Friday 27th July 2012

I couldn't miss this opportunity to celebrate the start of the 2012 Olympics in London today and to wish all participants an amazing games as the eyes of the world look on ...

Murcia requests government bailout

Following on from the request by the the Valencia region for financial aid, the Regional Government of Murcia has also requested financial help from central government of up to €300 million Euros.

The details are sketchy at this point, however the Prime Minister of Murcia, Ramón Luis Valcárcel has said "The terms are not finalised" and "there will be strict conditions attached" in a newspaper interview for La Opinion. Under the terms of the regional bailout fund, strict conditions are imposed on regions requesting bailout cash and many regional powers are passed to central government. Not before time. Experts have long said that autonomy does not work. There is little control, regulation or scrutiny of public spending. 

Valencia, proved how regional governments have a tendency to do as they please, spend how they want and refuse to take criticism from anyone who questions their decisions.   Compared to other regions of Spain , Murcia is one of the least indebted and there are viable projects in progress including the much anticipated Paramount Theme Park.

News of the request comes as a tremendous coincidence after news broke yesterday of the Murcia Region being liable for up to €200 million Euros as bank loan guarantors to the consortium constructing Corvera Airport. The airport consortium of Corvera Airport, Aeromur led by developers Sacyr Terrazos Pillar, have hit a massive financial hurdle to the tune of €200 million euros and this threatens the possibility of the airport not actually opening..

In order to finance the project, the consortium sought finance from several banking institutions who demanded guarantees for the loans from the regional government of Murcia. Under the current terms, the 2 year guarantee from Murcia means Aeromur need only pay the interest on loans, with a further extension of 1 year after being operational before loan repayments begin. However, with the airport missing several opening targets and pressures on banking finances, Aeromur are now being forced to repay its loans or seek a new guarantee from Murcia.

Should Aeromur fail to negotiate a new guarantee from Murcia, it is likely the consortium will be unable to repay its loans and immediately pass ownership of the airport to the Region of Murcia government and making them liable for the €200 million loans.

Given the financial difficulties all regions are experiencing in Spain, the Region of Murcia Government would also find it difficult to repay loans resulting in a default or forcing the region to seek a bailout from central government and joining Valencia in the bailout club. A situation which wouldn't sit well with taxpayers.

Euro Analysis

The euro slumped to its lowest level against the yen in almost 12 years on today as Spain's debt crisis deepened, raising concerns over the wider eurozone.

With borrowing costs hitting the danger levels that forced Ireland, Greece and Portugal to seek a bailout, investors are concerned that Spain, one of the eurozone's biggest economies, will also have to call for help. 

Market players were spooked by reports that one of Spain's indebted regions, Valencia, would ask the central government for financial support, while officials in Madrid warned that the economy would likely contract through 2013. Europe is definitely a drag on risk assets again this week as investors are worried that 

Spain's debt burden could be bigger than expected and that a full bailout may be required. The worries sent Spanish borrowing costs to a euro-era record level, with the 10-year bond yield climbing to 7.24 percent, while the euro at one point fell to 94.61 against the yen, its lowest level since November 2000. Overnight in the Asian trading session, the euro, which also tumbled Friday amid the Spanish woes, bought 94.70 yen, compared with 95.38 late Friday in New York.

It's not the kind of situation where fears are just going to fade away, since the required amount of aid that Spain will need is likely to mount given the increasing needs of local governments. European leaders on Friday agreed to grant Spain's banks bailout cash of up to 100 billion euros but despite this there are fears that the country will need extra cash to help service its debts. The soaring yields on 10-year bonds come as unemployment sits at 24 percent and the government tries to implement further austerity measures.

Without better economic news the country could lose access to debt markets, leading it to a bailout, which some analysts have said could cost up to $500 billion. The euro was also down at two-year lows of $1.2114, from $1.2152 on Friday.  

Corvera Airport Opens October ?

NB: 2008 was origination date not opening date !

The finger waving and name calling continues over Corvera... but a light may be on the horizon with the Minister of Public Works for the region of Murcia, Antonio Sevilla, reiterating the recent comments made by President Valcarcel that Coverva WILL be operational by October (I note he didn't specify which October did he ?)

The Minister said how it was too earlier to announce an exact date due to the complexity of proceedings, but that this did not imply that there were any problems.  Upon being asked about the issue of re-classifying airspace around the airport, Sevilla pointed out that Barajas airport in Madrid shares airspace with the nearby Military airport of Torrejón without any major issue.

Last week the Ministry of Defence appointed Colonel Emilio Gracia (Director of the Spanish Military Airforce academy - based at San Javier) to oversee the project of re-classifying and co-coordinating the airspace  between Murcia's San Javier and the new Corvera airport. Colonel Gracia, told National Radio that "everything is achievable" and that he is focusing on trying to "find a solution that satisfies everyone from the point of flexibility and ease of use ". 

Gracia went on to insist that "everything is possible" on the understanding that "what can be done will be done", and that there will always be certain aspects of projects which are unachievable. Upon being asked about the appointment of Colonel Gracia, Government representative Joaquin Bascuñana explained that his primary role is to "coordinate airspace". The Ministry of Defence is just one of the parties involved in the coordination required between the two rival airports, both from the standpoint of air navigation and sharing of the limited airspace. 

AENA (the public body that owns and operates the majority of Spanish Airports) is also seeking compensation for recent investments that they have made for the construction and refurbishment of a second runway and control tower at San Javier, when we were at San Javier two weeks ago it was pristine with an enlarged departure hall and a revitalised subway sandwich concession !!

The Ministry of Development Ministry holds that a defence capability must be maintained at San Javier, which must remain for the exclusive use of the General Air Academy. Aside from its strategic importance, the military have also invested heavily at the airport in order to meet specific NATO requirements and are obviously reluctant to give up cede airspace around San Javier in favour of Corvera if this is to restrict operations.

I sense that these arguments will run and run !!

South Beach in Mazarron

Every time we head down to the beach at Bolnuevo and drive past this property on the beach road I hanker to live in it.  Over the years its been tidied up, and with the advent of the striking blue paintwork,  it looks like it could be lifted up and deposited on Miami Beach !

Think its probably split into rental flats as there are multiple balconies but its a bit special to me and I wondered if anyone else had noticed it ?

June 2012 - All looking good !

We are just back from 10 days in Condado and what a difference from our visit only a few weeks earlier, every time we visit,  we want to return home less and less - the elements of a community are establishing and with that even greater numbers of residents - wish I was there right now !

Eating and Drinking
Always an important part of any holiday for me....in the bad old Polaris days the only option was microwave crunchy "frozen" pasta in the clover, but we now have a multitude of Venues to enjoy !!

Great to see so many signs of retail Life in Al Kasar !

Clover Bar - Now a pleasant place to go where service is excellent and the staff are pleased to see you and serve you, congratulations all the guys there for maintaining such excellent humour and service levels even though they were buried under customers when the excellent 70's rock band was on. My wife and I sat quietly in the corner and drank our way though the cocktail menu, spending our last 5 euros on Tequila slammers.. suffice to say it was not an early day on the beach the morning after. It was also great to meet up with our neighbours Lynne and John, who we had never met,  we also introduced them to the house cocktails - honey rum,  lemon juice and Cinnamon - tastes better than it sounds !

Bulgarian Bistro - Continues to prosper and receive good reviews are and expanding with greater numbers of outside tables for the onset of summer.

Ice Cream Bar - A great new addition to Al Kasar and very popular,  I am sure it will have a great summer with many sticky fingers, mouths and grateful parents.

La Cata - Restaurant - This was opening just as we were leaving so other than saying how great it looked,  no comments on the food or service. I understand that they have a separate deli counter and are also serving chickens off the rotisserie so this will be another popular location.

A few final tweaks before opening night !

  
Bokao - Tapas Bar / Music Venue  - We wandered over the evening after they had opened and the place was eerily quiet, while the clover across the way was jumping, a very different vibe, but wonderful coffee and charming staff,  they were still stocking up the bar and couldn't find me any brandy but brought out a number of local alternatives that they generously poured for us.

Saturday Market - As the Saturday afternoon drew on and our departure back to the cold UK loomed ever closer, the space outside Al Kasar remained worryingly empty.  I wasn't sure what to expect but suddenly an army of traders appeared and the car park was buried by all sorts of merchandise. I wish we had been staying to stock up on soft fruit and Spanish ham and - it was a great opportunity for those of us who always harbour grand plans to go out and explore locally but just end up enjoying the peace, quiet and sunshine and of course all the new amenities !!
 

Inaugural 2012 Condado Market

This place in the sun just get's better and better !!!