Spanish wage hike

MADRID: Spanish unions and employer organisations signed an agreement Monday to raise salaries after having kept wages frozen for the past three years, another sign of the rebound in Spain’s economy. The agreement could see wage increase by one per cent this year and 1.5 per cent in 2016. The deal was concluded by the business owners’ federations of CEOE and Cepyme, representing small- and medium-sized businesses, and the main workers’ unions UGT and CCOO. It covers a period of three years, but the amount of the increase for 2017 was not specified.

German production

BERLIN: German industrial production returned to growth in April, growing by 0.9 per cent compared with the previous month — another promising sign for Europe’s biggest economy. The Federal Statistical Office said Monday that the increase followed a 0.4 per cent drop in March, revised from the initial reading of 0.5 per cent. The figures come after data released Friday showed a second consecutive monthly rise in factory orders in April. The statistical office also reported a 1.9 per cent month-on-month increase in exports, a traditional strength of the German economy. Imports decreased by 1.3 per cent.

Turkey turbulence

ISTANBUL: Turkish investors on Monday took fright at a new period of political uncertainty after legislative elections, with shares tumbling over six per cent and the lira hitting a new record low against the dollar. Turkey’s central bank acted swiftly to give some support to the pressured Turkish lira, saying it was pruning its short term foreign exchange deposit rates effective Tuesday. The Istanbul stock exchange’s BIST 100 index plunged 6.20 per cent while the Turkish lira lost four per cent to trade at 2.76 to the dollar.

McDonald’s sales data

OAK BROOK: McDonald’s says that a key sales measurement dipped in May, with weakness in the US and some overseas markets. The world’s biggest hamburger chain said Monday that sales at locations open at least 13 months edged down 0.3 per cent last month. In the US, the figure declined 2.2 per cent.