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Small Business Growth

The IMF gives Spain the biggest growth upgrade of any large economy in the world, even the USA but Spaniards are not convinced [Video]

SPAIN’S economic outlook has been upgraded more than any other large economy – including even emerging countries.

The International Monetary Fund has boosted the country’s growth forecast to 2.9% for this year – outpacing even the USA and higher than the Spanish government’s own prediction of 2.7%.

The upgrade came between the IMF’s spring and autumn meetings, meaning the growth forecast has increased by one full point, outstripping every competitor.?

And Spain is set to continue its strong performance into 2025, with current projections – always subject to change – anticipating growth of 2.1%.

READ MORE: France to tighten border controls between Spain and other neighbours over ‘terrorism fears’ and ‘illegal immigration’

This two-year performance makes Spain the surprise economic success story among advanced economies over the two-year period.

Within the eurozone, only three smaller nations – Croatia (3.4%), Cyprus (3.3%) and Malta (5.0%) – are expected to grow faster this year.

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Small Business Growth

Trump names Brendan Carr, senior GOP leader at FCC, to lead the agency [Video]

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband.Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC's general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission.The FCC is an independent agency that is overseen by Congress, but Trump has suggested he wanted to bring it under tighter White House control, in part to use the agency to punish TV networks that cover him in a way he doesnt like.Carr has of late embraced Trump's ideas about social media and tech. Carr wrote a section devoted to the FCC in Project 2025, a sweeping blueprint for gutting the federal workforce and dismantling federal agencies in a second Trump administration produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation.Trump has claimed he doesnt know anything about Project 2025, but many of its themes have aligned with his statements.Carr said in a statement congratulating Trump on his win that he believed "the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth.Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans Freedoms, and held back our Economy, Trump said in a statement on Sunday. He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling Americas Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.The five-person commission has a 3-2 Democratic majority until next year, when Trump gets to appoint a new member.Carr has made appearances on Fox News Channel, including when he slammed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris appearance on Saturday Night Live the weekend before the election charging that the network didnt offer equal time to Trump.Also a prolific writer of op-eds, Carr wrote in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal last month decrying an FCC decision to revoke a federal award for Elon Musks satellite service, Starlink. He said the move couldnt be explained "by any objective application of the facts, the law or sound policy.In my view, it amounted to nothing more than regulatory lawfare against one of the lefts top targets: Mr. Musk, Carr wrote.