It is an old maxim of the stage that, no matter how many accidents and calamities, the show must go on. In the corporate world, Business Continuity Plans are already a part of global strategies. In an article for trébol, Lionel Güitta, Assistant Director of Business Continuity and Contingency at MAPFRE, sets out the steps insurance companies should follow to involve all their staff, departments and business areas in identifying priorities and mutual dependencies so that the organisation can react efficiently in the event of disaster.

Iberian ham is a delicacy produced only in Spain and Portugal from pigs of the Iberian breed, reared and fed in the peninsula’s characteristic green, oak-tree-dotted dehesas. To avoid mix ups when eating or buying ham, the article by José Vilches, an authority on the industry, is a must read. The ham business, valued at EUR 1.88 billion by total revenue, is beginning to look up after several years of drastic adjustment after the global economic crisis. Already there are signs of short supply of raw materials and sharply increasing prices of fresh produce.

Information is power, goes another famous adage. And if it is reliable, orderly and available, it becomes a formidable instrument. Gregorio Izquierdo has been president of the Spanish National Statistics Institute since 2012 and previously taught statistics and economics at university. Responding to the strong demand for information in all sectors of society, he is deploying new IT-based communication channels to offer the public statistical data on trends and developments in Spain quickly and serviceably.

Macroeconomics does not correlate with a population’s standard of living but its upturns and downturns do end up affecting people’s daily lives. The investment advisor Ignacio de la Torre finds clear similarities between Germany’s position in 2004 as a decidedly exporting nation, and Spain’s economy in 2014, where signs of a change in cycle are already becoming apparent. His reports are highly regarded outside of Spain and the truth is monetary flows are getting bigger. We truly hope he is right!