A Bad Week for ... , June 8, 2014

Operators of luxury goods stores selling gold, jewellery and watches faced bad news when the government revealed that retail sales in April slumped by the sharpest margin in five years. The decline was 9.8 per cent year-on-year. This came as the growth in mainland tourist arrivals slowed to 14.7 per cent. The decline in sales of luxury products was put down to a change in tourists' shopping habits and a slowing mainland economy.

The Spanish king announced his abdication in favour of his son, Felipe. King Juan Carlos has faced various controversies, including a hunting trip to Botswana at the height of Spain's worst ever economic slump. Juan Carlos became king in 1975.