Month: May 2026

Mercadona’s engine is not the white label, but crushing its rivals in profitability by earning less per product

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You may like it more or less your cataloghis business strategy or even the forecasts culinary-apocalyptic of its president, but there is something undeniable: Mercadona long ago stopped being a chain of stores to become a social phenomenon. One who depends about 30% of the food distribution market, 51% of the business of prepared dishes and that sets the pace for trends as relevant as that of the merchants. Hence everything that revolves around your finances be interesting. Especially because when studying them in detail and comparing them with other competing chains there is one fact that draws attention: Although its gross margin per sale is lower than that of other rivals, its profitability ratio is much higher. The data: 41,858 million. When Mercadona presented its 2025 economic balance, two months ago, there was a figure that made headlines: 41,858 million of euros. That was the company’s consolidated turnover, an interesting fact because it shows an annual growth of 8%, but it actually hides other even more revealing values. One of them is the turnover, net sales, which amounted to 38,178 million. In that case the increase was 7.2%. If we subtract from that figure what it cost the company to supply its merchandise (28,639 million), we obtain the first relevant piece of information: its gross marginthe money that the company earned after deducting the costs directly attributable to production and sale, such as raw materials or expenses generated during manufacturing. In this case it stood at 9,539 million. Is it important information? Yes. Above all to understand how the Valencian chain makes money and where it has its strengths (and weaknesses) compared to the competition. At first, those 9,539 million may not tell us much, but a few days ago Five Days subjected him to an analysis which does leave a couple of interesting ideas. The first is that this figure shows that Mercadona’s gross margin represents 25% of its sales. That means that of every 100 euros you earn, the supply costs take 75. From the remaining 25 euros you must get enough money to cover other bills and, above all, generate profits. It is not a bad percentage (25%) if we compare it with what the Valencian firm registered in recent years, but it is significantly lower than that managed by other competing companies. The calculations of Five Dayswhich are based on the accounts published by the companies, conclude that this margin rises to 26.2% in Dia, 27% in Eroski and 30.1% in Consum. In theory, this comparison leaves a clear reading: any of these three chains has a larger cushion, once the supply costs have been deducted, to pay the rest of the company’s bills and generate profits. And the surprise comes. The curious thing is that this ‘photo’ changes when we delve a little deeper into the accounts of Mercadona and its competitors. If we look at the operating resultwhich deducts all operating expenses, including for example salaries, rents, advertising, depreciation, transportation or energy, Mercadona is left with 2,061 million of euros. Given that Juan Orig’s chain invoices significantly more than Dia, Eroki or Consum, that operating result is also much higher in net terms. That’s logical. The curious thing is that it is also true in relative terms, based on the total income of each firm. In Mercadona this margin is 5.4% while in the case of Día it drops to 2.6%, in Eroski to 4.6% and in Consum to 2.7%. That’s the first surprise. The second comes when we go one step further and look at the net profitalready discounted the financial and fiscal expenses. It is relevant data because it basically shows what the company ‘earns’, the remainder from which the company takes the money with which it then pays dividends to its shareholders and makes reinvestments. In 2025 that benefit was almost 1,729 million, which is equivalent to 4.5% of its turnover. In Dia this percentage of global sales is 2.3%, in Consum it is 2.6% and in Eroski it remains at just 0.9%. Beyond the numbers. This mixture of percentages can be somewhat confusing, but it is very simple to read: beyond the business volume of each chain, whether it closes the year with more or less millions invoiced, Mercadona has achieved an important milestone. Despite ‘earn’ less per product Than Dia, Eroski or Consum (gross margin), their profitability ratios are much better. How have you done it? In your annual report The firm assures that it has improved its profitability thanks to the “optimization of processes”, which includes energy savings, “elimination of expenses without added value” and “advances in operational efficiency.” Only the use of ovens in ECO mode saved him two million. Outrunning the giants. Mercadona’s formula has not only allowed it to stand out from its most immediate competitors. It has also done so in comparison with other heavyweights in the sector internationally. At least in relative terms. a few weeks ago Expansion public an analysis which shows that the Valencian chain has skyrocketed its net profit margin to such a level that it surpasses giants such as Walmart, Costco or Tesco in profitability. While Mercadona’s net margin is 4.52% (4.52 euros profit per 100 euros in sales), at Walmart it is 3.1%, at Costco 3%, at Tesco 2.52%, at Ahold Delhaie 2.45%, at Dia 2.26%, at Sainsbury’s 0.73% and at Kroger it remains at 0.69%. And that’s just to name a few cases. The Valencian firm not only stands out in the photo finish With respect to its competitors, the figure for 2024 also significantly improves, when the net margin was 3.88%. Images | M. Peinado (Flickr) and Mercadona In Xataka | The gap between what pork costs on farms and in supermarkets does not stop growing. The ranchers have said enough

It is already looking for other bases in the United States (and even abroad)

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The pace of SpaceX launches It’s already dizzyingbut Elon Musk’s company assures that this is nothing. In the future, they hope to make many more releases. In fact, its most ambitious goal is to make more than a thousand launches a year with its famous Starship. Today, they only have two launch platforms adapted to this ship. in your Starbase base. That, logically, would be very short for them at that rate. This is why they are already looking for new launch locations. Many in the United States, but possibly some abroad as well. An ad in X. The news has been revealed through SpaceX’s X (formerly Twitter) account. After a publication by a user speculating about the possible purchase of land to expand its launches, the company not only has not denied it, but has gone further. This user was talking about some land in Louisiana, but SpaceX has announced that they are also considering buying outside the United States. What is known so far. Beyond that speculation from a tweeter, what we do know is that SpaceX is modifying three platforms in the area of ​​Cape Canaveral, Florida, to be able to launch Starship from there. This is the place from which a good part of NASA’s ships are launched. However, there was no space available for the Starship launch. With this decision by SpaceX, its search for new spaces is clear. Although it seems that that is just the beginning. Be careful with the bureaucracy. Buying land abroad to launch ships into space is not so simple. As explained in spacethe United States government welcomes space launches under the framework of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Based on this, American companies that want to fly from foreign soil have to overcome a series of bureaucratic procedures, which are expedited if the country in question has already signed something known as Technological Safeguards Agreement. This agreement derived of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which emerged in 1987 to ensure that missile technology did not end up in the wrong hands. Now, it is used to ensure that countries where space launches are carried out comply with a series of guidelines that do not endanger either the missions or the United States. Candidate countries. There are some countries that have already signed the Technological Safeguards Agreement with the United States. Some examples are Brazil, Norway, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Therefore, if SpaceX wants to launch in foreign countries, these would be the easiest options. In fact, the American company Rocket Lab It already launches from New Zealand without any problem. Step by step. Before talking about thousands of launches a year, we will have to see how the Starship evolves. Its 12th flight, in which version 3 will finally be tested, is scheduled for May 19, local Texas time. If this goes well, SpaceX will be closer to the Moon with its Starship and, logically, will also take another step towards the normalization of commercial flights of this ship. Only many years later will that massive shipment to space arrive. They are right to be proactive, but there is still a long way to go before they really need those launch bases abroad. Images | SpaceX In Xataka | In 2018, Elon Musk put his own car into orbit. Eight years later it is still circling the Earth

wants to be the “TSMC” of data for robots

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In recent years we have seen how artificial intelligence advanced on a relatively abundant raw material: text, images, videos and code published on the web. With robots, the terrain changes completely. We are not just talking about answering a question well or generating a convincing image, but about acting in the physical world, moving pieces, grabbing objects and doing so without everything being perfectly prepared. That difference explains why part of the next AI race may play out away from the usual focus. The investment. Settings It has not attracted the attention of just any investor, but of some of the large business groups in South Korea. According to Foley Hoagwhich legally advised Config on the operation, the startup, based in Seoul and San José, has closed a seed round of $27 million led by Samsung Venture Investment. ZER01NE Ventures, the investment arm of Hyundai Motor, LG Technology Ventures and SKT America have also participated. The operation values ​​the company at more than 200 million dollars and brings its total financing to 35 million. The “TSMC” of robots. The simile is not about chips, but about position in the value chain. Config aspires to position itself at a point similar to that of TSMC in semiconductors: not competing with its end customers, but rather supplying a part that others need to create their own products. In their case, that piece is not wafers or processors, but rather data for foundational robotics models. That approach is gaining traction as large manufacturers look to develop their own robotic AI without relying entirely on third-party vendors. Key difference. In a language model, the big cost is processing enormous amounts of digital information; in robotics, as Config CEO Minjoon Seo explained to TechCruncheach piece of data must be collected physically. That means having robots, spaces where they can be tested, and human teams that make them work. As companies look for more capable machines, data collection and labeling can quickly become more expensive, because we are no longer talking about information that waits on the web, but rather actions that occur in the real physical world. The key is in the conversion. The signature is based on an idea that is somewhat less obvious than the simple accumulation of data. Many robotics teams train their models with human motion data and then try to adapt them to machine behavior. The startup advocates another path: transforming that data before training begins so that it better fits the way robots move and interact with the environment. They have already started. Config has almost 300 people working on producing that data. The startup claims to have gathered more than 100,000 hours of human movement data, compared to roughly 3,000 hours for AgiBot Worldwhich the source presents as the largest comparable open set. The difference, more than 30 times, helps explain why the company is so insistent on the scale of its data operation. What’s coming. The next step will be to expand this machinery even more. Config wants to scale its operations in Vietnam and Seoul to reach one million hours of data collected, a goal that fits with its idea of ​​becoming an infrastructure provider for third parties. The company also aims to take its enterprise platform to $10 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2027. The third front is to launch a Robot-as-a-Service product in the cloud, designed so that companies can use the foundational Config model without depending on hardware integrated into the robot itself. Looking to the future. What this movement leaves is a fairly clear snapshot of where part of robotics may go in the coming years. Not everything will depend on the robot that we see in a factory, in a warehouse or in the field, but on all the previous work that allows human actions to be converted into useful learning for a machine. Config is still a young startup and its great promise has yet to be demonstrated at scale, but interest from Samsung, Hyundai, LG and other big names points to an idea with potential. Images | Config | Igor Omilaev In Xataka | Nvidia’s CEO is in China. And the future of your company is at stake there.

a blow to European railway monopolies

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The European Commission has presented a legislative package that forces large railway operators to open their sales platforms to other companies. And Renfe, the main operator in Spain, is in the spotlight. Platforms. Buying a train ticket in Europe continues to be, in many cases, an odyssey. Especially when the trip crosses borders or involves combining different operators. The European Commission esteem that on average it takes 70% longer to book a train journey than to do the same with a flight. And part of the blame lies with the large historical operators, such as Renfe in Spain, Deutsche Bahn in Germany or SNCF in France, which control their own sales platforms and have few incentives to give visibility to their rivals. What exactly does Brussels propose? The Commission has presented a legislative package that directly targets this dominant position. The rule obliges any operator that has a market share equal to or greater than 50% in the national railway market to open its digital ticket sales platform to other companies that request it. In practice, whoever enters the Renfe website should also be able to see the Iryo and Ouigo tickets, not just the Renfe ones. The same would happen in the rest of the countries with their own dominant operators. But not only that. Large operators will also have to share your ratesdiscounts and schedules dynamically and in real time with travel agencies and digital platforms such as Booking, Omio, Trainline, eDreams, and must do so under fair and non-discriminatory commercial conditions. Until now, according to the Commission itself, these platforms only had access to the most expensive rates, not the complete catalog. Why Renfe is in the center. It is not the first time that the Spanish operator appears in this debate. In 2023, the European Commission opened a formal investigation to assess whether Renfe could have abused its dominant position in the Spanish market by refusing to provide its real-time data to competing ticketing platforms, according to share from El Diario. The new regulation would settle this type of situation generally for all of Europe. The Commission emphasize that the operators with greater brand recognition, the heirs of the old railway monopolies, have become the usual reference for the traveler, which gives them a structural advantage to exclude competition from their ecosystem. The other side of the coin. The change is not only against Renfe in Spain. And if the Spanish operator must open its platform to Iryo and Ouigo, it would also have the right to have its tickets appear on the dominant websites of other countrieslike SNCF Connect in France (as much as it has resisted until now). That could facilitate its expansion in the European market. Even so, the impact for historical operators is double and not at all comfortable. And just as they point out in El País, on the one hand, they must show their commercial strategy in advance to their direct competitors. On the other hand, more competition in ticket sales increases pressure on margins and commissions. The single ticket, the great novelty for the traveler. Along with the opening of platforms, the Commission proposes to create a single ticket that covers routes operated by different companies in a single transaction. A trip from Madrid to Brussels with Renfe, SNCF and SNCB would have a single document. And if there is a delay in one of the sections, the passenger would be covered, since the company responsible for the incident assumes the assistance, the transportation alternative and the corresponding financial compensation. There is an important nuance: if the problem is not caused by the train but rather that whoever sold the ticket did not respect the minimum connection times, the responsibility falls on the sales platform, which must refund the entire ticket and compensate the passenger. up to 75% of its price. What happens now? This proposal is, for now, just that, a proposal. The negotiation still remains to be concluded between the Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States. If the process progresses without major obstacles, Brussels estimates that the changes could be operational in less than twelve months from the entry into force of the regulation. The European Commissioner for Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, was one of those in charge of presenting the initiative together with the executive vice-president Raffaele Fitto, counting that “we went from building networks to serving passengers.” Cover image | Jose Garcia In Xataka | If the question is what Renfe can do to stop Ouigo and Iryo, the answer is not in the prices

There is an underlying reason that explains it, according to Bloomberg

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The agreement between OpenAI and Apple, announced at WWDC24brought together all the ingredients to become one of the most refined movements in the sector. The artificial intelligence company of the moment landed with its star product in the ecosystem of the technological giant where practically everyone wants to be. ChatGPT began to occupy a privileged position within the devices compatible with Apple Intelligence– The user could take advantage of its capabilities from Siri and Writing Tools, and even link their account to access a more complete experience. And yes, unlike other Apple Intelligence features, like the new Siri, that ended up being delayedthe integration with ChatGPT did end up being deployed on the apple company’s different platforms. What did not materialize, according to Mark Gurmanwere the results that OpenAI expected. The startup led by Sam Altmanexplains the Bloomberg analyst, was confident in an avalanche of new paying subscribers that would translate into billions of dollars in annual revenue, at a time when every dollar counted. Two years after that agreement, even the possibility of legal action begins to appear on the horizon. The agreement, furthermore, was not exactly frozen in that first photo from WWDC24. Bloomberg points out that the integration ended up expanding with new entry doors: users could subscribe to ChatGPT directly from the iOS settings, Apple incorporated it as an option to create images in Image Playground and also used it to analyze on-screen content. On paper, it was no small feat. The problem, always according to the sources consulted by Gurman, is that these expansions were simply not enough. An alliance without money involved, but with many expectations The economic key to the agreement helps to understand why the disenchantment weighs so much. The American media already explained in June 2024 that Apple was not paying OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its systems. Nor was it considered, at least at that time, as an operation in which OpenAI would buy its place within the iPhone. The payoff lay elsewhere: Apple offered distribution, visibility, and potential access to a gigantic user base. For a company that needed to turn popularity into recurring revenue, that promise was apparently worth as much as a check. Now, the reality was much less brilliant. Bloomberg says user studies conducted by OpenA suggest that Apple customers turned much more frequently to the standalone ChatGPT application than to the integration within Siri and other system services. That information changes the reading of the agreement. If the user already has the habit of opening the app, the presence in Apple Intelligence stops working as an entrance door and it becomes something more secondary: it is there, but it does not necessarily drive the business. The shape chosen by Apple would not have helped much either. The use of ChatGPT within their systems remained limited. The reproach attributed to OpenAI has a quite concrete logic. Bloomberg notes that the company hoped Apple would put ChatGPT in a more prominent place, not just as an option available if the user knew where to look for it. It also relied on broader integration with in-house apps and more intense promotion within its platforms. But the matter goes further. Gurman assures that OpenAI lawyers are working with an external firm on different legal options that could be executed soon. One of them would be to send Apple a notification by alleged breach of contractwithout this necessarily implying filing a lawsuit from the first moment because it aims to resolve the conflict outside of court. It should be noted that there is no official information, and that Apple and OpenAI did not comment following the request of the American economic media. Apple, for its part, doesn’t seem very comfortable either. The company reportedly maintained reservations about OpenAI, including whether the startup did enough to protect user privacy. Added to this is a more recent tension: OpenAI no longer wants to limit itself to software and works on devices with several former Apple peopleincluding Jony Ive. For Cupertino, according to Bloomberg, the signing of engineers from its hardware teams would also have been especially annoying. That scenario is going to change even more. Already at WWDC24 Apple announced that it would open the door to integrate other AI systems in its ecosystem. So everything seems to indicate that it is a matter of time until OpenAI rivals such as Google with Gemini either Anthropic with Claude land within the apple company’s ecosystem. It would not be an expulsion from ChatGPT, but it would be an obvious loss of prominence. We have to wait to see how this agreement and the relationship between both companies will evolve. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | The ‘Chinese Netflix’ has designed a plan for AI to generate the majority of its content within five years. It sounds risky

NASA prepares chips 100 times more powerful

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Human beings explore because they need to understand what lies beyond. We have done it by crossing oceans, climbing mountains and, for decades, sending machines to places where we cannot yet be. But a space mission has more to do than get there. For example, collecting data, interpreting it and sending it to Earth to do science. This is where the great challenge appears, because space requires computers capable of functioning for years in an environment that punishes electronics like few others. High Performance Spaceflight Computing. This is the name of the response that NASA is preparing. According to the agencythe project seeks to develop together with Microchip Technology a new space processor capable of offering up to 100 times more computing capacity than current space computers. We are not talking about a chip designed for a laptop or a mobile phone, but rather a system on a chip, or SoC, called to be integrated, once certified for space flight, in future ships, orbiters, rovers, manned habitats and deep space missions. SoC, a familiar term. This is the type of architecture that is common in our smartphones and tablets: small devices that concentrate essential elements of a computer in a single piece. The difference compared to an isolated processor is precisely there. An SoC is not limited to executing instructions, but can integrate CPUs, computing support units, advanced networks, memory, and input and output interfaces. On Earth we use it to gain efficiency and reduce size. In space, moreover, it has to survive. The challenge. As we say, space punishes electronics in a way that we rarely see down here. According to NASA, a processor intended for real missions must withstand electromagnetic radiation, extreme temperature fluctuations and high-energy particles capable of altering the operation of the systems. We are not just talking about losing performance, but about errors that can force a ship to enter “safe mode”, with non-essential operations turned off until mission teams resolve the incident. A key phase. Now comes the time to check if everything that is promised on paper holds up when taken to the physical field. JPL began testing in February and will maintain the campaign for several months, with radiation tests, thermal cycles, shocks and functional evaluations. The agency ensures that the processor is working as designed and adds a striking fact, although still within the framework of the tests: the first indications show that it operates with a performance 500 times higher than the radiation-hardened chips currently in use. More autonomy away from home. Space exploration has a limit that is not resolved with a larger antenna: distance. Between Earth and Mars, ua signal may take a while between 3 and 22 minutes to travel in one direction, depending on the position of both planets in their orbits. That means we can’t drive a rover like someone drives a remote-controlled car. We have seen it in the Martian landings, the famous “seven minutes of terror”, when a ship enters, descends and lands, executing a choreography by itself that from Earth we can only know when it has already happened. On-board computing. NASA proposes that this type of processor will allow future ships to use artificial intelligence to respond in real time to complex situations, analyze large volumes of data, store it and transmit it more quickly. Let’s remember the case of Perseverance which already combined orbital data of Mars, its panoramic camera and a Snapdragon 801 to compare what he saw with information obtained from space and refine his position on the Martian surface. If we want to continue exploring Mars and look further, we will need more and more systems capable of making decisions without always waiting for an order from Earth. Technology that returns. The history of space exploration is also the history of ideas that are born to solve very specific problems and then find a place on Earth. In this case, NASA points to possible adaptations for sectors such as aviation and automotive, in potential uses such as drones, electrical networks, medical equipment, communication services, artificial intelligence and data transmission. It does not mean that we will see this processor in a consumer product tomorrow, but it does mean that the effort to make it more powerful, efficient, scalable and resistant can go beyond a ship on its way to deep space. Images | POT In Xataka | The biggest problem with living on the Moon is its nights. NASA believes it has found the solution to avoid running out of electricity

space as a new factory

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Two pharmaceutical companies have teamed up to launch an ambitious plan to synthesize drugs in space. It’s not an expensive hobby. It is more than proven that some medications They have added advantages if they crystallize under microgravity conditions. Until now, the few companies that had done so had worked alone or with the sole support of agencies such as NASA, but the fact that two of them are associated without the need for the space agency to intervene marks what could be the beginning of an era. Better to join forces. The two companies in question are Varda Space Industries and United Therapeutics Corporation. The first, founded by former SpaceX employees, has been synthesizing medicines in space since 2023. The second has never traveled beyond Earth, but it is a biotechnology company with enough potential for the union to be much stronger. The initial objective will be the crystallization in microgravity of drugs for rare lung diseases. However, in the future drugs could be produced for many other pathologies. It all started in 2019. In 2019, the companies Merck Sharp & Dome Corp. (MSD), in collaboration with the National Laboratory of the International Space Station (ISS), carried out experiments crystallization with the drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda). It is an anti-cancer drug that, as is common in chemotherapy, is administered by intravenous infusion, in a process that can last hours. By crystallizing it in space, a more stable form was obtained that allowed its administration in a single injection, making the treatment much more comfortable for patients. a matter of time. It has been seen that, when crystallized under microgravity conditions, many molecules assemble more slowly and constantly. The results are much more stable molecules that, once used as a drug, have a wide variety of advantages. For example, they dissolve better, do not require as much cold for storage, cause fewer side effects, and have a longer shelf life. Varda’s experience. The Varda company began its space pharmacology project in 2023. That year it launched the first of a series of unmanned capsules with chemical reactors into space. In these reactors, molecules crystallize and, after a few weeks or months of work, are returned to Earth. That first capsule was the W-1. W-6 is currently carrying out its mission and is expected to launch at least three more this year. Furthermore, after the merger with another pharmaceutical company, Varda is confident of being able to scale to 7 launches in 2027. Also for research. Molecules that crystallize in space give rise to larger crystals. This also makes your research easier. Therefore, with this type of project the aim is not only to obtain drugs. It is also expected to obtain candidate molecules to become medicines, to be analyzed more thoroughly by scientists on Earth. This is just the beginning. In the future, space travel will be much more widespread. The reuse of rockets will allow many more launches in less time, space tourism will become increasingly common and many public and private investigations can be carried out in orbit. If sufficient investment is achieved, the infrastructure to obtain drugs in space will become increasingly simpler. And, of course, the benefits for patients will also increase. Image | Varda/Magnific In Xataka | We knew that Mars has gravity. Now we have just discovered the unexpected effect it has on the Earth’s climate

Today on Prime Video, the conclusion of the best series from the creator of ‘The Sandman’ comes with a radical surprise in its duration

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For three years millions of fans of ‘Good Omens‘ trapped in one of the cruelest cliffhangers on recent television, which concluded the second season. Now the conclusion of this story of friendship between heaven and hell comes back to Prime Video turned into a very different series… and for reasons that go far beyond creative decisions. And the third season has been reduced to a single 97-minute episode. In December 2023, when Prime Video confirmed the renewal of the series, Neil Gaiman, creator of the adaptation and co-author with the late Terry Pratchett of the original 1990 novel, Gaiman had not yet been canceled by the industry after several accusations of sexual assault. In October 2024, Amazon confirmed that Gaiman was no longer part of the production team, and disappeared from the credits. The season originally intended to be six episodes was reduced to just one hour and a half. The third installment picks up the narrative arc where season 2 left off: Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) is the Supreme Archangel and is entrusted with the supervision of the Second Cominga responsibility that surpasses him when Jesus disappears from the divine plan and begins to wander the streets of London. Crowley (David Tennant), for his part, has been wandering around Soho for months, sunken. Old acquaintances return, such as Jon Hamm as Archangel Gabriel, Derek Jacobi as Metatron and Doon Mackichan as Archangel Michael. As always, critics have praised the extraordinary chemistry established between the two protagonists of the series, although many point out that the drastic reduction in footage is noticeable in a certain narrative haste. ‘Good Omens’, of course, is not the only series affected by the change in public perception of its creator: Netflix’s ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ was canceled in 2024 after a single season; ‘The Sandman’ on Netflix concluded in 2025 with its second season; Disney halted the adaptation of ‘The Graveyard Book’ in September 2024; and ‘Anansi Boys’, the Prime Video series with Delroy Lindo that had already finished filming, remains without a release date, and we may never see it. In Xataka | One of the most brilliant films and also the most ignored by the last Oscars arrives today on Prime Video

This is the FAFO parenting that divides the experts

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The Internet and social networks have become fertile ground for debate about how to raise childrensomething that is used especially by first-time parents who want to know what is the best method to have a ‘model’ son or daughter for society. And while a few days ago we were talking about helicopter parentsnow we have to focus on FAFO parenting, which is at the opposite end and is gaining strength on the networks. FAFO parenting. These acronyms they come from the English ‘Fuck Around and Find Out’ which could be translated as ‘do something stupid and find out what happens’. This is a term that, although it lacks a formal academic basis, under that specific name has become popular to describe a parenting style based on natural consequences. The premise here is quite simple: if a child refuses to put on his coat in winter, the parent does not insist; allows the child to go out, feel cold, and “discover” why the coat was necessary. However, experts point out that the FAFO label is being often used as a “license for parental indifference. A tougher model. Right now FAFO is a trend, but if we look back, we come from a time where social control and extreme protection were on the order of the day with what was known as ‘helicopter parents’. And to understand it, you have to know that right now we have three main axes for raising the little ones: Desirable authoritarian: with clear limits combined with high emotional support, who uses the consequences of actions as a learning tool, but with parental supervision. ‘Just plain’ authoritarian: There is little affection towards minors, causing “I told you so” to prevail over understanding and empathy. Permissive: Here there is an absence of limits and total freedom for minors, meaning that there is no clear structure. The FAFO problem radical is that it slides dangerously towards the authoritarian style or detachment. Here the studies indicate that children raised under purely punitive or indifferent discipline have higher levels of stress, which can lead to anxiety and long-term behavioral problems. Its risks. The controversy arises especially when the strategy lacks emotional support for the child, since allowing a child to “find” the consequence of their actions is only educational if the child’s brain is capable of processing that cause-effect relationship. And it is not something that everyone can, because a 3-year-old child does not have the prefrontal cortex developed enough to understand that his tantrum caused the loss of a toy as a logical lesson, but only perceives the pain of the loss and the coldness of his father who left him crying. How it should be done. And what has to be prioritized in parenting is learning so that it continues to evolve, but logically everything must be adapted to the maturity of the child, there must be supervision to guarantee safety and subsequent emotional support is essential. The big problem with the FAFO approach, as promoted on the networks, is that it often eliminates that last point and makes it necessary to show indifference, inattention or public humiliation. Something that only increases stress. Against overprotection. FAFO triumphs because we come from a time where ‘helicopter’ parenting and ‘snowplow’ parents have dominated in many families. Now we have a reactive effect on overprotection on the table. Although, as positive parenting guides point out, teaching a child that his actions have consequences does not require coldness. Letting the child “crash” can be a very valuable lesson, as long as his parents are there immediately afterwards to help him manage the frustration, without humiliation or the phrase ‘I told you so’. Images | freepik In Xataka | In 2007, Spain forced men to take longer sick leave to care for their children. Fertility then fell.

VAT on electricity returns to 21%

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VAT on electricity and gas returns to 21% as of June 1. That’s the news of the day, and before you put your hands on your head thinking about your next bill, breathe, because there is a lot of fabric to cut here. You’re probably wondering: why is this happening? If we have been hearing for months that we have a “renewable shield” that protects us from the global energy crisis, what the hell has happened to give us back the fiscal axe? The short answer is that the system has worked so well that, paradoxically, it has taken away our aid. Spain is facing a strange energy and economic paradox: the good health of our generation system and the moderation of inflation have caused the defense mechanism designed by the Government to blow up. The result is bittersweet and frustrating for the average consumer: we generate the cheapest energy in Europe, but the tax burden on your next bill will return to pre-crisis normality. The CPI trap. The Government has not removed the aid because of a last-minute whim, but because the law itself required it to be done. The anti-crisis decree had a catch or “kill clause”: stated that, if energy prices stopped skyrocketing and did not rise more than 15% compared to April of the previous year, the tax reductions would be automatically canceled in June. And that is exactly what has happened. Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that the shield has worked. General inflation has slowed to 3.2%. The person largely responsible for this relief? The cheaper energy in our homes: electricity has fallen by 4.3% and gas by 9.6% compared to last year. As prices have shown these negative rates, far from exceeding that legal limit of 15%, the rule has fulfilled its threat. The system has made our energy so cheap that, by law, we lose the exceptional 0.5% bonus on the special tax on electricity and we have to pay VAT on electricity and gas again at 21%. But will the “renewable shield” be of any use? The Ministry of Economy sticks out its chest and celebrates that the moderation of prices demonstrates the capacity of the “renewable shield” and confirms that the Spanish system can absorb external shocks such as the war in Iran. In fact, Spain is resisting much better than its neighbors because the share of clean energy in our generation mix already exceeds 60%. Unlike countries like Italy or Germany, which depend heavily on the gray fringe of fossil generation, Spain’s massive wind and solar deployment sinks wholesale prices during the day. We have even seen historical milestones where the wholesale market has set negative prices of up to -10 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). However, why don’t we notice this renewable miracle on the bill? The wholesale cost of energy represents only 41% of an average household bill. The rest of the amount they swallow it network tolls (23%), VAT (17%), system charges (10%) and commercial margins. Cheap wholesale electricity is necessary, but insufficient if tolls and taxes continue to suffocate the final bill. Be careful when you go to get gas. The INE details that “fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles” They experienced a year-on-year increase in prices of more than 15% (15.5%), dragged down by a huge inflation of 28.2% in diesel. By exceeding the legal threshold of 15%, gasoline will maintain its 10% VAT reduction and aid for professional diesel, at least until June 30. The danger of summer. The withdrawal of part of the light tax shield will be immediately noticeable. According to the calculations of Francisco Valverde, expert analyst in the electricity market in statements for The Newspaperthe return to normal taxes will mean a bill increase of around 15% for all consumers in June. For an average customer, this will imply an additional payment of between 8 and 9 euros, while for gas the upward impact will be between 9% and 10%. But the horizon hides a greater challenge: summer. The analyst Antonio Aceituno warns that our current “hydraulic shield” will begin to give way. With heat waves, solar panels lose efficiency, the use of air conditioning increases demand and expensive gas combined cycles will have to be turned on to avoid blackouts. If the conflict in the Middle East persists, forecasts suggest that the wholesale bill could jump above 100 euros per MWh in June, reaching around 120 euros in the middle of summer. The cracks that no one wants to see. To understand why the renewable miracle does not end up sticking in your pocket, you have to look at the structural flaws that experts denounce: An inelastic and “passive” demand: Joaquín Coronado highlights a huge dysfunction in our market. When electricity reaches ridiculous prices of €0.51/MWh, Spanish consumers do not react by consuming more to take advantage of the bargain. By not using that cheap energy, it ends up being exported by French and Portuguese agents, which paradoxically drags our prices up through European coupling. “All against all” in the sector: According to Coronadothe actors in the Spanish electricity sector are immersed in an internal war, blaming each other and resenting cooperation. The expert suggests that Spain should rethink its institutional architecture, looking to the United Kingdom, where a system operator has been created (National Energy System Operator) with operational independence to separate network planning from asset ownership. The “night fissure”: The transition is incomplete. As evening falls, solar energy disappears and we depend on gas again. Without investments in mass storage systems and batteries to store the day’s excess megawatts, we will continue to be hostage to volatility every time the sun sets. The hidden price of the miracle. The Government’s response plan fulfilled its main objective: to cushion the war and save household purchasing power. We have managed to decouple our system from the worst international gas whims and avoided fuel inflation that would be close to 28.9% without aid. But June … Read more

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