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E W N 8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa de Almería
www.euroweeklynews.com
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL BUSINESS EXTRA
Does your wardrobe hide a gold-mine? IT has suddenly got hot so I’ve changed the bed covers to the summer duvet, and the gas burner has been packed away. Next on the list: a wardrobe change! Out with the woolly jumpers and in with shorts and flip-flops. It’s at this time of the year with the usual wardrobe changeover that it’s often revealed just how much money is wasted on clothing and accessories that have barely or never been worn. Stuff that once screamed out as essential ‘must-haves’ in a shop or
Healthier FCC SPANISH multinational construction company FCC cut its losses by 78 per cent to €31 million in the first quarter of 2013. This was due to refinancing and strategic planning, the chairman Juan Bejar said.
Turnaround AIR EUROPA has backtracked on plans to lay off staff. The high court upheld a clause in the collective agreement that vetoes redundancies while outsourcing to other firms.
Loose change A look at finance for females CASH GENERATOR: Sell your old handbags and clothes. worth of goods just sitting around unused. So what’s a girl to do? Either get rid of some clothes or get a bigger wardrobe. In the States an app called ‘poshmark’ is available whereby women can upload photos of their unwanted gear and sell it on. It works a lot like Facebook and with Instagram quality pictures that are attractive and fun to navigate. You create a page where you post pictures of everything from tops and dresses, to shoes and handbags. Shoppers can follow you, ‘like’ your items and make a purchase. It’s not available in Europe yet, but a pioneering young techie could create a similar one, as the app is a massive success in the US. Meanwhile, for women in Europe with lots of clothes and accessories clogging up the wardrobe there is always eBay or sites like Asos Marketplace, where fashion-hungry women can snap up bargain-priced designer handbags, while finance conscious girls can get rid of unwanted items and make a little profit for themselves along the way.
Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com
Share offer SANTANDER BANK is offering €4.686bn in shares for the remaining 25 per cent of Santander Brasil. It will issue around 665 million shares - 5.8 per cent of its total - in an offer representing a 20 per cent premium over the subsidiary’s last closing market price, Santander said.
magazine is now gathering dust. My wardrobe isn’t exactly the French Riviera of highfashion, but if we imagine all the closets of all the women in Spain or Europe or America combined, there must be trillions of euros
Can he alter façade without consent? Q. I am the president of a community of 16 houses, eight pairs of semi-detached houses. You and the One owner wishes to build an extension to his facade. All but one member has voted against Law in Spain the project, as based on my understanding of By David Searl Article Seven of the Law of Horizontal Property. This one member sent an email to all 16 owners saying: “According to my lawyer, ‘Communidad’ only has an effective vote about ‘alterations’ until the 10th year of the houses being built. Since the houses were officially built in 2005, after 2015 any negative decisions to alterations of any type can be overruled by the town hall.” Can you confirm that this is not correct? M G (email) A. Yes, I can. For any alterations which affect the exterior of a building or complex of attached houses, two conditions are necessary. One of these is a favourable vote by the Community of Property Owners and the other is a building permit from the local town hall. There are two possible exceptions to the need for approval by the community vote. If the town hall itself or other building authority has ordered repairs or work carried out, this work does not need community approval. This does not include extensions. The other possibility exists only in Catalonia, where such a provision can be written into the original Statutes of the Community. Catalonia has its own set of community rules. Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.
Financial crisis causing more identity theft CRIMES arising from identity theft have evolved during the financial crisis. “We’ve gone from house purchase to internet fraud,” said a spokesman for the National Police’s Economic and Fiscal Unit (UDEF). “We also see everything from using a stolen ID for a mobile phone contract to buying a top-ofthe range car on instalments,” said a spokesman for the police’s Economic and Fiscal Delinquency Unit (UDEF). Victims of ID theft often find they are burdened by debt, he added, and it is vital to officially report the loss of an ID card or passport as soon as it has been stolen. Victims also need to consult the RAI, Spain’s official list of debtors, to check whether their ID has been used to incur hire-purchase or other debts. Not only are loans now harder to come by but banks require extensive documentation precisely to avoid being stung by professional identity thieves. They work in small groups, the police said, and tend to be young and Spanish. “A mugger who snatches Crimes range from your bag or house purchase to wallet containing an internet fraud. ID is unlikely to use it but knows there is a market for stolen IDs. The price varies, but it’s rarely more than €50 per document.” Often it is used over a period of time to create a false identity and win the confidence of the person or entity to be targeted.