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This week, the markets are a little quiet, with hardly anything happening on the first part of the week, overall, and not much in the latter half, and in Spain, we do have a splattering of local holidays this week.
Monday
Monday is a local holiday in many towns across the Valencia region, celebrating San Vicente de Ferrer, who was born in Valencia, and so it is a holiday in the city of Valencia, as well as Torrevieja, Elche, Algorfa, Benijofar, Bigastro, and others.
The week will begin with the publication of industrial production and the trade balance for February in Germany. In line with the PMIs of the manufacturing sector in March (41.9 points vs. 42.5 points in February) and the evolution of the confidence indicators of households and companies, the industrial sector and foreign trade, which will foreseeably continue to show the weakness of the leading European power.
Likewise, on Monday we will know the Sentix index of investment confidence for April in the Eurozone.
An informal meeting of European Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries takes place.
Back in Spain, just after midday the signing of the Social Security Agreement between Spain and the US to promote the mobility of insured workers and stimulate bilateral economic activity will take place.
Unprecedented gloom will shadow much of North America on Monday as a total solar eclipse passes above parts of the continent, creating night-like darkness in localised areas for a few minutes. Some critics have already used the natural phenomenon to ridicule solar power users for their lack of foresight! That problem doesn´t present itself so much in the UK and Spain as our next full solar eclipse is scheduled for the year 2090. Viewers in the northwest of England and Scotland will be able to enjoy a small part of this event, just don´t look directly at the light.
Monday also marks 3 years since the Duke of Edinburgh passed away.
Tuesday
Tuesday is a quiet day for European markets in general, with France being the only noticeable location of interest where the commercial balance will be published.
The WHO Global Hepatitis report is published on Tuesday.
Wednesday
Wednesday is a holiday in the Spanish autonomous communities of Melilla and Ceuta.
House buying statistics in the Eurozone in general will dominate Wednesday.
BBVA bank will pay dividends, Banco Sabadell holds their general shareholder meeting, and in the USA, Delta Airlines publish their results.
In the UK, the real-life drama of Mr Bates versus the Post Office continues, as the penultimate phase of the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry begins with a day of evidence from Alan Bates. Paula Vennells is scheduled to give evidence in May and Fujitsu engineer Gareth Jenkins in June.
Also, on Wednesday, Tesco will proudly tell everyone how much money they have made during a cost-of-living crisis when they publish their results.
Thursday
Thursday is a local holiday in Alicante city, not the province.
The focus of investor attention will be on the ECB meeting that will take place on Thursday, April 11. Although no change in official interest rates is expected, markets expect the European monetary authority to define its next movements. Specifically, investors expect the ECB to begin the process of easing its monetary policy at its next meeting in June, when it would lower reference interest rates by 25 bp.
In the UK, with talk last week about the possibility of paying for an ambulance to reduce the risk of you dying during the wait, NHS England key services performance data and A&E indicators are published on Thursday.
Friday
A local holiday on Friday is celebrated in the Valencia town of Cullera.
This week will end with the final reading of the CPI for March in Spain, Germany and France, as well as various relevant data in the United Kingdom, highlighting GDP, industrial production and the trade balance.
The General Shareholders’ Meeting of Ferrovial and Telefónica will take place.
In the UK we will have the Index of Production, construction industry output, and overseas trade reports.
NOAA publishes their monthly global climate report.
The Next Week Ahead
That was this week´s roundup of what will be making the news headlines in Spain, the UK, and Europe, with a focus on the business and markets, you can read daily updates on marknolanspodcast.com, as well as spaintoday.news, and theleader.info for local news.
There are more local holidays next week, including Santa Pola and Seville, and Roadpol, the European Traffic Police Network, will be holding a speed awareness and enforcement campaign, more details, plus more, next time.
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Things to Do and Events Coming Up
Here is the roundup of things to do and events coming up over the next few weeks, from music and culture to sports and spectacles.
For regular updates and things to do, pick up The Leader newspaper out every Monday.
Theatre, Culture and Music
Friday 12 April sees Salome performed at the Torrevieja Municipal Theatre.
On 13 April, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Torrevieja are holding a concert of soloists’ performances in the Virgen del Carmen Centre in Torrevieja.
On the same evening, Saturday, Sergio Dalma is giving a concert in the International Auditorium in Torrevieja.
Sunday 14 April sees Bunji, the little koala, take to the stage in the Virgen del Carmen Centre in Torrevieja.
29º Certamen Internacional Juvenil Habaneras takes place in Torrevieja on 20 April, at the Torrevieja Municipal Theatre.
Fans of the music of Queen might want to take a trip down to Cartagena on 20 April, where the concert, Symphonic Rhapsody of Queen, A Kind of Magic, will be taking place.
On 26 April there is a film music tribute concert taking place in the International Auditorium in Torrevieja, specifically a tribute to the music of Morricone, Williams, and Zimmer, three of the greatest film score composers of modern times, arguably.
Between the 10 and 12 May, Torrevieja will go back to the 80’s and 90’s with a musical spectacle at the Torrevieja Municipal Theatre.
The Film Symphony Orchestra will also perform in Torrevieja on 25 May, offering music from the likes of Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Mulan.
Big Name Music
- The Killers – 10 April in Barcelona, 13 July in Madrid.
- Twenty One Pilots – 21 April in Madrid, 22 April in Barcelona.
- Jonas Brothers – 25 May in Barcelona.
- Taylor Swift – 29 and 30 May in Madrid.
- Calvin Harris – 31 May and 9 and 14 June on Ibiza.
- AC/DC – 1 June in Seville.
- Olivia Rodrigo – 18 June in Barcelona, 20 June in Madrid.
- Tom Jones – 23 June in Valencia, 23 July in Marbella, Alicante on 25 July, Chiclana de la Frontera on 28 July, Almeria on 4 August.
- Alice Cooper – 28 June in Barcelona.
- Pearl Jam – 6 and 8 July in Barcelona.
- Garbage – 9 July in Barcelona.
- Metallica – 12 and 14 July in Madrid.
- James Blunt – Barcelona on 17 July, Alicante on 19 July, Chiclana de la Frontera on 20 July
- Simple Minds – 26 July in Granada.
Special Events
In the El Raso area of Guardamar del Segura on 11 to 14 April you can celebrate with the Neighbourhood Party, including a Tapas Trail, and a dog show.
Airshows
Aircraft fans can look forward to the Patrulla Aguila aerobatic team performing locally in the San Javier Airshow, taking place from 3rd-5th May – Festival Aéreo San Javier – over the playas de Santiago de la Ribera, San Javier, Murcia.
They are also at the DIFAS 2024, taking place in Oviedo on 1 June, and on 15th June, the 50º Aniversario del ALA 14, in Albacete, where a competition is open to design a Eurofighter livery.
Sport
The Dama de Guardamar half marathon, which takes the form of both a 10k and 21k variant, will take place in Guardamar del Segura on 14 April 2024.
On 18 May both a 10k run and walk is taking place between San Miguel de Salinas and Los Montesinos, with a focus on raising funds for charity.
Other Events
A Mental Health conference is taking place in Torrevieja on 19 and 20 April, specifically focusing on children and adolescents.
The Todo Tren 2024 tapas event is now on in Torrevieja, taking place until 21 April.
RBF Torrevieja 2024 – Reggaeton Beach Festival – 3 and 4 August.
Brilla Torrevieja – 27 July to 12 August.
Check with your Local Tourist Information Office
As you might expect, this is not a complete list of events, as there are far too many to put in brief, but they are a hand-picked selection of the most popular or interesting.
For more events in your area, check with your local tourist information office.
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