And now, allow me to introduce Pablo Hernández de Cos, keynote speaker of the day. First, Pablo, let me welcome you to this remarkable location. It is a historical site that dates back to the 17th century. It was used during that time by our Royal family as summer residence and place for hunting.
While these longer-run changes imply a decline in the growth rates of investment and industrial production, both have also experienced a noticeable cyclical slowing over the past year or more. As earlier excesses in residential construction gave rise to a large stock of unsold housing, house prices declined and so too did housing construction.