Firms start fleeing as Catalonia row deepens

Madrid: One of Spain’s biggest banks, Sabadell, is considering moving its legal headquarters out of Catalonia as the region’s leaders edge close to secession from Spain. The news boosted Sabadell’s share price on the Madrid stock exchange. At around 3:15 pm (1315 GMT) it was up by 3.2 per cent, to 1.642 euros ($1.92). The bank, Spain’s fourth-largest by assets, is based in Sabadell, some 25 kilometres north of Barcelona. Madrid, Alicante and Oviedoare among its relocation options,. Other businesses have already moved their legal headquarters to other parts of Spain, including dental products manufacturer Proclinic Expert, telecoms firm Eurona and biotech company Oryzon Genomics. “What is happening with CaixaBank and Sabadell is only the first wave of an economic-financial tsunami for Catalonia if they continue like this,” economist Lorenzo Bernaldo de Quiros wrote on Twitter. — dpa

Court bars secession bid

Madrid: Spain’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the suspension of a planned session in Catalonia’s parliament which separatist leaders have called for the region to declare independence. Judges “ordered the suspension of the plenary that has been called for on Monday in the (Catalan) parliament” while it hears an appeal by rival Catalan politicians, a spokeswoman said.