A few days ago the Financial Times published an in-depth report on the economic situation in Spain. I was so impressed by the article that I have written a brief synopsis of the most important points, as I think it made very interesting and surprising reading.

The downturn in the Construction industry has doubtlessly raised unemployment and caused building firms to go bankrupt, however the situation is not entirely gloomy. Mr Casanueva, who heads JP Morgan Chase in Spain and Portugal is reported as saying, “there’s no reason for a rebound. So the probable scenario is a stable, low-growth situation for several years.”

Even though some sectors have been badly affected, others have grown and flourished. For example, information technology, solar and wind power technologies, the fashion industry, even Telefonica the telecommunications company have grown from strength to strength.

Indeed Spain is now really concentrating on developing high-tech industries, such as information technology, life sciences and renewable energy.

Spain has invested in emerging markets with some success generating millions of sales abroad.

Moreover the Spanish banking system has had experience of banking crises before, so the Bank of Spain has regulated its banks very strictly, even in times of prosperity and rapid growth. This is why Spanish Banks are now more stable than some British and American ones.

Tourism has plunged across Europe in general but nevertheless some areas are bucking the trend like Mallorca.

Specialised tourism, for example big-budget sailing events have been remarkably successful in Spain. This is due to a combination of good weather, generous tax breaks from the Government, cross-party cooperation to encourage these events and having a King who is an experienced and enthusiastic sailor. These highly-organised and polished affairs generate huge revenues!

The Credit Crunch is worldwide and no doubt there are tough times ahead for all of us, many media stories paint a picture of such total misery so it was so refreshing reading something that had a balanced view. I must say that it was comforting to read that the situation was not entirely one of gloom and doom for my adopted country.