In mid-2013 big business was improving in Spain, but the effects just started trickling down to the real economy last quarter. Small business loans grew by 5% in November after starting to increase mildly in October, which confirms a momentum shift in an area where growth had been inhibited by a financing shortage.
The same has happened with retail shops, which experienced understandable sales boosts during the holiday shopping season. The many efforts that the private sector has undertaken since the crisis began are starting to bear fruit, although the celebrating will have to wait until the latest jobs figures are published. Hiring is always the last phase of a recovery. The only thing left to do is to put the government into a position to succeed economically.
