Remembering Josep Maria de Sagarra, 1894-1961

The Catalan daily El Punt Avui has a long article on this writer today, the 50th anniversary of his death, here.
Some of the thoughts expressed there: the novel Vida Privada ["Private Life"] (1932) is undoubtedly a classic, and de Sagarra one of the great Catalan writers of the 20th century. He was born into an aristocratic family, studied law and was meant to become a diplomat but then became a writer. He worked as a journalist in the 1920s and 30s, also as a foreign correspondent. A lot of his columns of the intellectual who observes his surroundings and cherishes the good life ("bon vivant") were later made into books, e.g. Cafè, copa i puro ["Coffee, brandy and cigar"], L'Aperitiu ["The appetizer"], or El be negre ["The black lamb"]. He was a popular theatre author, too. Also wrote travel books and novels, as well as his memories (Les memòries, 1954).

The English-speaking Wikipedia does not an entry on him, but the Catalan culture ministry offers an exhaustive English introduction here.

The FT focuses on Spain again

The Financial Times ("Spain, not Greece, may be the biggest eurozone threat", insight piece by Charles Dumas) warns about a possibly disastrous economic future for Spain (again). It stresses the importance of non-financial sector debts and compares the country to Japan in the late 1990s and names the measures the Japanese took to get out of that situation - which are out of the question for Spain as e.g. it cannot devalue its currency (the Euro) nor run large budget deficits. The main points are cited below, the full article is here.

But Spain’s current situation is in several respects far worse than Japan’s back then. First, Japan had a currency, which devalued in real terms by 20 per cent over the six years to 2002, aiding adjustment. Spain is fixed in the euro.
Second, having a currency, Japan also had a monetary policy – the famous “ZIRP”, zero-interest-rate-policy. Spain’s monetary conditions are set by the ECB in Frankfurt, with recent tightening that could hardly be more unsuitable for Spain.
Third, Japan had an independent fiscal policy, and ran large budget deficits to offset private-sector debt repayment via financial surpluses. Spain is under orders from its eurozone “partners” to slash its deficits, “no matter how politically painful” to quote Wolfgang Schäuble, German finance minister, in Financial Times columns recently.
Fourth, Japan had (and has) flexible wages – downward in nominal terms as well as upward. In the six years from 1997, as recession hit, average nominal weekly wages fell by 1¼ per cent a year – and they have continued to fall (on average) since then, though more slowly. Spain, by contrast, has a consistent inflation record and in many cases index-linked wage increases. Lastly, Japan was handling its problems in a broadly expansionary world economy, which Spain regrettably cannot hope for.
The chances are high of a Spanish asset price slide and banking crisis, with stagnation (at best) or depression, if it sticks in the euro.

Americans dominate in Barcelona... as tourists

The original story by Antònia Justícia from today's La Vanguardia newspaper is here. 
The following is a google-translator aided, shortened, unauthorized version:

The United States is again the major emitter of (foreign) tourists to Barcelona. Direct air links and cruises from BCN help | Tourist season from March to November | More than half of Americans come to Barcelona for a cruise | Six airlines with a total of 42 flights a week connect BCN to major American cities | In July foreigners spent almost 220 million euros in BCN, 19.3% more | More than three million overnight stays of 1.5 M tourists
Antònia Justícia
After 9/11 Americans lost their status as numerally most important group of visitors to the city. Now, ten years later, the U.S. has returned to the top spot in the ranking of "emitter" countries, significantly ahead of France, Italy and Britain. With 340,497 American visitors until the end of July, nearly 30,000 more than France, the second biggest emitter so far this year, the United States is poised to set a new record. All in a positive context: July and August closed with 16.5% more tourists -in fact, Barcelona is the European city that has grown most in volume of tourists this August, according to analysis by the local tourism authority-; spending on international credit cards are growing around 18% and overnight stays in the city have increased by 11%.
The main reasons for the boom are the status of Barcelona as the Mediterranean's most important cruise port and a significant growth in nonstop flights connecting El Prat airport with various U.S. cities. About 60.5% of all U.S. tourists that visited Barcelona during the first half of the year came to go on a cruise of the Mediterranean. If expectations are met, the port will close 2011 with 2.5 million cruise passengers, 17% of those, 425,000 would be Americans. This figure could end up much higher if the upward trend continues, as there are now five carriers operating from the port of Barcelona exclusively with U.S. clients: Holland America, Princess, Crystal, Disney (with the Disney Magic) and Carnival (with the Carnival Magic).
There are also cruise lines with multinational guests, such as Royal Caribbean, Norwergian, Celebrity and Silversea. Royal Caribbean this year expects to carry 100,000 U.S. passengers from Barcelona. These have the choice between six airlines and 42 weekly flights connecting Barcelona almost daily with cities like New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago or Miami. An offer that began to develop in 2006 and has had a  multiplier effect with each new flight.
"We know they are attracted by the "brand" Barcelona because it combines food, art, sports, culture and entertainment with cutting-edge infrastructures," said Marc Pedrol, director of marketing and communications for Royal Caribbean. The arrival of Disney Magic last season in Barcelona has also contributed to the increase, bringing a new profile American tourist: the family. "Traditionally the American tourist has been rather senior, but recently the average age has fallen somewhat. ... There are still few families but Disney will support this market, " analyze Ana Pujols and Montse Miquel, responsible for reservations and Public Relations Officer, respectively, at Le Meridien hotel, traditionally catering to well-heeled Americans. [Blogger's comment: It is a fine hotel with a good location on the Ramblas but if you are willing to spend that much money on a hotel you might also want to have a look at Hotel W (like Meridien a member of Starwood) or Hotel Arts that are on the beach...]
Promotional campaigns have also been successful, claims Turisme de Barcelona. Earlier this year, in a CNN report on unforgettable places, three experts put Barcelona as the fourth preferred travel destination in the world to discover in 2011. "People are in love with Barcelona, ​​and this is a fact that has taken years of work," claimed yesterday Gaspart, who added: "And the fame of FC Barcelona also has helped us a lot."
The municipal tourism agency is not only satisfied with the U.S. market recovery. Also the fact that Barcelona closed the most outstanding summer in its history. The months of July and August saw an increase of 16.5% of tourists). These figures have placed Barcelona as the European city with the highest tourism growth this past August. The outlook for September and October, according Gaspart are also excellent, though Gaspart would like to increase profitability ("milk" the tourists more...).
Results which, despite the crisis, denoting good health of tourism in Barcelona. A city that, according to the evolution of people registered every month, has established itself as a tourist destination throughout the year. Here the time between March and November can be considered high season.

(Blogger's comment: you should also come for Christmas shopping in December; and on January 7 start the winter sales - still more clothes shopping...)