Weather
One person was still missing this morning after a weekend of rain, snow and low temperatures across Spain, due to the arrival of a mass of polar air on Friday.
The authorities are currently searching for a young man who was fishing yesterday in a rocky area off A Coruña who may have fallen into the sea. Two hikers who got lost on Saturday in the Pyrenees have been found .. Both were in good health.
The bad weather has also left 53,000 households without electricity on Menorca and in Asturias.
There are currently disruptions to train services in Asturias and there are problems on roads in the north of Spain due to snowdrifts. The bad weather is expected to continue today with warnings for 29 provinces and the North African exclave of Melilla. The highest alerts are in Burgos, Castellón and Tarragona.
Bankia
State-controlled lender Bankia reported weaker-than-expected income from loans this morning, raising doubts over its recovery as it continues to grapple with the impact of ultra-low interest rates.
Spanish banks are struggling to improve their lending income amid little sign of a sustained increase in euro zone interest rates. Bankia, whose loan book is dominated by mortgages, has responded by trying to shift to more profitable consumer loans.
Government Debt.
The government says it will bring down the public deficit despite ongoing concerns that the minority government will implement some populist measures.
The European Commission sent a letter to Spain, earlier this month, warning that the structural deficit reduction planned for 2019 was 0.25 percent below what the country had previously agreed to.
However Nadia Calviño .. the economy minister said this morning that the government remains committed to reducing public deficit.
Spain is forecasting a Gross Domestic Product growth of 2.6 percent this year and 2.3 percent next – above the EU’s average.
The European Commission is still assessing the Spanish budget, as it is the case for the budgets of all euro zone countries, and will publish it at some point next month.
Drugs
Police in Barcelona say a massive crackdown on squatted apartments used for trafficking and consuming heroin and other drugs is underway in the city center.
At least 700 police agents are taking part in today’s anti-drug trafficking operation, which comes after a two-year investigation into the rings running the apartments
A court in Barcelona has authorized 40 searches on apartments, also known as “narcoflats,” in the central Raval and Gotic neighborhoods, according to a statement.
Barcelona residents have complained that the rise of illegally occupied flats used as drug distribution centers and consumption dens, mostly for heroin, has increased insecurity in recent years.