The Canary Islands are a popular choice when it comes to the purchase of a holiday home. Countless foreigners fall in love with the islands and decide to buy their own place to enjoy with their families in a more private setting instead of booking in at a hotel. Many choose to rent these properties out short-term so that they are not empty while the owners aren’t using them themselves and so that the property pays for itself, generating a small income.
Repsol the oil drilling giant has set its sights on the Canary Islands as its next project or victim as the case may be. Controversial decision making and environmental endangerment are the topics of intense conversation as the islands’ future is being mapped with no regard for public opinion.
As much as it pains me to write this story, it is still highly relevant because Standards and Poor’s rating service has downgraded Spain’s Canary Islands today from A+ to AA-, which only demonstrates Spain’s current financial struggle.
This is a massive blow to the region but the credit rater has also warned that the region could suffer further downgrades as it has been flagged with a “creditwatch negative status”. This basically warns of problematic public finances and high unemployment issues stemming from the year 2008 which has worsened over time. From data received in September of this year, unemployment stands at approximately 25% and is predicted to increase over the upcoming year.
