In The Week Ahead this week, the UK news will be dominated by the budget and Rwanda, and in Spain the unemployment figures and labour market will lead the week.
I also have two very important announcements specifically for the Torrevieja area, one with details of a major road closure which is likely to cause chaos, and the second is an appeal for information about a Torrevieja resident, now sadly deceased.
Finally, we have a look at some of the events taking place in various areas of Spain throughout March and beyond, including concerts, airshows, car shows, and more.
The week will begin with the publication of the unemployment rate registered in Spain, which will allow us to analyse the resilience of our country’s labour market in the face of the greater dynamism of activity compared to the rest of the main economies in the Eurozone. At the same time, the latest reading of the Sentix index in the Eurozone will also be known, relevant to knowing the situation of short-term investment confidence.
Next, on Tuesday the 5th, the composite PMI in the Eurozone will be published, remaining in contraction territory (>50 pts.) in its latest reading, and which will also allow us to determine to what degree the divergence of economic momentum between its main member states intensifies. For its part, that day will also highlight the evolution of production prices in the Eurozone, which registered a strong contraction in December in monthly terms (-0.8%).
On Wednesday, data on Germany’s trade balance and retail sales in the Eurozone in the month of January will be published, which fell 1.1% in the last month in monthly terms.
The week will end with the ECB’s rate meeting and its estimate of the economic outlook for the Eurozone, paying special attention to the wage trend. In a context in which the trend in Germany of factory orders and industrial production in the leading European power and in Spain will also be known. Finally, and as highly relevant data, Eurostat will publish the final reading of the GDP for Q4 2023 in the Eurozone.
On a business level, the publication of results from Evonik Industries, Henkel, Bayer, DHL Group, Hugo Boss and Deutsche Lufthansa will stand out.
In the UK, it’s all about the money, or at least the give-and-take of the spring budget, with tax cuts expected to try to win the public confidence back by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his Budget statement on Wednesday, although financial analysts are still pointing out that many public services are already grossly underfunded, and so a tax cut would mean less revenue to pay for much needed improvements. The main problem aside from the needs of the public is that this budget is likely to set to stall out for the pending general election.
On Monday, the House of Lords considers the Safety of Rwanda Bill, with a vote on Wednesday scheduled, and pussycat (we can never forget) George Galloway is due to be sworn in as new Rochdale MP following his speech in support of the people of Gaza, which, coincidentally, occurred in a week when protests are expected in support of the calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Notable dates this week include March 8, International Women’s Day, and so there will be many events, gatherings, and manifesto pledges in support of equality, and women of one form are celebrated at the weekend in the UK as it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday.
Monday also marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, the RNLI, and so we can salute the brave men and women across two centuries who have risked, and in some cases lost, their lives to help those at sea.
Things to do in March
In Torrevieja, you can enjoy Peter and the Wolf on 10 March, then take a Trip to Oz, with the kids, on 15, and then the Magical world of Disney concert on 16. Classical music fans have a Beethoven concert in the International Auditorium on 23 March.
Sports fans in Torrevieja have lots to look forward to with the likes of a solidarity race on the 10 March, World Football on 15th, a rugby competition from 22 to 24, football on the 28 to 31, and handball on the same weekend.
For runners, on 10 March, Elche has both as 7.2k and half marathon, Crevillente on 6 April has a 6k race, and the Dama de Guardamar half marathon, which takes the form of both a 10k and 21k variant (10.5 and 21.1 kilometres, respectively, to be pedantic), and will take place in Guardamar del Segura on 14 April 2024.
For petrolheads, Guardamar del Segura will host a wide range of classic motors, cars and motorbikes, in the XII Fiesta del Motor Clásico de Guardamar del Segura taking place on 23 March 2024, starting at 10 a.m. in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento where, in addition to the exhibition of participating classic cars and motorcycles, there will be live music, paella to eat, and drinks.
Prior to the Guardamar event, the IFA exhibition centre (near Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport) will also have a classics event, Antic Auto, taking place on 9th and 10th of March.
You might also be interested in the classic scooter ride around Alcoy on 9 March, or further afield, the Scooter Rally in Madrid on the 15th.
Finally, the Iberia Motor Fest brings classic and unusual vehicles together at La Vila Joiosa on 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of March 2024.
Aircraft fans can look forward to RACEFEST, Madrid, taking place on 16 March, where the Patrulla Aguila aerobatic team from San Javier will be taking part, before showcasing their skills 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.
If your love of the sky means watching people jumping out of planes, then there´s good news for you too, as on 19th March – Fiestas Patronales de Puerto de Mazarrón 2024, in Murcia, sees the Patrulla Acrobática de Paracaidismo del Ejército del Aire (PAPEA) parachutists perform, and on 31st March they are at the Conmemoración de “El Encuentro” de Alcantarilla, also in Murcia, before the team head overseas in April to attend the 5th FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championship, in Macau, China.
Musically, James Blunt is back in Alicante on 19 July, as is Tom Jones on 25. Other popular groups coming to Spain in the near future include AC/DC, Depeche Mode, and Simple Minds.
Down south, the Malaga Film Festival takes place from 1 to 10 March, where one of the stars is the Valencia Region, with the tourism department showcasing the area, followed by the Granada Tango Festival from 12 to 17 March.
Fallas season is on now across Valencia, culminating in the celebrations around the middle of March, not forgetting of course we have San Jose, Spanish Father’s Day, on 19 March, a big event in the Spanish cultural calendar. The main fallas event is around Valencia, where this year the calendar is from 25 February to 19 March.
We must also remember that Easter is earlier this year, Good Friday is 29 March, and one of the big draws is Elche, and in particular Palm Sunday, on account of the history of the city in relation to palm trees. A huge Palm Sunday procession takes place in the city each year.