literary and musical arts. The highlight of the concert is the Ellen Greene ON Sunday, November 12, in an extraordinary rescue operation in Mallorca, emergency teams saved a Yorkshire Terrier who had fallen off the edge of a cliff in Llucmajor. The incident occurred near Calle Cristobal Colon in Bahia Grande, with the dog becoming lodged in a tree some 30 metres be low. Llucmajor Civil Pro tection volunteers, a Guardia Civil member, and Mallorca Firefighters col

Quixotic tribute performance of the Symphonic Fantasy ‘El Quixote’ by renowned Valencian composer Ferrer Ferrn. This piece, one of Ferran’s finest, was composed to celebrate the fourth Centenary of the legendary work. The Calvianera band,

Yorkie rescue laborated in the rescue. A local Civil Protection volunteer was the first on the scene. Alerted by the dog’s barks, she promptly mobilised the rescue op eration. Additionally, an offduty Guardia Civil officer from the drone unit, who hap pens to live in Bahia Grande, helped by using a drone to confirm that the

little dog was still alive. Firefighters then de scended the cliff and safe ly returned the dog to its owner. The dog miracu lously escaped with no broken bones. This is not the first res cue of its kind in the area underscores the dedica tion of Mallorca’s emer gency services and serves as a reminder for respon sible pet ownership, espe cially near cliffs.

joined by clarinettist Costin Anastasescu and narrator Sergio Vazquez, will bring to life the tales of Cervantes’ iconic novel. The Santa Cecilia concert, a staple of Calvia’s cultural offerings, underscores John Ensor THE first of three meetings to discuss ‘Forest Fire Management’ took place in Ibiza, to focus on forest fire prevention across the Balearics. This series of gatherings continued in Mallorca followed by Menorca. The meetings highlighted the collaborative effort needed to mitigate this environmental threat. Anna Torres, the director general of Natural Environment and Forestry Management, highlighted the region’s vulnerability to fires, amplified by rural neglect and climate change. “The rural

IN Mallorca, Laura Moya and Xim Fuster’s campaign, ‘Adolescencia sense Mobil’ (Adolescence without Mobiles), is gathering momentum among families. The parents, concerned by statistics that youths are exposed to high rates of inappropriate material and unwanted attention. They started the movement when their son began his first year of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO, 12 to 16 years), and was the only one in his class who didn’t have a mobile phone. Nearly 2,000 families have joined the group via WhatsApp and Telegram,

LOCAL NEWS

the vital role of music in the local society. This annual event not only celebrates the Day of Music but also highlights the unique way music, as a universal language, bridges cultural and traditional gaps. This year’s concert starts at 6.00pm and, while entry is free, music enthusiasts need to reserve their seats at the School of Music.

Fire prevention Credit: caib.es

The management of forest fires

abandonment suffered by the forest areas of the Islands, together with the serious consequences of climate change,

Mobile-free echoing the campaign’s aim that promotes allowing children to grow up without giving them mobile phones too early. The initiative also highlights the social pressure that parents face in conforming to digital norms. Laura and Xim advocate for school involvement and uniform rules regarding mobile usage, aiming to establish a majority of first-year ESO students without mobile phones through collective action.

PROVERB OF THE WEEK “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This proverb highlights the need for steady persistence in achieving any goal and comes from the 6th century BC Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism.

means that fires can be more intense, more extensive and more dangerous.’ Sebastia Sureda, the general director of Emergencies and Interior, pointed out the complex nature of forest fires, underlining the essential partnership between public bodies and at-risk communities. Mallorca’s local councils are now urged to draft fire prevention plans, with residents encouraged to adopt self-protection measures, backed by a new guide from Xarxa Forestal on living with forest fires.

68 years: the length of the longest bout of hiccups.

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16 - 22 November 2023

R A FA E L NADAL’s Rafa Nadal Academy is set for global expansion, in partnership with GPF in vestment fund. On Monday, November 13, after signing the agree ment with his new part ners, the Mallorcan born tennis legend announced: “I am very excited to start this stage of international expansion and begin to locate the academy in different parts of the world.” According to the Rafa Nadal Academy, the fa cility, “was launched in 2016 in Mallorca and has since experienced exponential growth in both facilities and visi tors, employing over 500 staff and welcoming over 100,000 visitors an nually. The academy’s recent expansion in cludes a student resi dence hosting nearly

Credit: RafaNadalAcademy.com

Tennis academy expansion

Xmas charity market

THE 32nd edition of Es Refugi charity market, the homeless association, is set to open its doors on Thursday, November 16 to 18 at the Misericordia pa tio in Palma. The market will be open from 11am to 8pm with the motto ‘Take Advan tage and Help.’ This Christmasthemed is more than a marketplace; it is a beacon of hope and support for the homeless. Proceeds from the market are vital in funding the work of Es Refugi, which provided shelter and support to 57 individuals in 2022.

Visitors will find a treasure trove of books, vintage furni ture, jewellery, bags, and cloth ing for all ages. There is also a boutique, with designer wear, top Mallorcan brand shoes, gift items, and Christmas decora tions, all at enticing prices. There is also a homemade food restaurant, run by volun teers, and a raffle with over 2,000 prizes. Saturday promis es exciting sales on many items from 3pm. This market is more than a shopping experience, it’s an opportunity to con tribute to a noble cause while enjoying the festive spirit.

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JENGA rally

GET your motors running for the Jenga car rally that kicks off on November 26 at 10am. The rally will begin at 10.30am sharp with cars leav ing at oneminute intervals. From Portals the drivers will head to Montuiri where there will be a mandatory 15minute stop, and then to Bunyola, fin ishing at the El Vasco restau rant next to the Soller Tunnel. The restaurant will provide a three course meal with wine, water and coffee included. The cost of the meal is €40 for members and their copi lots. If you are a nonmember, there is a €15 per car charge.

Rafa Nadal announces academy expansion.

4,000 young people an nually, a 95room resi dence, and 10 apart ments for over 10,000 adults participating in tennis training pro grams. The Rafa Nadal International School within the academy caters to over 450 stu dents of 45 nationali ties, aged three to 18. The academy boasts

45 tennis courts, 16 pad dle tennis courts, a foot ball field, three swim ming pools, a fitness centre, a spa, and a sports clinic. Additional ly, the Rafa Nadal Muse um within the academy showcases an array of trophies and memora bilia from Nadal’s illus trious career and other sports legends.

PALMA’S Son Sant Joan Airport has experi enced a significant rise in traveller traffic, reaching 28.96 million passengers in the first 10 months of 2023. This marks an impres sive 8.6 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, as reported by Aena, Spain’s National company overseeing air ports. The airport witnessed a 3.3 per cent growth in operations, with 209,746 activities recorded from January to October. October alone saw 3.28 million passengers, a 7.3 per cent rise from the previous year. Notably, 77.5 per cent of these travellers, approxi

Airport plus

mately 2.54 million, were on international flights, while the remaining 32.5 per cent (around 738,000) travelled domestically. Germany emerged as the top internation al market, contributing 1,087,956 travellers. It was followed by the United Kingdom and Switzerland, with 614,372 and 152,621 pas sengers, respectively. October also registered 24,222 landings and takeoffs at Son Sant Joan, marking a 2.7 per cent increase from 2022.

Shark tales IN a unique collabora tion to safeguard marine life, the Ministry of Agri culture, Fisheries and the Natural Environ ment has unveiled ‘El gatvaire, a notsothorny story’. This comic book aims to educate Mallorca’s youth about the impor tance of preserving ma rine biodiversity. No tably, it is available in English on the websites of the Ministry of Agri culture, Fisheries and the Natural Environ ment and the Mallorca Preservation Founda tion, making it accessible to the island’s English speaking community. A total of 15,000 copies, detailing the cat shark’s life and chal lenges such as overfish ing, will be distributed during environmental education activities. Partners include the Palma Aquarium Foun dation and the Mallorca Preservation Founda tion.

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16 - 22 November 2023

Golf glory

MALLORCA is set to host a major event in women’s golf, welcoming 72 of Europe’s elite players to the Son Muntaner field from November 16 to 18. This prestigious tournament, the Mallorca Ladies Golf, is the penultimate stop on the Euro pean circuit before the final showdown on Costa del Sol. The tournament features a unique 54hole stroke play for mat without a cut, highlighting the skills of 64 players from the women’s European tour and eight guest competitors. Edwin Weindorfer, the tournament promoter, proudly stated, “Son Muntaner golf course of fers the perfect setting for Eu ropean female golfers to shine and inspire the next genera tion of athletes.” Hosting its

WOMEN’S GOLF: Mallorca Ladies Golf presentation.

first European tour event, Mal lorca is making significant strides in the global sports are na. The island’s commitment to sports and tourism is further emphasised by the presence of local dignitaries and renowned athletes at the

THE Council of Mallorca, in collaboration with the Associacio de Betlemistes de Mallorca, is set to unveil a unique Christmas exhibition at the Misericordia on December 8. This festive showcase includes a 35squaremetre Mallor canstyle nativity scene featuring 250 clay fig

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Nuisance control Credit: MallorcaGOpen/X

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event’s official presentation. With a prize fund of €400,000, the Mallorca Ladies Golf not only celebrates wom en’s achievements in sports but positions Mallorca as a key destination for toptier sport ing events.

Xmas prep ures, each meticulously handcrafted and paint ed. The exhibition will be open from December 8, 10.30am to 1.30pm and 5.00pm to 8.00pm.

THE Council of Mallorca, led by Minister Fernando Rubio, is introducing a hightech solu tion to combat illegal motor cycle racing, which have plagued residents for months, by installing 70 cameras equipped with licence plate readers and sound level me ters. Specifically targeting the Serra highway, these cameras are part of a coordinated ef fort to improve road safety and address local nuisance concerns. The proposed cameras will be equipped with technology that can view and record im ages, count vehicles and mea sure their speed. In addition, they will be able to differenti ate between heavy and light

vehicles, bicycles and motor cycles.The data collected will be shared with the Spanish traffic authority (DGT) and po tentially other emergency ser vices, while adhering to data protection regulations. This initiative is a response to longstanding issues in the Tramuntana mountains, em phasising the need for collab orative action among admin istrative bodies. “We have chosen the resi dents and their problems to meet with those affected by the MA10 in the Tramuntana mountains,” Rubio explained, highlighting the Council’s commitment to finding practi cal solutions to this persistent problem.

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16 - 22 November 2023

Nail in coffin? THE European Central Bank has confirmed that it plans to push ahead with the digi tal euro and the Bank of Spain is not only supportive, but six months ahead of other banks. It is difficult to trace the movement of cash and many banks like the con cept of a cashless society as they can benefit by charging merchants for every trans action made by card or transfer. It is interesting that the Bank of Spain, whilst still in favour of the digital euro, has been sounding out public opinion and had

market research company IPSOS undertake two tiny surveys of just 1,600 mem bers of the public and small businesses about their atti tude to digital payment. Whilst the powers that be may have been surprised by the answers they re ceived; it seems unlikely that they will be swayed from the path of digitalisa

50 the times the average person smiles in a day.

tion. Just 20 per cent of the public admitted to knowing anything about the digital euro and a similar number of businesses indicated that they would be likely to ac cept payment by this method whilst 65 per cent (7 per cent more than those responded to a similar sur vey in 2022) said they posi tively didn’t intend to ac cept the digital euro. Even in the most pro digi tal age group (18 to 24) only 36 per cent said they were likely to use the currency and this percentage de clined as the ages rose with a nominal 7 per cent of those older than 65 be ing in favour. Whilst the digital eu ro may be useful for use in major transac tions between large or ganisations, it seems unlikely that you will be invited to pay for your beer and tapas with digital euros in the fore seeable future.

Painting the town red

Credit: @protestinbeeld X

THE CRIME: Several musuems were defaced with paint.

FAMOUS museums, Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum were among venues that were heavily defaced with paint during Ams terdam’s Museum Night, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘paint the town red’. Two arrests have been made in Amsterdam, after the annual Museum Night ended in disaster and destruction of public proper ty. Several museums, including the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Stedelijk Museum, were defaced with paint on Saturday November 11. Two suspects have been detained. The defacing included the underpass at the Rijksmuseum, which was splattered with bright red paint in various areas at around 9.45pm. Some of the windows of the Van Gogh Museum were also targeted with the same paint. A spokesperson for the police told a local TV station that “a few bystanders were also covered in paint.” The motive behind these crimes against the buildings is still unclear but many thought it to be some kind of protest. The police have stated that they “hope to get more clarity on this after questioning the suspects.” For now the graffiti still stands, and no notice has been given as to when it will be removed.

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Fine whine THE world of wine of ten grapples with the unpredictable quirks of Mother Nature. This year, it faced a series of challenges, in cluding early frosts, heavy rains, mildew, and droughts. Global wine produc tion took a hit, declining by a substantial 7 per cent, marking its lowest point since 1961, ac cording to estimates from the International Vine and Wine Organi sation (OIV). Amidst this turbulent year, France has once again claimed its title as the world’s leading wine supplier, surpass ing Italy whose produc tion fell by a discourag ing 12 per cent. However, there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The OIV high lights the potential for ‘particularly large’ vol umes in renowned wine regions such as Cognac, Corsica, and the lively hills of Cham pagne. This is a silver lining that reminds us even in the face of adversity, the world of wine re tains its capacity to sur prise and delight.

10 EWN 16 - 22 November 2023

DENMARK 3D flats DANISH design company SAGA Space Architects working with 3DCP Group have announced that they will build the largest ever 3D produced building in 2024 which will consist of 36 student homes, situated near to VIA University College’s Holstebro campus. The apartments will include wood floors, a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room.

Green fuel LIKE some other countries, the Danish government has announced that it is considering imposing a tax of around Kr100 (€13.4) on all domestic air travel in order to help finance the transition to 100 per cent sustainable fuel by 2030 with the cash collected being used to reduce the cost of fuel to the airlines operators.

NORWAY

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EURO PRESS BELGIUM

Credit: volleyballworld.com

Got the gold BELGIUM had never won a medal at the FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships before setting foot in RoiEt, Thailand. The pressure was on for young Belgians, Van Langendonck and Vercauteren, as they faced a wellexperienced and confident Austrian pair. However, they emerged from the ashes to clinch the gold medal, following their down-to-the-wire win. “We are world champions,” Van Langendonck exclaimed.

GERMANY

EUROPEAN PRESS

IRELAND Health Fest THE 'Keep Well, Keep Movin' Older Persons Community Health Festival will be held at Mallow GAA and Sports Complex on November 15. Organised by Cork Kerry Community Health Care, it offers older adults a chance to connect with health services, featuring activities like drum fit, relaxation exercises, and talks on nutrition and brain health.

THE WINNERS!

Dire display A SCOOTER rider, aged 20 was arrested in Linkeroever, Antwerp last week. He was found to be carrying over 13 kilograms of fireworks and was detected by Local Police due to his erratic behaviour whilst riding his electric scooter against traffic on the Beatrijslaan cycle track. The confiscated fireworks are set to be destroyed in the near future.

FRANCE

Dubliner honoured DUBLIN-born Richie Baneham, a two-time Oscar winner for visual effects, will be honoured at the 18th Oscar Wilde Awards. A Ballyfermot College of Art & Design alumnus, Baneham's notable works include 'Avatar' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. The US-Ireland Alliance event celebrates the contributions of Irish Americans to cinema.

PORTUGAL

National Park

Cyber winners

Country of origin

Minimum wage

AFTER 11 years of argument, it has been confirmed that a new National Park will be declared in Østmarka a popular recreational area to the east of Oslo. Apart from having to gain agreement from five different local governments bordering the area, those behind the scheme also had to combat farmers frightened by the protection given to predators such as wolves.

GERMANY is the winner of the 2023 European Cybersecurity Challenge (ECSC) followed by Switzerland in second place and Denmark in third place. The ECSE held in Hamar, Norway had a total of 34 teams representing EU Member States as well as five guest teams: Canada, Georgia, Serbia, Costa Rica, Singapore and the USA, took part in this year’s challenge

ON supermarket shelves around France, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned. For several days now, a number of Internet users on TikTok have been reporting the presence of avocados from Peru or Mexico that actually come from Israel. While the display shows a different producer country, the boxes where the avocados are stored indicate the opposite: ‘Country of origin Israel’.

'THE Council of Ministers has now approved the decree-law that determines the increase in the national minimum wage to €820 from January 1, 2024, in compliance with the commitments assumed within the scope of the Reinforcement of the MediumTerm Agreement on Improving Income, Wages and Competitiveness', indicated a government statement.

Housing crisis

Last journey

90th Anniversary

THERE is a bit of a housing crisis in Norway, not as is sometimes the case, a shortage of property but a glut with almost 20,000 properties currently unsold and with that number due to increase as new builds are completed according to Estate Agents Association Eiendom Norge and this is the highest figure since 2009.

BERLINERS affectionately dubbed them ‘Coke Cans’. For decades, the Model Series 485 trains dutifully traversed Berlin's S-Bahn tracks. These stalwart vehicles, initially commissioned and constructed in the German Democratic Republic during the era of the Berlin Wall, are bidding farewell. On November 12, the final 22 of these iconic trains will make their last journeys through the city, marking the end of an era.

MARKING 90 years of elegance in Paris, Air France extends its jubilation globally. Commemorating this milestone the airline highlights a legacy of technology, innovation, and comfort. Exhibitions featuring vintage memorabilia and fashion shows spotlighting uniforms, past and present, adorn iconic locations in Rome, Delhi, Accra, Washington, Shanghai, and Buenos Aires.

THE death of a Groundforce/TAP worker at Porto Airport has been blamed on the facility's emergency policies. After being taken ill while taking a shower at the end of his shift, the Transport Workers Union of Portugal claimed that protocols prevented him from receiving immediate medical assistance. Airport rules state that an internal nurse must first be called and only then can the INEM medical emergency service be alerted. They arrived 40 minutes after he was taken ill.

FINLAND

SWEDEN

ITALY Italian refugees PRIME MINISTER Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama have reached an agreement on building centres for refugees and asylum seekers in Albania. Once rescued in the Mediterranean by Italian ships, these people will be sent to the other side of the Adriatic Sea, where procedures will be started to verify whether or not they are entitled to international protection.

Unpaid taxes AIRBNB is alleged to have evaded taxes in Italy on more than €3.7 billion. The accusation comes from the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating for tax fraud the short rental giant and three top managers of the company. According to investigators, Airbnb did not pay 21 per cent withholding tax between 2017 and 2021. Guardia di Finanza has seized over €778 million in assets.

THE NETHERLANDS

Unusual location AFTER the collapse of the Dutch coalition government earlier this year, the Netherlands are hosting elections on November 22, with an unexpected twist. One of the poll stations available will be none other than the iconic Anne Frank House! It will be closed to the public on that day and open to voters from 9am to 7pm.

Better beds THE Dutch Cabinet plans to improve the status of sex workers with a new proposed plan. This is necessary as these workers often face unequal treatment due to prejudices about their profession, stated State Secretary for Justice and Security Christophe van der Maat. A plan of action has been sent to the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

Airport death

Game Oscars

Going strong

THE highly acclaimed video game 'Alan Wake 2' by Finnish company Remedy leads The Game Awards nominations and is aiming to be crowned Game of the Year. This horror adventure, blending Finnish culture, got rave reviews, scoring 87-94 on Metacritic. Released for PS5, PC, and Xbox, the game is reportedly, ‘Finland's most expensive cultural product of all time.’

IT has been reported by Sweden's national export credit agency that North Korea owes Sweden $267 million (€249) for 1,000 Volvo cars that were sold to North Korea in 1974 but although they have never been paid for, it appears that several are still in service as taxis in the capital Pyongyang.

Ex-PM’s book FORMER Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who at 34 became Finland’s youngest prime minister has now made the transition to author with her book: ‘Our Turn: Fearless Leadership for a New Generation’. Marin continues to maintain a strong media presence and recently signed with Range Media Partners. As yet no release date for her book has been confirmed.

Exotic taste THE Swedes are well-known for their love of food and those living in Gothenburg now have the option to enjoy a different culinary experience at Restaurant Saga which is run by a young chef from Singapore Pearly Teo. Her tasting menu features special dishes based on the taste of her grandmother’s cooking.

FINANCE Cleaned out BRITISH STEEL, owned by China’s Jingye Group, plans to close its Scunthorpe blast furnaces, putting up to 2,000 jobs at risk. They will be replaced by an elec tric arc furnace in Scunthorpe and another in Teesside in a £1.25 billion (€1.43 billion) pro ject to turn British Steel into “a clean, green and sustainable business.”

Ill wind SPAIN’S Association of Petroleum Product Operators (AOP) warned that extending Spain’s windfall tax on large en ergy companies endangered €16.5 billion in investments. Rep sol has already delayed plans for a hydrogen plant in Bilbao, while Endesa’s chief executive con demned the tax as “discriminato ry and unjustified.”

Naked truth NAKED WINES shares plummet ed more than 30 per cent after the group cut its annual fore casts, with adjusted pretax earn ings cut to between £2 and £6 million (€2.3 and €6.9 million). The company’s chief executive Nick Devlin announced he was stepping down from the busi ness “with immediate effect.”

Settle up MADRID’S Provincial High Court handed Carlos Iglesias, brother of singer Julio Iglesias and his former manager, a sixmonth prison term and a €30 million fine for failing to pay corpora tion tax on land he sold in Madrid. The transaction was carried out by a Panamaregis tered company where Carlos Iglesias was also the manager.

Prime time ASSOCIATED BRITISH FOODS, which owns Primark, attributed rising profits and sales to al liances with celebrities who have included Rita Ora. The group’s total revenue grew by 16 per cent to £19.7 billion (€22.6 billion) in the first three quarters of 2023 with Primark sales rising 15 per cent to £9 bil lion (€10.3 billion).

euroweeklynews.com • 16 - 22 November 2023

STAT OF WEEK

paid by Inditex founder Amancio Ortega’s investment company Pontegadea for the purchase of a 49 per cent stake in Repsol’s Spanish windfarms and solar power plants.

€490 million

M&S recovers its spark Linda Hall MARKS & SPENCER share holders will receive £20 mil lion (€23 million) in dividends next January for the first time since 2019. Pretax profits climbed by an unexpected 56 per cent to £326 million (€374.5 mil lion) in the six months end ing on September 30 as the company focused on re vamping stores, clothing lines and its digital offer. Clothes sales rose 5.5 cent while profit margins in creased to more than 12 per cent compared with 9.8 per cent during the same period in 2022, with fewer items sold at reduced prices. Food sales have increased

Photo credit: marksandspencer.com

BUSINESS EXTRA

TURNAROUND: Marks & Spencer’s pre-tax profits rose 56 per cent.

by almost 12 per cent while the Remarksable budget range rocketed by 45 per cent. Despite the buoyant half year results, chief executive Stuart Machin viewed the remainder of 2023 and the coming year with caution,

TELEFONICA will spend approximately €1.97 billion on buying up the 28.19 per cent of its German subsidiary Telefonica Deutschland it does not already own. The Spanish multinational has con firmed an offer of €2.35 per share, a 37.6 per cent premium on the closing price of November 6. Telefonica said the takeover bid, which involves 838, 452,647 shares, would reinforce its position in its four strategic markets together with Spain, Brazil and the UK. This would also sim plify the structure of the group while im proving its cash flow in euros. Responding to the offer, Telefonica Deutschland, listed on the Frankfurt

warning on November 8 that the recent and favourable market condi tions might not persist. High interest rates, slower price rises, global conflict and erratic weather could hit trading, he said, although he was “hopeful” that the com

pany’s growth would contin ue. “Against more challenging comparatives, we expect profit before tax and adjust ing items to be weighted to wards the first half,” the chief executive added. One drawback for Marks & Spencer has been the company’s association with online grocer which regis tered a £23.4 million (€26.9 million) operating loss in the first six months of the year. Although the company admitted earlier that it “was not happy” with the online grocery retailer’s perfor mance, Machin said he re mained positive about its po tential.

Plans to fully control Deutschland Telefonica fol low on from the loss of a major roaming contract last August when the 1&1 mo bile operator announced stock market since 2021, an that it would be nounced that its “management switching to the and supervisory boards” Vodafone Ger would consider the bid. many network in It would comment after June 2024. Photo credit: telefonica.com the fulloffer document The company’s TELEFONICA: had been approved by share price fell by Multinational’s the financial services 18 per cent, which chairman Jose Maria regulator and pub resulted in a 7 per Alvarez wants lished, the company cent drop in the par Telefonica added. ent company’s shares. Deutschland takeover.

Telefonica takes over

Mapfe in Turkey

Christmas cheer

Debanking rise

SPANISH company Mapfre is selling its Turkish life insurance division to Swiss group Zurich. The Madridbased firm headed by Antonio Huerts will now cen tre its Turkish operation on the nonlife segment, company sources told the financial daily, El Economista. “We aim to guar antee stable growth and main tain financial sustainability by concentrating on the longterm strategic areas where we will develop our activities,” said Ed inc Yurtseven, director general of Mapfre’s Turkish subsidiary, Mapfre Sigorta. The amount in volved in the Zurich sale has not been revealed and awaits ap proval from Turkey’s Regulatory and Supervisory Authority for Insurance and Private Pensions.

A SCIENCEDIRECT study used Spain’s Gor do de Navidad to gauge the impact of lot tery winnings on consumer sentiment and consumption. Researchers found that residents in win ning towns or cities even those who won nothing were “significantly” more opti mistic about the Spanish economy than people elsewhere. There are now 180 series of each num ber sold in the Christmas lottery and as the participants usually buy at least one Deci mo (10th), the distribution of the biggest prizes influences local spending. The Sci enceDirect article noted a 10percentage point rise in the number of cars sold in mu nicipalities where a big prize had been sold, while unemployment dropped 0.3 of a percentage point. Both were linked less to an improvement in the region’s overall wealth than to increased optimism, the study’s authors concluded.

THE Nigel Farage debanking scandal has opened the door to a spate of complaints regarding unilateral ac count closures. The GB news presenter and the Brexit party’s former president changed to Lloyds after Coutts, now owned by NatWest, closed his account for motives that ranged from his financial position to his po litical views. Figures quoted in the UK media show that the Financial Ombuds man opened 1,613 cases linked to bank account closures between March and September alone. With 2,708 debanking cases re ported throughout 2022, com plaints are likely to have risen by 20 per cent to approximately 3,200 by the end of 2023, Financial Ombuds man sources said.

Call for openness BANK OF ENGLAND governor An drew Bailey said on November 8 that Brexit had modified the UK economy’s “openness.” Speaking at the Financial Sys tem Conference in Dublin, Bailey said that as a public official he took no position on Brexit, which had been the British population’s decision. But he stressed that free trade required “strong regulation” based on agreements with for eign supervisory bodies. He hoped to see further close regulatory cooperation with his counterparts in Ireland, Bailey said, to “minimise fragmentation of financial markets after Brexit.”

Bad loser AIRPORTS operator Aena said on November 8 that it hoped Iberia would not hinder the imminent changeover to new handling com panies. Although it retains Madrid Barajas, Iberia Airport Services lost its licences for eight airports after the contracts were put out to tender. These have gone to Menzies, Aviapartner and Groundforce, a decision which Iberia has now appealed against to the Central Appeals Tribunal, (TACRC), attached to the Finance Ministry (Hacienda). The TACRC has now suspended the alloca tions while it investigates Iberia’s objections, a process which could take weeks to complete.

Chipping in PENNSYLVANIABASED Vishay Intertechnology paid $177 mil lion (€168.5 million) for the UK’s largest microchip factory in Newport (Wales). The sale ar rived after the UK government blocked a Chinesebacked takeover on national security grounds and ordered Dutch company Nexperia to sell New port Wafer Fab in November 2022. Nexperia, which is owned by Chinese giant Wingtech, ap pealed against the order, but put the plant up for sale. The compa ny has done well out of the deal which doubled the worth of Newport Wafer Fab when Nex peria bought the 86p per cent that it did not own for £63 mil lion (€72.3 million) in 2021.

FINANCE

14 EWN 16 - 22 November 2023

euroweeklynews.com

LONDON - FTSE 100

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US See our advert on previous page

CLOSING PRICES 13 NOVEMBER

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

47,79K

InterContinental

288,85K

Intermediate Capital

5.944,40

1,43%

19,97K

1.390,50

3,5

0,25%

16,73K

Intertek

16,20K

3.822,00

0,39%

1,29%

293,00K

3,41K

ITV

59,82

0,08

0,13%

517,58K

0,62%

46,58K

J Sainsbury

268,1

1,1

0,41%

61,05K

4.979,00

1,08%

203,95K

Johnson Matthey

1.513,90

-26

-1,69%

53,18K

Associated Brit Foods

2.334,00

0,13%

75,26K

Land Securities

614,4

14,6

2,43%

222,80K

AstraZeneca

884,47K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

3I Group

2.038,50

0,59%

Abrdn

165,6

-0,15

-0,09%

Admiral Group

2.559,30

0,35%

Anglo American

2.044,50

Antofagasta

1.307,00

Ashtead Group

NET VOL

1.1454

0.8729

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ........................................1.0690 Japan yen (JPY)........................................162.21 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................0.9642 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4587 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................11.892

10.286,00

196

1,94%

244,65K

Legal & General

224,17

3,6

1,63%

Auto Trader Group Plc

690,2

8,2

1,20%

282,45K

Lloyds Banking

42,03

0,28

0,67%

7,12M

Aviva

409,5

5,2

1,29%

339,51K

London Stock Exchange 8.512,00

-42

-0,49%

55,84K

B&M European Value Ret SA 525,8

0,38%

197,67K

Melrose Industries

528,4

13,4

2,60%

186,60K

currenciesdirect.com/mallorca • Tel: +34 687 906 226

BAE Systems

1.109,59

0,54%

515,94K

Mondi

1.387,25

0,36%

47,65K

THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

Barclays

136,6

1,02

0,75%

3,02M

National Grid

990,3

0,61%

341,71K

Barratt Developments

446,5

2,3

0,52%

102,05K

NatWest Group

196,3

-0,65

-0,33%

1,27M

Berkeley

4.273,00

0,73%

5,51K

7.434,00

0,70%

13,14K

BHP Group Ltd

2.395,50

34,5

1,46%

114,90K

Ocado

512,4

-2,2

-0,43%

118,45K

478,9

0,95

0,20%

2,04M

1.158,10

7,5

0,65%

61,15K

Persimmon

British American Tobacco 2.519,50

1,70%

209,77K

Phoenix

497,6

33,1

7,13%

896,78K

British Land Company

331,1

17,4

5,55%

593,38K

Prudential

BT Group

122,95

1,45

1,19%

493,67K

Reckitt Benckiser

893,6

11,2

1,27%

151,50K

5.564,00

1,31%

Bunzl

2.936,00

0,51%

11,68K

Relx

66,77K

2.968,00

0,44%

192,27K

Burberry Group

1.678,30

-0,5

-0,03%

28,83K

Rentokil

452,4

5,9

1,32%

313,13K

Carnival

921,2

17,8

1,97%

31,61K

Centrica

152,2

0,05

0,03%

659,53K

Rightmove

485,12

3,7

0,77%

201,84K

Rio Tinto PLC

5.323,00

1,22%

Coca Cola HBC AG

2.096,00

0,53%

24,33K

155,55K

Rolls-Royce Holdings

237,6

5,6

2,41%

Compass

2.100,00

0,86%

2,09M

129,42K

Sage

993,2

-1

-0,10%

46,69K

CRH

4.841,00

Croda Intl

4.513,00

0,56%

50,03K

Samsung Electr DRC

1.338,00

0,00%

1,62K

0,04%

7,24K

Schroders

388,3

0,3

0,08%

32,68K

DCC

4.624,30

Diageo

2.852,00

0,50%

4,11K

Scottish Mortgage

691,71

0,88%

225,03K

0,07%

655,16K

Segro

774,8

0,8

0,10%

92,88K

DS Smith

297,6

EasyJet

400,5

3,3

1,12%

135,68K

Severn Trent

2.647,00

0,46%

23,13K

6,4

1,62%

134,33K 30,27K

Shell Smith & Nephew Smiths Group

2.632,50 1.010,00 1.638,50

3 21 5,5

0,11% 2,12% 0,34%

393,11K 222,54K 23,80K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 8.522,00 SSE 1.685,50 St. James’s Place 649,2 Standard Chartered 625,4 Taylor Wimpey 118,1 Tesco 279,5 Tui 449,93 Unilever 3.961,50 United Utilities 1.076,00 Vodafone Group PLC 77,18 Whitbread 3.278,00 WPP 702,6

-14 5,5 -1,6 3,6 1 1,7 5,6 12,5 7,5 0,77 14 1,8

-0,16% 0,33% -0,25% 0,58% 0,85% 0,61% 1,26% 0,32% 0,70% 1,01% 0,43% 0,26%

6,77K 162,23K 172,84K 212,86K 1,05M 531,88K 40,11K 207,55K 91,65K 3,98M 53,65K 71,56K

Experian

2.680,00

-3

-0,11%

Ferguson

13.030,00

0,46%

1,91K

Flutter Entertainment

12.415,00

260

2,14%

24,18K

518,4

1,8

0,35%

77,23K

Glencore

432,05

4,95

1,16%

1,48M

GSK plc

1.413,60

15,2

1,09%

262,76K

Halma

1.932,00

0,5

0,03%

64,86K

Hargreaves Lansdown

711,33

-1,8

-0,25%

82,78K

Hikma Pharma

1.758,50

0,28%

12,11K

HSBC

607,2

8,1

1,35%

1,84M

IAG

151,75

0,25

0,17%

1,94M

Imperial Brands

1.788,50

1,94%

390,64K

711

-0,8

-0,11%

159,39K

Fresnillo

Informa

DOW JONES CLOSING PRICES 13 NOVEMBER

COMPANY

PRICE

CHANGE

CHANGE% VOLUME(M)

3M American Express Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Dow Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce Inc The Travelers UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walgreens Boots Walmart Walt Disney

92,81 154,38 267,31 186,4 196,65 239,68 142,95 52,59 56,72 49,48 325,51 291,59 186,71 149,02 38,86 147,25 146,43 267,79 101,39 369,67 106,11 151,41 213,63 169,96 541,21 35,71 245,25 20,76 166,19 88,27

+1,11 +2,01 +3,25 +4,23 +3,32 +5,53 +1,01 +0,59 +0,06 +1,12 +4,73 +3,72 +3,03 +2,4 +1,06 -0,17 +2,14 +0,88 -0,99 +8,98 -0,89 +1,06 +3,62 +1,37 +2,21 +0,09 +3,61 +0,31 +2,27 -2,07

+1,21% 2,39M +1,32% 2,02M +1,23% 2,02M +2,32% 64,87M +1,72% 4,76M +2,36% 2,51M +0,71% 11,36M +1,13% 17,00M +0,11% 11,66M +2,32% 3,80M +1,47% 1,56M +1,29% 3,55M +1,65% 2,13M +1,64% 3,17M +2,80% 37,58M -0,12% 6,92M +1,48% 7,38M +0,33% 2,60M -0,97% 7,19M +2,49% 26,85M -0,83% 8,89M +0,71% 5,23M +1,72% 3,90M +0,81% 880,68K +0,41% 2,46M +0,25% 12,78M +1,49% 4,04M +1,52% 8,55M +1,38% 4,75M -2,29% 25,04M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ CLOSING PRICES 13 NOVEMBER

COMPANY Most Advanced Doximity, Inc. James Hardie Industries plc Light & Wonder, Inc. Synaptics Incorporated AppLovin Corporation Onto Innovation Inc. Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. FormFactor, Inc. Stantec Inc. Palantir Technologies Inc. Isuzu Motors Limited

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+16.24% +15.77% +11.21% +10.75% +10.36% +10.14% +9.95% +9.91% +8.98% +7.66% +7.65%

8.462M 20,701 1.789M 944,585 5.643M 1.026M 545,569 776,132 304,294 92.956M 49,911

-19.79% -16.66% -11.72% -10.33% -9.77% -8.05% -7.95% -7.45% -6.90% -6.85% -6.64%

1.893M 42.502M 3.155M 5.549M 27.811M 9.077M 173,632 130,867 4.698M 36,27 7.239M

Most Declined MSP Recovery, Inc. The Trade Desk, Inc. Diageo plc RB Global, Inc. Affirm Holdings, Inc. Illumina, Inc. Shiseido Company, Limited Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. Flowers Foods, Inc. Worldline SA TKO Group Holdings, Inc.

‘

FINANCE

euroweeklynews.com

BUSINESS EXTRA High rise Levi’s LEVI STRAUSS’S Spanish subsidiary reported sales of €45.5 million last year, 12 per cent more than in 2021 but still 9 per cent below the €49.9 million registered in 2019 before the pandemic hit. Spain accounted for 96 per cent of the company’s 2022 turnover, while Portugal’s 4 per cent was one per centage point more than in 2021.

PwC cuts ACCOUNTANCY firm PwC announced that it is prepar ing to lay off between 500 and 600 employees, explain ing that it finds itself over staffed owing to a reduced call on its services. The group will cut between 500 and 600 jobs via a voluntary re dundancy scheme, in a move affecting 2.4 per cent of its 25,000 employees in the UK..

16 - 22 November 2023

Food inflation slims down FOOD price inflation in the UK fell to single digits for the first time since July 2022. According to data compa ny Kantar, inflation on gro ceries dipped to 9.7 per cent between October 1 and 29. Describing the reduction as a “big milestone” for shoppers and retailers, Fras er McKevitt, who heads Kantar’s Retail and Con sumer Insight department, said people were still “feel ing the pinch.” He also pointed out that

FOOD INFLATION: Supermarkets have cut some prices.

Madrid hotel venture BRITISH private equity investment firm Maya Capital is finalising the purchase of Hotel Mayorazgo in Madrid’s exclu sive Gran Via. According to sources quoted in the fi nancial daily Cinco Dia, Maya Capital made a formal offer of €60 million last August for the 200room hotel, and at the same time requested a comprehen sive “due diligence” audit.

Normally completed with one or two months, this is taking longer than ex pected, the same sources said. According to the latest accounts pre sented by the hotel’s owners, Salazar Hermanos, the hotel was back in the black last year, with a turnover of €8.62 million and a profit of €1.7 million, com pared with 2019’s record €8.01 million and €1.45 million.

yearonyear price reduc tions were limited to major staples like milk, butter and dried pasta. Kantar found that Lidl was again the fastestgrow ing retailer, with sales over the quarter ending on Octo ber 29 up 14.7 per cent. Aldi, where sales in creased by 13.2 per cent, at tracted 207,000 more cus tomers than during the same period in 2022. To gether with Waitrose, where sales rose by 5.4 per cent, it was the only super market which increased its number of shoppers year onyear. Aldi and Waitrose took 9.7 per cent and 4.6 per cent of the market. Sainsbury’s was the fastestgrowing traditional supermarket in October, and sales increased by 10.1 per cent over the previous quarter. Sainsbury’s also an nounced recently said that it had spent £118 million (€135.5 million) since March on trying to keep prices down.

EWN 15

Record results CAR component manufactur er Gestamp’s turnover grew by 17.9 per cent to €9 billion by the end of 2023’s third quarter with net profits of €225.3 million, up 23 per cent on the same period last year. These were the best results since the Spanish multination al was floated on Madrid’s stock exchange six years ago.

Normalised METRO BANK deposits fell by 5 per cent from £16.4 billion to £15.6 bil lion (€18.8 billion to €17.9 billion) during the third quarter of this year. Cus tomer withdrawals have normalised after Octo ber’s emergency £325 million (€379.2 million) rescue deal from in vestors and bondholders plus £600 million (€688.4 million) in debt refinanc ing, the bank said.

16 EWN 16 - 22 November 2023

euroweeklynews.com

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT AND so this is Christmas. Well perhaps not quite, but if you’re reading this on the day of publication you have just 39 days to gear yourself up for yet another precious celebration of the Christian majority. Surrounded by family and friends, hopefully many of you will, once again enjoy this time honoured and much loved occasion. I’m pretty sure most of you will also observe the ritual Christmas day tradi tions that we have become familiarised with over the generations. In the begin ning we are the babies, crawling around the base of the tree with the young mums of the family lightly ad monishing us as we endeavour to pull baubles and shiny bits of tinsel from the lower branches. Over the next few years we morph into the youngsters, excitedly tearing off the paper from presents, brought by a Santa we are becoming slightly

more sceptical about but still prepared to give the benefit of the doubt just as long as we receive at least a proportion of the presents we asked him for! The next stage in our Christmas gen eration game sees us become one of the young and mid aged adults who, having finally got the youngsters off to bed, are pouring copious measures of alcohol and consuming about a million calories in Quality Street and mince pies, while relating what we consider hilarious tales of past Christmas turkey disasters. All being played out against a back drop of East Enders, Coronation Street, the Monarch’s message and yet another rerun of Dr Zhivago on the box. Generations later, if we last long enough, we find ourselves in the twi light of our years, quietly enjoying the utterly spoiled and most loved exulted position you can attain. You become Grandpa/Grandma. And that’s actually just where this ol’ boy has finally found himself. Grandpa (or in my situation Great Grandpa) is expected to do just about nothing. He is not required to wash up, clear up, lift up furniture or

top up the drinks. He occupies the most comfortable chair in the room (general ly in the corner). Periodically, he is asked by various family members if he ‘wants anything’. He is then allowed to doze off, without being labelled a party pooper and is subsequently not particularly worried that his chair is a little out of the way just as long as he is close enough to oc casionally interject the conversation with an ‘I remember when’ recollection of his own. These narratives are usually deliv ered to reassure the room (and him self) that he hasn’t actually ruined the whole Christmas celebrations by self ishly deciding to slip away and meet his maker; thereby decidedly becoming an ‘I remember when’ subject for a whole host of future family Christmas gather ings. Let’s also hope our religious and peaceful beliefs have not by this com ing yuletide, been ripped asunder by those who consider violence and may hem the true answer to any future exis tence on our precious planet. Keep the Faith Love Leapy, leapylee2002@gmail.com

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

No kids allowed

THE owner of a restaurant in Italy has banned un der14s from his establishment saying: “They break everything” The restaurateur went to say, “I am exas perated. When I tried to report it to the parents, they just defended the out of control children.” A notice on the premis es of the ‘Hostaria Oasi Marina’ in Bacoli near Naples reads: “For reasons out of our control, we are forced to not accept bookings with children or young people under the age of 14. Don’t hold it against us, but it is the fault of many parents who are irre sponsible.” The restaurateur de fended his choice and, speaking on ‘Uno Matti na in famiglia’ broadcast on Raiuno, said: “I am ex asperated by various

Photo: Shutterstock

Christmas Day ritual

FEATURE

Children banned.

events. To name a few, I had to remove all the wine glasses on the ta bles, because they were breaking everything. They were chasing each other between tables and it’s dangerous. With the parents undaunted, unmoved. In fact, when I tried to point it out, they defended their children. “I want to add that I am also a teacher and encounter the same diffi culties at school. There are children who are an gels. I am also a father. But with certain parents, it is difficult to inter vene,” the restaurateur concluded.

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INTERVIEW

Speaking European - Claudio Casal This week Euro Weekly News caught up with Claudio Casal from Switzerland. CLAUDIO, aged 49, has been living in Estepona for the past year, after buying a property here in January 2022. This smooth Swiss arrived to meet EWN on his limited-edition Harley Davidson, which he tells that he has embarked on many an Andalucian adventure with. Claudio explained that “I was at a point in my life where I wanted to make a change, then I found the Costa del Sol and I thought, yes, this is it”. When asked what his favourite thing about the coast was, he replied “well, apart from the fact that it changed my whole life, I would have to say the food, all the fresh produce. The culture of tapas too, to share, to talk, it’s like a mentality, like the coffee culture in Italy.” He did however note that food tends to take a while to actually arrive at the table, which is something he was not used to in Switzerland. Claudio smiled as he recounted this difference, then added “but the beauty

CLAUDIO CASAL: What a life!

of living somewhere new is acceptance. To understand there will be differences but to accept this new way of life.” As EWN said ciao for now to Claudio Casal, he swiftly mounted his motorbike and said he was off to the mountains. “I ride often, the landscape here is beautiful and the salty sea air, it’s just… wow.” What a life!

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COMMENTS

WHILST music is a force that often unites people who love a particular band or individual, it can also cause friction between those who love a type of music and those who don’t. The Beatles are generally accepted as being one of the great musical forces of the 20th century but in a recent article entitled ‘Beatles Final Song Released: Now Can We Let It Be?’ our writer expressed her own personal opinion calling them ‘the drab four’. She suggested that the releases of an until now overlooked last number Now and Then was really the thin end of the wedge and that contemporaries, the Rolling Stones were much more exciting and entertaining. This certainly encouraged a number of responses from readers which you can read below and go to the Euro Weekly News website to read the original story and let us know if you agree or disagree.

“

Instant Karma’s gonna get you Gonna look you right in the face Better get yourself together darlin’ Join the human race Lyrics by John Lennon from the song ‘Instant Karma’! John Zennon

‘… the Drab Four are possibly one of the most overrated bands in music history’. What an absurd piece of rubbish is this article - written by some nobody. D Bath

I’m adding to this because the latest song, not album, in fact the last song is very poor. Like much of some of the other musicians mentioned here. It is sad because it gives the Beatle bashers leverage. All bands and musicians have bad songs. I’m not going into details but believe I could. My take is that the Beatles that are left did this as a kind of eulogy. Just leave it be. And please don’t pretend to be a music expert critic. I am very sad that so much nastiness comes out so easily. Don’t we have enough problems? I think this vitriol is out of order. A totally one-sided out pouring of negativity. And I guess you are going to praise the latest Rolling Stones album. A bit of balance please.

all over the world. It is still better for me to know that before girls were screaming for them and not taking drugs to go and see their preferred group of musicians. And as the song ends you can hear these words ‘you’re welcome’. All the songs from The Beatles reflected positivity. Ericoo

No, no and thrice no. If you want to hear regurgitation of Beatle-esque songs just go out and buy a couple of Liam Gallagher albums. Sorted. To coin a wellknown phrase, ‘Let it Be’. Geoff Atkins

It certainly sounds like a Beatles song but is nothing special, just another pop song. I don't know why they did it, maybe just because the technology now allowed them to include Lennon? Most Beatles songs sound dated today although at the time they were superb. Brian Wall

It is good Now and Then but Hey Jude and Imagine are better. Tim McMahon

From a Beatles fan… it’s very dated. Judy Breadmore

I heard it this afternoon and thought it was crap. Most overrated band ever. Richard Webb

Stephane de Leng

Unlike Emna Mitchell, who has obviously had a bad day, I’m looking forward to buying the Beatles’ last record, they have given a lot of pleasure over the years.

Its good, but… just a b-side. Peter Mack

Definitely not needed. Bill Shearer

S Ede

I can also assure you that several great composers have given their findings about the song, it would have been better that you did read them first before posting your negativity. Respect is what this group has earned many years ago and still have from many fans but also performers

Fabulously written piece… but I guess you have stepped on a lot of toe. Eleni Lolkema

Not the same just two of them. Mark Free

Comments should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: euroweeklynews.com Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.

www.euroweeklynews.com • 16 - 22 November 2023

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