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 News from the financial sectors in Spain and the Canary Islands Currency Management Spanish euro discomfort A study by the European Commission has found that 54 per cent of Spaniards are still not comfortable using the euro and admit to not managing it well. The study titled, The Eurozone – five years after the introduction of the euro, which took place in 2006 asked questions like “Do you buy less because you fear spending too much?” “Do you buy more because you don’t know how much you are spending?” and “Does the euro make little difference to your spending habits?” 
The study found that it was not only Spaniards that were confused by the euro, as it also emerged that only 41 per cent of eurozone citizens were at ease with the currency and could handle it in the same way they had used their old national currency. On average in the eurozone there were more people that overspent as a result of not fully understanding the euro. But in Spain the result was the opposite with more people underspending because they were afraid of overspending. In the survey Portugal emerged as the country that had the least problems with the euro with 57 per cent admitting they were quite happy with the eurozone currency. Ireland was found to be the country that had experienced the most problems with only 29 per cent stating that they could handle the euro just as well as their former national currency. Meanwhile the European Commission recently said that they had removed 211,100 counterfeit coins from circulation last year, this represented a rise of 29 per cent when compared to numbers in 2006. The two euro coin emerged as the most copied at 85 per cent of the total number. When it came to euro banknotes around 561,000 were withdrawn from circulation last year. The European Commission, along with the European Central Bank, Europol, Interpol and the national competent authorities have gone to great lengths to protect the euro against counterfeiting. In 2005 the Commission recommended that all banks and professional cash handlers in the eurozone had to ensure that all coins and notes were legal tender before putting them back into circulation. It is expected that this recommendation will soon become EU law. Meanwhile in a joint venture between Lombard Bank and MaltaPost 33 tonnes of Maltese euro coins have been exported to a number of European countries. A total of 700,000 sets of Malta euro coins were flown to Germany on a chartered Airbus A300 freighter. The coins were exported following a strong interest by overseas euro collectors. A spokesperson for Lombard Bank and MaltaPost said, “This export order confirms the very strong interest in Malta euro coins.” Malta, itself, is just getting used to its new euro currency. But people are becoming over zealous in their attempts to rid themselves of the Maltese lira. It was recently reported that a man from Gozo became the talk of his town when he turned up at his local bank with a wheelbarrow full of Maltese coins and demanded that they were changed to euros. Shopkeepers are complaining that people are paying for their goods with small change to rid themselves of it, while one man tried to pay 28 euros worth of fuel with one and two Maltese cent coins. The Maltese lira will be accepted in banks until the end of March, while the Central Bank will exchange them until 2010 in the case of coins and 2017 for notes.
| Canary Islands - 08.02.2012 - Yesterday's ugly scenes at Bilbao airport, where Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary had to be given a police escort after his provocation of former Spanair employees, prompted a furious reaction against the head of the airline by Canarian MP Ana Oramas. more... Las Palmas - 08.02.2012 - The snags preventing the release of tickets for the concert by rock legend Bruce Springsteen in Gran Canaria have now been resolved and the gig has been confirmed 100%, say the organisers. more... La Laguna - 07.02.2012 - A well-known Tenerife lawyer is the focus of police attention in a money-laundering and fraud investigation ordered by a La Laguna judge. more... Canary Islands - 07.02.2012 - Relations between the Canarian government and the new Spanish government sank further yesterday when the region's tourism minister was apparently snubbed by his national counterpart. more... Canary Islands - 07.02.2012 - Two Britons who had to be rescued again after getting into trouble on their bid to cross the Atlantic in a pedal boat could face a hefty fine for the latest mobilisation of air and sea rescue resources. more...    Banish the blues They tell us that this is one of the most depressing times of the year more...   | Elektronische Zigarette Kombiangebote Elektronische Zigarette 8,9cm mit der E-Zigarette Classic www.elektrische-zigarette.eu Holiday car Tenerife We have been in the rent a car business since 1976 in Tenerife. Our experience - your advantage. www.hermanns-cars.com Electronic Cigarette The Electronic Cigarette SLIM is recommended for smokers with few consume, occasional smokers and to go. www.liquid-shop.eu Real Estate Tenerife Tenerife Real Estate is your partner on Tenerife for penthouses, properties, fincas or business-pubs for the purchase and sale of villas, chalets, houses, appartements. www.teneriffa-immobilien.es ic media group |
