No subject

economic activity. Suddenly, the economies of the developed countries
have cooled. Europe (particularly Spain) is in full deceleration and
the United States is on the brink of recession.

The harshness of this adjustment is most noticeable in the real-estate
sector. During the first quarter of 2008, home sales in Spain dropped
29 percent! Nearly 2 million apartments and homes could not find a
buyer. The price of land continues to fall. And the rise in mortgage
interests and the fears of recession plunge the sector into an
infernal spiral, with ferocious effects on all fronts of the huge
construction industry. All the construction businesses are now in the
eye of the hurricane and witness with impotence the destruction of
tens of thousands of jobs.