The board of the Portuguese company Brisa today accused the speaker of Spanish Abertis data using “false and defamatory” to justify its rejection of the tender offer by the two largest shareholders of the company .

In an explanatory note sent to the Securities Market Commission (CMVM) and elaborated Lusa request, the board of the motorway company announces the full speech of Abertis spokesman, Francisco José Aljaro Navarro, delivered at its meeting on April 23, and responds point by point to his arguments.

Behind this debate lies the interest of the two main shareholders of Brisa, societies José de Mello (30.55% of titles) and Arcus (19.05%), to increase their control of the firm through a Public Offering (IPO).

However, the third largest Spanish-Abertis shareholder with 14.61 percent of the titles, is opposed to this possibility on the grounds that there is a “conflict of interest” from bidders.

Aljaro said during his speech in April that the price offered per share (2.66 euros) is significantly lower than that paid by the company a few months ago when he decided to acquire shares (4 euros).

Wielded, moreover, that the estimated price by analysts is also higher (2.94 euros) to that offered in the bid and noted that recent reports of the entities financial advisors Jose de Mello and Arcus also pointed to a higher value ( € 3.42) which is now in question.

Abertis spokesman stressed that the obligation of the board should be “trying to obtain the distribution to shareholders of a share or a premium of control”, however, does not appear in the offer, which not precise enough, in his opinion, what would be its dividend policy if just running the OPA.

In response to your questions about the price offered, the Board of Directors of Brisa countered that the last purchase of shares the company paid 2.29 euros per share and € 4, as Aljaro said.

Played down the price set by analysts as to prepare them “includes updated figures”-some even 2008 – and even said that Goldman Sachs, financial adviser of Abertis, set the price target € 2.20 just a day before presenting the bid.

On the inclusion of a control premium, from the council Breeze noted that the interpretation of Aljaro in this area is based “on an incorrect understanding” of the Portuguese legislation on takeover bids.

“The administrator’s vote Abertis contains statements of a business plan (…) and on legal and financial consultants Breeze are false and defamatory, assuming disclosure criminal legal relevance,” said the council.

The rating agency Fitch downgraded today risk the long-term credit rating of five major Greek banks, a day after having reduced Greece’s rating from B-to CCC by the risk that the country leaves the euro.

This is the National Bank of Greece, EFG Eurobank Ergasias, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank and Agricultural Bank of Greece, whose long-term notes pass, as the country’s sovereign debt to CCC, from B, which had so far.

This reduction “reflects the high risk that Greece may not be able to maintain their membership” to the euro area, the agency said in a statement.

It also highlights the possibility that after the new elections scheduled for June 17 in Greece is not achieved again form a government with a mandate to continue the program of fiscal austerity and structural reforms agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund .

Given this scenario, the agency estimates “likely” out of Greece Monetary Union and a withdrawal of international support to banks Hellenes.

The output of Greece’s euro could trigger a “widespread defaults in the private sector, as well as sovereign bonds denominated in euros,” explained in the note.

In the said banks, Fitch also downgraded their short-term rating from B to C, as well as state guarantees, which fall from B-to CCC.

The political and economic uncertainty has resulted from the Greek legislative elections last May would increase the withdrawal of bank deposits amounts Greek millionaire.

Bankia shares experienced a very strong rebound of 31.50% over two hours after the start of the session, breaking a run of ten consecutive sessions of cuts that had come to losing half its market capitalization.

A few minutes after the start of the day Bankia shares rose 9%, and 10.35 hours were changed to 1.87 euros, 31.50% more than the 1.42 that marked the close of the session precedent.

The surge enabled the institution to reduce its losses from earlier years at 48.75%, although since its IPO in July last year, has lost half its market capitalization.

Experts indicate that the rebound is a rebound after sharp falls of recent days, but also point to the calls for calm made ​​yesterday, Thursday, several members of the Government and the entity itself.

The fear of a massive withdrawal of funds meant that in some moments of yesterday’s session, the titles receded by 28%, although it moderated its collapse at the end and closed with a drop of 14.08%, to 1.42 euros per share.

Bankia President Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri, acknowledged yesterday that the current situation is “extremely troubled” but said, the activity of the group is being these days “basically normal”.

“The evolution of deposits in the first fortnight of May” has substantially seasonal in nature, Bankia explained in a statement after meeting in recent days have gone over 1,000 million.

The hikes listed banks and almost all the great values ​​changed the course of the main indicator of the Spanish market, the IBEX 35, which recovered to 6,500 points over two hours after the start session, after opening with a very strong cut of more than 2%.

At 10.15 hours, the Spanish index added 42.10 points and stood at 6,580, 200 above the intraday low and amounted to annual 09.15 hours, 6,380 units.

The decline accumulating since the beginning of the year was reduced to 23.11%.

The General Index of Madrid Stock Exchange revalued 0.57%, while the other European markets remained broadly opening losses from 0.74% in Frankfurt, from 0.81% in London, and 0.96% in Paris.

The MIB in Milan achieved an increase of 0.17%.

Banks exceeded the discount applied painlessly last night by the risk measurement agency Moody’s to sixteen listed banks, including Santander and its subsidiary in the United Kingdom, BBVA, Caixabank, Popular and Sabadell.

Bankia today broke a run of ten consecutive sessions of declines, and experienced a strong rebound from 22.36%, having lost in the last two weeks more than 50 of its market capitalization.

Immediately after BBVA stood, rising 4.59%, followed by Santander (3.76%), People (2.41%), Caixabank (2.63%), Sabadell (2.05%) and Bankinter (1.96%).

As for the Spanish stock exchange heavyweights, Iberdrola gained 3.84%, Repsol, 1.65%, Endesa, 1 , 93%, and Telefonica, 1.95%.

The rating agency Moody’s make this night a massive reduction of the note assigned to the Spanish banks, similar to the one held last Monday with the Italian banking.

The firm, according to financial sources, has begun to release to the next cut banks, as is required in these cases.

This reduction will take place on Monday after Moody’s downgraded from one to four steps the note of 26 Italian banks because of their vulnerability to the difficulties facing the eurozone.

Three months ago, in mid-February, the agency announced that it placed the rating on review of 114 European financial institutions in 16 countries, of which Italy and Spain were the most affected, with 24 and 21 entities respectively.

Moody’s justified then this action by the “negative impact and prolonged the crisis in the euro area”, combined with deteriorating credit quality and the challenges faced by banks and securities firms with significant activity in the capital market.

If Moody’s fulfilled his threat, the image of Spanish banks would be hit again, at a time when you’re having a hard punishment by plunging stock Bankia and the impact of the new financial reform.

This reform, which was approved on June 11, raises again the provisions to be made by the industry to consolidate their real estate assets in almost 30,000 million euros.

In this regard, Moody’s said this week that financial reform adopted by the Spanish Government and the nationalization of BFA were “positive” actions, but still left to institutions and creditors “vulnerable” if there are more problem loans.

He added that such actions confirmed the availability there to offer support to public institutions, although the amount and form of aid are “uncertain.”

“This burden will likely increase the already high public debt of Spain,” noted the agency, which expected to exceed 90 percent of GDP in 2014, almost triple the 36% in 2007.

On 30 April, Standard & Poor’s (S & P) downgraded after eleven Spanish financial institutions to do the same days earlier with the national sovereign.

Also another agency, Fitch cut its rating on February 13 Banco Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank and Bankia.

The German airline Air Berlin has set a target for this year to improve its operating result in more than 200 million euros through its efficiency improvement program “Shape & Size”, which has yielded benefits in the first quarter.

This was announced today at a press conference in Malaga the CEO of the airline for Spain and Portugal, Alvaro Middelmann, which has submitted the flight schedule for summer.

In the summer of 2012, the number of destinations that offer the company will remain stable compared with last summer.

Middelmann noted that Spain, with its traffic redistribution center of Palma de Mallorca, “will continue in 2012 a very important and strategic market” for Air Berlin.

He stressed that in the past nine years, “no other carrier has made an offer as wide from Mallorca,” both by the number of flights and the diversity of destinations, said today Air Berlin said in a statement.

From Palma de Mallorca, the company offers, along with its Austrian partner airline NIKI, more than 500 flights a week to 44 cities in Europe, thereby strengthening its position as leader of the largest resort airport in Europe, according Middelmann.

Through German centers in Berlin and Düsseldorf can be reached from Mallorca, specified, 22 other destinations in Europe and around the world, so the total number of destinations available from Air Berlin will be 66 in 18 countries .

From Malaga airport, the firm along with NIKI fly to 40 destinations, three domestic, 17 Germans, 16 the rest of Europe and 4 international.

Middelmann indicated that increased international destinations linked to the Malaga airport in cooperation with Etihad Airways is one of the most important news for summer 2012.

The Japanese electronics group Toshiba announced today that it has stopped producing TVs in Japan as part of its strategy to revive this sector deficit, which in the past fiscal year 2011 it reported losses of some 488 million euros.

The group has left the local manufacture of televisions in the arrest of the last factory in Japan where produced, the Fukaya, located in the province of Saitama, north of Tokyo, said a source from Toshiba to Kyodo.

The manufacturer of the Regza range of televisions faced last year to a sharp decline in sales of appliances in Japan a full turn in the summer, the transition to digital terrestrial television.

The group also faces stiff competition from companies such as South Korea’s LG and Samsung, the latter a world leader in sales of flat TVs, which is coupled to a strong yen decline in profits outside.

It is expected that the company continues to produce televisions at its plants in Indonesia, China, Poland and Egypt.

Fukaya’s factory, which began operations in 1965, will remain as the basis for development, planning and servicing, while workers will be relocated to other centers of Toshiba.

Last fiscal 2011 the company won 73,700 million yen (720 million euros), 46.5% less than in 2010, while sales fell 4.6% to 6.1 trillion yen (about 59,600 million).

Toshiba attributed the slowdown to the appreciation of the yen, the impact of the earthquake in March last year in Japan and autumn floods in Thailand as well as the weakening of European and U.S. markets.

The drop in TV sales, competition and the appreciation of the yen have also affected other Japanese giants like Sony Electronics or Panasonic, who recognized the need to restructure an industry that last fiscal year they reported significant losses.

Hitachi also plans to leave in late September its domestic production of flat screen televisions to take it to other parts of Asia such as China or Taiwan, to cut costs.

Portugal Telecom (PT) earned a net profit of 56.5 million euros in the first quarter of this year, thanks mainly to its operations in Brazil.

The results are much lower than the same period in 2011, 129.7 million, although they benefited from extraordinary transactions of sale of live operator Telefonica and the entry of PT in another Brazilian company, Oi.

Consolidated revenues also rose dramatically to 1,716 million euros, almost double that in the period of 2011, financial adjustments in Brazil, even discounting the amount outstanding, representing a 2.7 less than in the first quarter of last year.

The results of the former monopoly telecommunications Luso handily beat analysts’ forecasts, although its gross income in Portugal fell by 5.2% (37 million),

According to information released today by the Commission on Securities Market (CMVM) Lisbon, PT increased its EBITDA (earnings before tax, amortization and interest) by 59.9 percent to 571.7 million euros .

Amid the severe economic crisis in Portugal, PT achieved their higher incomes, 60 percent in international markets, focusing on Brazil, which also correspond 227.3 million of EBITDA.

Gross profit of the operator arising in other markets, especially in Africa, amounted to 36.8 million, 37.3 percent more than in the first quarter of 2011.

The operator recorded investments of 259 million euros (120 in Brazil and 115 in Portugal) dedicated mainly to the expansion of telephone networks of third generation in the South American nation and fourth in their domestic market.

Its subsidiary Lusa Mobile, TMN, kept the customer base of 7.4 million, a slight increase of 0.6 percent, while its cable television operator Portugal, Meo, won 26.9% of subscribers , to 1.1 million.

Also fixed the subsidiary achieved a significant increase in customers, 11.9%, bringing its total to 1.14 million.

The Catalan economy has entered recession technically falling 0.1% in the first quarter and contracted for two consecutive quarters, said today the Department of Economics of the Generalitat.

In the first quarter of 2012, GDP has fallen by 0.1% over the previous quarter, which fell 0.5%.

In annual terms, gross domestic product Catalan has had a fall of 0.4%.

According to the Generalitat, the Catalan economy decline has slowed due to the strong performance of merchandise exports and tourism have neutralized the effect of contraction of domestic demand.

The construction, which adds fifteen quarters of falls, continue to obstruct the Catalan economy has recorded the same activity as in 2002.

Agriculture grew by 0.1% in the first quarter, the industry fell 0.4%, the drop in construction stood at 5.1% and services grew by 0.4%.

The export growth has benefited the industry, after stopping the last quarter of 2011, has managed to reduce its decline and stood at a minus 0.4% during the first months of 2012.

This improvement is mainly due to positive growth of transport equipment, machinery and mechanical equipment and food, beverages and snuff.

The gross value added service sector has increased by 0.4% yoy, but was two tenths lower than the previous quarter because of declining trade activity subsector.

The number of tourists from the EU and the rest of the world has grown by 9.9% over the same period last year, tourism spending has increased by 17.6%.