News in Brief - 05.02.2010

News in Brief

Iberia to lighten
their online load
IBERIA are giving tourist-class passengers a small saving from 1^st March by allowing them to check in one piece of luggage weighing 23 kilos, and up to 46 kilos for two pieces.
This in line with their business-class agreement and will be available on their “auto check-in online” on the airline’s webpage.
It will cost 50 euros for the extra piece, which is 10 euros less than the check-in charge at the desk.
Shopping bills
are 12% lower
AVERAGE shopping bills in Spain dropped by 12% in 2009 compared with the previous year, says Miguel Angel Fraile, general secretary of the Spanish Federation of Commerce,
He also revealed that some 40,000 businesses had closed, around 6% of the 650.000 sales points, with 5% of workers within the sector. This concerned around 90,000 of the 1.8 million workers within smaller businesses.
 
Bananas, green peppers, anchovies and hake all went down last month, against the price in January 2009, according to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism & Commerce.
Green peppers proved to be the biggest bargain, at 24.8% cheaper, and only four  products showed a noticeable increase, including oranges at 3.98% dearer and beef up by 3.21%
The square-metre price on Spanish re-sale properties in January was 2,135 euros, which dropped by 5.74% from the same period last year. The Canaries showed a decrease of 3.81%, at 1,792 euros.

FRINA Tenerife – committed to success

If you’re looking to purchase or sell a business property in Tenerife then there is a new company on the block to help you through every aspect of the process.
Frederick and Irina, hence the name – FRINA have a wealth of business experience behind them, not least the range of native languages that they speak. Both have worked in International companies, British born Frederick’s forte is finance and economics where as Irina who hails from Russia has a background of sales and law – a strong partnership.
The modern, cosmopolitan company has found a niche in the Tenerife property market, utilising their strengths to assist both those wanting to buy a business or start a new venture in Tenerife and those who want to sell their businesses.
 
You may think, well that’s not new, but, through their own research they are filling the gaps that they think currently exist, namely service and personal attention.
FRINA provide you with outstanding service, they are keen to match the correct business to the individual, and, they are totally focused on the commercial market. Their main objective is through their personal attention to keep both buyer and seller happy.
The young, fledgling business commenced trading in September last year following their own move to Tenerife like many of us for a better quality of life, and, already they are making a name for themselves, and their exceptional business reputation is building.
If you’re looking to sell your business they will meet you personally to discuss your requirements, obviously the more they know about your business the easier it is for them to find you a potential buyer.
Their own website is in three languages – English, German and Russian. They advertise directly with foreign language portals and selective global printed media therefore they can open up a wealth of opportunities for you, as well as making the most of their own personal business investor contacts.
For those looking to purchase a business in this current climate, Frederick and Irina will discuss various things such as budget, location, type of business etc to ensure that your new business matches your own strengths and will provide you with frank and honest feedback. They will even help you with legalities and finding a school should you need it. All of the ‘tiny’ things that can help both your business and personal life run so much more smoothly.
They will only arrange a select number of viewings for you each day, so that you’re not bombarded, focused solely on your needs and there is no finder’s fee - this is where their personal level of service shines through.
If you feel that the services FRINA offer would be of use to you then contact them on 922 085 191, visit their website www.tenerife-business.com or see their advert on page 49.

 

 

Madrid fusion meeting 
Armando Saldanha, a chef who works in Tenerife won the 'Tapa de diseño' award during the prestigious gastronomy contest Madrid Fusion. 
 
The winning dish, named "sardines sandwich with Guayonje's onions - tribute to the wine harvest in Tenerife -", beat six other finalists who competed for this award. The chef won last year the same prize "Snack of an Artist" thanks to its "Red Hot Tuna Peppers".
The prize won by Saldanha, head chef of Amaranto Restaurant at El Sauzal, follows the achievement of "Design and Innovation Award 2010" by chef Diego Schattenhofen and scientists Hervé Bouy and Bertrand Lefort, both from Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias with their dish entitled "flying saucers", a floating dish without physical elements that sustain it. 
The vice president of the Cabildo and chief executive of Turismo, Jose Manuel Bermudez, highlighted the international quality of the cuisine of the island and the work of professionals who make it possible together with the "Plan de Gastronomía", also assessing the Canary Islands cuisine as one of major tourist attractions of the island.

Bitter blow for Spanish pensions
THE Spanish Government wants to change the number of working years used to calculate the state pension from the 15 to 25.
It would be a blow for those workers who reach retirement age without contributing for 25 years because it would mean lower pensions.


But the Government later softened the announcement by saying the 25-year  figure was merely “a simulation”.
The cabinet believes the change would save four points in the GDP deficit, and  
intends to increase the minimum number of years to 17 for starters.
Both measures are included in the Government’s Stability proposals for 2009-2013, which have been sent on to the European Commission.

It comes in addition to its plans announced last Friday to delay the retirement age to 67 as part of the measures designed to cut public spending.
The public debt is now forecast to reach 74.3% of GDP in 2012.

Meanwhile, new statistics show that only 17% of the Spanish save for their retirement.
 
Quake shock for Mallorca
AN earthquake which rocked the bay of Palma, in the capital of Mallorca, early last Friday, caused widespread panic.
No one was injured, but some 70 people called the emergency services when they felt the tremor.
The Mallorcan Government declared a state of emergency at the weekend as a precaution, although the only damage discovered by the quake, which happened just after 7am, was a crack in the wall of one house.
Residents in Marratxí, Llucmajor, and Calvià, where the Palma Nova holiday resort is based, felt the impact of the quake most.

 

Tenerife Telecommunications Ring to deliver broadband to the entire island
 
The Council of Tenerife has presented the first phase of the Island High Speed Telecommunications Ring, consisting of the installation of basic telecommunications infrastructure for broadband internet connection on the island. The project will be completed in November this year and will bring new services and opportunities to the island's internet users.
The initiative forms part of the Avanza Plan and is of great importance to improve competitivity and enhance telecommunications activity. In short, cable broadband will facilitate communication between the people of Tenerife and the rest of the world and will reduce difficulties associated with the island's remote location with respect to the rest of the European Union.
The first phase of the Island Ring will connect the south of the island with the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute. Two connections will ensure that there are no disruptions to internet communication in the event of network failure. The second phase includes extending optic fibre to the north and south-east of the island.
The Island Telecommunications Ring will also be connected to a Neutral Access Point (NAP) in the Granadilla industrial estate. Two underwater cables are to run from this point to the Spanish mainland, Gran Canaria, La Palma, the west of Africa and America, as part of the Alix project. The NAP is expected to become operative in March 2011.
The aim of the project is ensure that Tenerife benefits from the same number of internet operators offering the same services as in mainland Spain, offer users greater freedom, avoiding the high costs associated with the island's location.
The project includes a total of 160 kilometres of cable laid along the TF 1, TF 2, TF 5 and TF 13 roads. Latest-generation machinery will be used to dig the ditches causing minimum impact on road safety. Work will be carried out at night to avoid disruptions to traffic flow and maintain safety levels for vehicles and people.

 

 

 "We Are The World"
Enrique Iglesias is one of the 80 artists invited to record a new version of "We Are The World", Michael Jackson's 25-year-old hit, to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.
The orignal version of "We Are The World" was released in 1985 to raise money for famine-stricken Africa.  45 leading recording artists, including Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and the Jackson family lent their voices to the track.
A quarter of a century later, legendary producer Quincy Jones and Lionel Ritchie, who co-wrote the song with Michael Jackson, are hoping to bring together another group of leading pop stars in the hope of raising even more than the 63 million dollars they raised for Africa all those years ago.
34-year-old Iglesias said all he was doing was "adding his grain of sand" to the charity effort.  He also said that it was "a great honour to be involved in the cause" and that were it not for the people of Haiti he "wouldn't dare take over Jackson's role on the new version of the single".
All proceeds from the sale of the new version of the single and its accompanying video (recorded by Paul Haggis of 'Crash' fame) will go to the "We Are The World Foundation" which in turn will use the money to help the survivors of the Haiti disaster rebuild their shattered lives.
"To be involved in a project like this and above all, be in the same studio as Quincy Jones, a legendary producer, while he's telling you to stand in the same place that Michael Jackson did, has been incredible for me" said the Spanish singer-songwriter. 
"It's difficult to describe what you feel in the company of so many legends," he added.  "Imagine having Earth, Wind & Fire's  Tony Bennett behind you and Santana and Céline Dion on the other side!"
Iglesias confessed his admiration for Jackson, saying that he had always been a point of reference for him, not only for his music, but also for his music videos.  "He was the first person to really give music an image", said Iglesias.
 
The new version of the single, which also features stars such as Barbra Streisand, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus, will make its world premiere during NBC's coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 12.