broken

Spain has broken employment records. It has also broken a record of workers who need two payrolls

by

The Spanish labor market closed 2025 with a record that no one would want to celebrate: never before have so many people needed to juggle two jobs at the same time. While the data highlighted in bold reveals record in memberships and a unemployment downthere is a figure that tells another equally revealing story about how the reality of employment in Spain is changing. Low salaries and the imposition of part-time work hours are the main triggers for the need to have several jobs to make ends meet. The data collected by a study of Randstad reveals that the number of employed people with more than one job In Spain they have already exceeded 630,000, which is a historic figure. The highest number ever recorded. At the end of 2025, a total of 632,800 employed people in Spain had a secondary job (or several), which is 50,000 more people than last year. In it last data Collected by the INE in 2022, the number of multi-employed people stood at 520,500 people. That of 2025 is the highest figure and represents an increase of 8.6% in just twelve months. The phenomenon continues to be a minority in relative terms since it affects around 2.8% of the total number of employed people, but its growth reveals that something is happening in the labor market. However, this growth is also included in the logic of growth of the labor market: there are more employees with jobs, so the probability that these employees have more than one job also increases. Precariousness is one of the keys. One of the keys to understanding this increase is not so much to look at the number of people with more than one job, but rather at the number of people with part-time work. According to EPA data From the last quarter of 2024, full-time employment decreased by 115,600 people, while part-time employment increased by 191,800. This information is relevant because a worker who wants to work full-time will look for a way to combine two (or more) part-time jobs to complete (or exceed) the time and salary that he or she would obtain with a full-time job. More women, but just barely. Although the difference is small, women slightly outnumber men in moonlighting. According to INE data corresponding to the end of 2025, a total of 317,200 women had more than one job, which is equivalent to 3% of the total number of employed women, compared to 315,400 men, which represented 2.6% of the total number of men. Once again, we find ourselves in a scenario in which, due to the need to reconcile childcare and precariousness, women are more likely to occupy positions with part-time hours. According to official dataIn 2025, part-time contracts for women increased by 62,311. A few hours in hospitality. The sector where the majority of those who chain two jobs are concentrated is the services sector, which brings together 87.5% of all multi-employed workers in the country. As and how I collected Investedof the more than 632,000 workers with double occupation, some 553,300 carried out their activity in this hospitality sector and services. The industrial and productive sectors reduce the presence of multi-employment workers due to the high demand for full-time labor that is registered in them. Thus, Industry recognizes 40,700 employees with more than one job, Construction 21,600 multiple employees and Agriculture 17,000. ​What’s coming in 2026. Randstad Research’s forecasts for this year indicate that Spain will reach an annual average employed population of 22.64 million people, which would represent a growth of 1.9% compared to 2025. The unemployment rate, according to these estimates, will continue to decline and will reach an annual average of 9.8%. However, 2026 presents a complicated economic scenario in which inflation can reduce purchasing power of families, which will predictably contribute to multiple employment in Spain continuing to rise, setting new records. In Xataka | A 22-year-old engineer combined two full-time jobs. His secret: do the minimum so that they don’t give him more work Image | Unsplash (Valentine)

The panic of technology companies about running out of chips has broken the RAM market. Manufacturers have said enough

by

The RAM market is completely broken. In November of last year we talked about a 300% increasewas the result of the perfect storm caused by AI and data centers. Faced with brutal shortages, large companies are trying to get hold of as much memory as possible, which further destabilizes the market. Now manufacturers are taking matters into their own hands. No hoarders, thank you. In an extensive report published by Nikkei Asiatalk about the big three DRAM manufacturers (Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix) implementing stricter rules for their customers in order to prevent them from hoarding memory. The measures are aimed at ensuring that demand is real, that is, that the chips are not going to end up collecting dust in a warehouse “just in case.” Manufacturers are asking for details about who the chips are for, the quantities and what they will be used for. OpenAI’s dirty deal. We go back to October 1, 2025. OpenAI signed an agreement with Samsung and SK Hynix to a potential demand for 900,000 DRAM wafers per month. The figure is equivalent to 40% of all world production, absurd, but what is striking is the “potential.” As they point out multiple users on Xare securing a critical product for data centers that have not yet been built, with money they do not have. Some analysts called this agreement “The dirty DRAM deal”whose hidden objective seemed to point to a rather dirty move: to create a moat by preventing its competitors from accessing critical technology. Open orders. The AI ​​race is not going to stop because chips rise in price and big technology companies have done what they had to do: everything possible to get chips. At the end of last year, Reuters He said that some companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta had even approached Micron with open orders, that is, they were willing to accept all the memory they could supply, without a price cap. A full-fledged preventive hoarding. Compulsive shopping. AI companies are not the only ones that have tried to secure their chips, PC manufacturers such as Asus, MSI, Dell or HP also began to buy RAM compulsively at the end of 2025 for accumulate inventory before what was coming. Manufacturers are aware of overorders and that is why they are now demanding data on the end customer. The winners. While everyone is fighting to get their chips, Samsung is getting rich. It is not only that has tripled its profitsFurthermore, it is the technological more has appreciated in 2025ahead of Alphabet and TSMC. For its part, SK Hynix has doubled its profitsmainly due to the boom in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), of which it is a key supplier. In Xataka | There is a lack of RAM memories and Micron is going to spend 1.8 billion dollars to produce more. but not for you Image | Unsplashedited

The RAM memory market is broken and there are those who point to a new player: Asus

by

The RAM memory market it’s gibberish. The voracity of the data centers has caused energy companies to rethink your renewable goals and? RAM memory increases meteorically in price. This short term is so attractive that Micron, one of the three RAM giants, recently announced that killed its branch of Crucial consumption. And, king dead, king in place: leaks suggest that Asus would be considering its arrival in the RAM market for 2016. It’s not going to be easy at all. In short. The middle Sakhtafzarmag is the one that has sprung the hare: Asus would enter the DRAM market over the next few months. The medium now filter previously information about new processors from AMD and Intel so, although we are talking about a rumor, it is not a medium that comes out of nowhere. At a time when reports point to a RAM shortage until the end of 2027it is not uncommon for other players in the PC market to become interested. It makes sense. And Asus is one of the greats. Your income surpass 18,000 million dollars annually and is present as one of the largest PC hardware manufacturers. Apart from its motherboards and GPU, Asus sells complete desktop and laptop computers (for gaming and office automation) and consoles (there’s the recent Asus ROG Xbox Ally). The RAM segment is one that I had not entered, but the way of doing it has other precedents: Corsair. As I say, Asus starting to sell RAM memory makes sense if we take into account that Crucial, one of the most powerful brands in the consumer segment, has ceased to exist. Crucial was a Micron brand focused on the user: if you wanted RAM, you could buy one from Crucial and mount it on your PC, but with this rise of AI, Micron has seen that the mine is in the data centers. Your explanation is that it is a movement to “improve supply to strategic customers.” The reality is that it is a chore for all PC users. Corsair style. If you have built a PC, it is easy that you have opted for Corsair RAM memories. This brand has monitors, boxes or power supplies, but also memories. However, it is not a memory manufacturer: is an assembler. What Corsair does is design its own PCB, stability systems and heatsinks, and then to that PCB solder the RAM modules from manufacturers such as Samsumg, SK Hynix or Micron. three paths. Entering a new segment is not easy, but Asus has three paths: Be a assembler. Buy memories from large manufacturers and integrate them into your own PCBs. This is what it does, for example, with its graphics cards (Nvidia chip, but its own PCB and dissipation system). ‘Pass’ from big manufacturers that are having difficulties supplying data centers and opting for other emerging ones. For example, the Chinese company CXMT, which has recently achieved validate DDR5 memory modules (and which is on the US blacklist). It would be a win-win for both: Asus validates this Chinese company in the international market and CXMT gets a high-profile international partner. The third is the most risky: Become a memory manufacturer. Asus has the financial resources, but not the experience to do it. It would be the best to create a more controlled product, but in the end it means facing a greater risk. wasp nest. As we said from the beginning, the arrival of Asus in the RAM memory segment is a rumor that arrives just when RAM supply chain is broken. It is something that affects us as consumers because we see exorbitant prices, but ‘Big Tech’ also has to pay more for RAM, there is a lot of speculation about the price of machines like Steam Machine that will be launched right in this price hurricane (some RAM modules are more expensive than any console) and even memory manufacturers they may face difficulties in their products, such as Samsung. The arrival of another assembler does not change the balance of power that the big three – Samsung, Hynix and Micron – have since Asus would buy from them, but if it associates with Chinese companies, things change, and a giant like Asus will be lat the gateway of a CXMT or Fujiuan Jinhua would add pressure to the current oligopolistic system. Decongestion? Difficult. Now, just because a new player enters this playing field does not mean that prices will drop immediately. Everything will depend on how they enter, but if they assemble memories from the three most established manufacturers, there will still be no decongestion in the market because they will be more likely to distribute the same finite product. If they enter through a Chinese manufacturer, the situation could be alleviated as long as the stock is not broken. In any case, if they are really going to make some move for 2026, it wouldn’t take long for us to have official news – and CES is just around the corner. We have contacted Asus, we will update when we hear back. Images | Hector Reyes In Xataka | AMD’s problem is not that it doesn’t make good GPUs for AI. It’s not even close to NVIDIA

The housing market is so broken that it has found an unexpected channel for express purchases: Telegram

by

The housing market is overheated. It comes with taking a look at your price curvehe residential deficit calculated by the sector, the accelerated tempos of the agencies or simply the conditions (increasingly draconian) that real estate agencies require from tenants looking for an apartment to confirm it. There is another place however where that fever is clearly perceivedone that has little to do with agencies, portals like Idealista or the offices of the promoters: Telegram. There it is increasingly easier to find apartment purchases that are closed in minutes with a clear investment focus. Seen and unseen. The news I advanced it a few days ago The Country. If there were doubts about the imbalance between supply and demand in the Spanish real estate market or to what extent housing is awakening the appetite of investors comes with taking a look at Telegram. In the same messaging app that many of us use to talk to our families or friends, there are groups with thousands of subscribers that have become real real estate showcases. Of course, with certain peculiarities: speed prevails in the channels, the ‘seen and unseen’, with a clearly investor focus. It is not unusual for sales to be settled in a matter of minutes, sometimes by buyers who do not even get to visit the home they are purchasing in person. At the end of the day, you are not looking for a home. Generally, those who buy do so attracted by the promise of high returns. And one of the most popular ways is the rental market. How do they work? The mechanism is quite simple. The channels are run by specialized companies that are previously in charge of tracking the market in search of assets with potential, apartments in locations with rising markets, at reasonable prices and in which it is possible to charge tenants monthly payments that, over time, will translate into profitability of the 6%, 8%, 9% or even 13%, far above than other more conventional investments offer. Once the company ‘hunts’ that real estate asset, it offers it on its Telegram channel with a series of key data: area, location, age, sale price, estimated rent and profitability forecasts. Potential buyers send emails showing their interest and then the company chooses among the candidates, either by lottery or following the order in which they have written. It is not unusual for the buyer to never see the property or even live in another city. At the end of the day, what counts is the promise of economic return. How frequent is it? Last year the General Council of Notaries registered almost 716,200 home sales in Spain. Among this enormous volume of operations, those closed expressly through Telegram could have represented a small part (there is no official data), but even so the phenomenon is interesting enough that it has followers. The Country speaks from several companies that launch offers every week through groups in which they reach 3,000, 10,500 or even 15,000 subscribers. Specifically, he cites three companies in the sector: Winteromics, Nexiaprop and Buy 1 apartmentalthough not all of them are the same nor do they use Telegram with the same frequency. More than just speed. That the formula is arousing interest is explained by the characteristics of the real estate market. In cities with very stressed markets, such as Madrid, Barcelona either Valenciarents rise, but so do (and not a little) the price of properties, so its real estate stock loses interest for local investors in search of available homes to direct them to the rental market. Solution? Look beyond the metropolises, in other locations, if possible in municipalities where prices are still reasonable, where population is gaining or an increase in demand is expected in the near future, for example due to the arrival of a multinational. Hence, buyers are interested in homes that may be hundreds or thousands of kilometers from where they live. Mediation companies not only promise huge financial returns. Sometimes, if the expected returns are not achieved, they undertake to cover the difference or even offer their services as intermediaries to take care of the renovations or rental management. That is, even if the investor has in mind becoming a landlord, he or she will not even have to act as such. The company itself takes care of it… after payment (of course) of a commission. Looking for strategic areas. The focus is usually on homes located in working-class areas, without conflicts, with sales prices that usually do not reach or range around 100,000 euros. Companies also manage to ensure that these properties are not even offered on the open market, thus becoming the first to hunt for ‘bargains’ for investors. The companies they allege who with their work increase the rental supply and unlock properties that have been empty for some time. Of course, it’s not all advantages. As in any investment, the sector also recognizes that there are “risks”, especially for buyers who purchase apartments without first seeing them in situ. Images | Ivan Radic (Flickr) and Kaspar Upmanis (Unsplash) In Xataka | For years, motorhomes were a luxury. Now they are something else: the last stronghold against the housing crisis

In 1995, the first product in eBay history was sold. The only problem is that it was broken

by

In 1995 the Internet was not what it is now. Many of the great companies and sites related to the network were born then. AuctionWeb was the first official name of what we now know as eBay. Its creator, Pierre Omidyar, gave that name to a personal project that he wrote from his home in Silicon Valley taking advantage of one of the classic long weekends in the US, Labor Day. How do they count in The Perfect Store: Inside eBayfaced with the need to test whether that personal auction website worked, Omidyar grabbed the first thing he had on hand: a laser pointer. The choice was not random. Two weeks after buying it, it had broken, so he thought that if he managed to sell it, he wouldn’t lose anything if they gave him very little money for it. For a week that laser pointer that had cost him 30 dollars He failed to receive a single offer. Pierre Omidyar had not lied and admitted in the description of the item on AuctionWeb that it was indeed broken. There was no way to make it work. A week after being published on the Internet, that AuctionWeb object received the first offer for it. Pierre Omidyar asked for one dollar but the auction ended up closing at $14.83. What was his surprise that, even though he had already warned it in the advertisement, he preferred to make sure that it was clear to the buyer that the object purchased was broken and wrote him an email. Despite everything, the buyer kept it because it was just what he was looking for. This was eBay in 1995, when it was a personal project called AuctionWeb Mark Fraser I had seen some of those pointers and wanted one. But they were still quite expensive, on the order of $100 in those years, so he relied on his skill as electrical engineer to build yours. And he needed a part that he thought he would get from the broken pointer that was being sold on a new online site that he had found out about through a referral in the forums and information exchange places that he frequented on the Internet. Today, and as he confessed in a funny video that could be seen at eBay’s 20th anniversary party, the pointer still doesn’t work but he still has it. In Xataka |

Broncano has broken the only unwritten rule of ‘La Revuelta’ with Rosalía. And thanks to that he has managed to overwhelm ‘El Hormiguero’

by

In a season that is being characterized by the comfortable and placid victory of ‘El Hormiguero’ in practically every night in which he faces ‘La Resistencia’, it is a real surprise that Broncano’s program ahead of his rival in a clear and indisputable way. What is not at all surprising is how he has achieved it. He has resorted to the number one obsession currently in Spain as a whole: Rosalia. The data. Rosalía has helped Broncano achieve nothing less than his historical maximum quotawith 20.4% share and peaks of 27% in its final stretch. It is also their largest victory against ‘El hormiguero’, with a 5.2 point advantage in strict coincidence. La 1, thus, leads on Monday with one tenth ahead of Antena 3. It is the first time, in addition, that the program reaches 20% of share. ‘El Hormiguero’, of course, has not done badly: Andy (of Andy and Lucas) makes 15.3 of shareand both leave behind Temptation Island 9′, which with 1,344,000 also marks its own season high. Why has he achieved it? Rosalía’s participation in the program was partially out of the ordinary in the program, although at this point the Broncano team has become accustomed to surprise the publicespecially with the most relevant guests. First, Rosalía arrived at the theater with a spectacular reception, integrated into an original fictitious “neighbors’ meeting” scene with figures such as Pedro Almodóvar, Manuela Carmena and La Zowi. During the interview he improvised acapella a fragment of her song ‘La perla’ and shared with the audience a cake that she baked herself the night before. (But above all) why he has achieved it. since last week It was known that Rosalía would attend the Broncano program. The expectation was such that RTVE made an exceptional decision: to promote the interview on news programs and other programs on its schedule. This is an unusual decision for ‘La Revuelta’, which has sometimes started its program without a clear guest (as happened with the controversy by Jorge Martín), something that Motos, thatAnnounces all the guests of each week in advance, it cannot be allowed. But after some hearing results manifestly inferior to those on the Antena 3 program throughout 2025, TVE knew that it had the most important guest of the year on its hands, and it could not stop announcing it. Grow without stepping. Since its premiere a little over a year ago, ‘La Revuelta’ stood out for standing up to ‘El Hormiguero’ without needing to steal your audience. A new audience that usually does not watch television at that time joined the Access to watch Broncano’s program, which is a very notable phenomenon on television, where the public moves from one program to another, usually to the detriment of rivals. This time, Broncano unleashed this strange phenomenon again: neither Motos nor ‘Temptation Island’ made numbers lower than usual (in fact, they were pretty good), but he won the game handily. Rosalía, the definitive cultural artifact. Rosalía has managed to be a transversal phenomenon that unites different generations and social strata. From the teenage audience to older fans, which has undoubtedly benefited ‘La Revuelta’. With that ‘Lux’ that achieved 42 million views in 24 hours despite the previous leak, Rosalía not only reveals herself as a singer, but as a cultural event. The surprise presentation in Callao brought together thousands of fans who overwhelmed the center of Madrid: no other Spanish artist generates this level of unanimous media attention, nor the ability to paralyze the country when they announce something new. In a fragmented cultural panorama, divided into dozens of niches, Rosalía’s merit is doubly striking. In Xataka | The exception of ‘El Hormiguero’: no ​​successful program in the history of Spanish TV has lasted so long

The automobile industry in China has broken a new record, and sales in Europe have not been the only ones that have contributed

by

The Chinese automobile industry has reached an export value of 798.39 billion yuan (about 96.9 billion euros) in the first ten months of 2025, according to data of the country’s General Customs Administration. It is about an increase of 14.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, and this is one more example of China being one of the main vehicle exporting powers in the world. And it is that besides Europethere are already other markets of great interest for the country. A sector that drives foreign trade. While China’s total merchandise exports grew by 6.2% In this period, the automotive sector almost tripled that rate of expansion. Mechanical and electrical products accounted for more than 60% of the country’s exports, with automobiles and semiconductors as the main drivers of this growth. In October alone, vehicle exports rose 34% year-on-year. The role of electric and hybrid. Behind these figures are brands such as BYD, SAIC and Chery, whose electrified models have conquered new markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Although the Customs Administration has not broken down the types of vehicles exported, sector data suggests that electric cars and plug-in hybrids are largely responsible for this boost. China is moving its production towards higher value-added segments, and the automobile is a key piece of that strategy. Who buys Chinese cars. ASEAN (Southeast Asia) remains China’s largest trading partner, with a total trade volume of 6.18 trillion yuan (up 9.1%), according to the General Administration of Customs. The European Union followswith 4.88 trillion yuan and a growth of 4.9%. The figures once again highlight how emerging regions and traditional European markets continue to absorb a good part of Chinese automobile production, although with different dynamics. The weight of private companies. Private Chinese companies have also played a determining role in this growth. According to the official dataaccounted for 21.28 trillion yuan in foreign trade (imports and exports combined) during the first ten months of the year, an increase of 7.2% year-on-year. And in addition to the companies that have state protection, there are also private companies that are experiencing great growth thanks to their international expansion. Warning signs on the horizon. Despite the good time, October has marked a turning pointas China’s total exports fell 0.8% year-on-year, the first setback in several months. Some analysts attribute this decline to an already very high comparison base, since 2024 was a record year. Also to fewer working days due to holidays and, above all, to weaker demand from the West. In fact, trade with the United States fell 15.9% in the first ten months of the year, according to the same source. What’s coming. Automobile exports are expected to close 2025 above 2024 levelsalthough probably at a more moderate pace. Demand from abroad is beginning to cool and trade restrictions in some markets, such as Europe, are tightening for China. Even so, the country’s automobile sector continues to demonstrate a capacity for growth greater than the rest of its manufacturing industry. It remains to be seen how long he can keep up the pace. Cover image | Michael Fortsch In Xataka | I have tried the BYD circuit in China: an underwater YangWang, a 29 meter dune and a car that turns by itself

The signs that the system is broken are increasingly evident

by

On October 17, 2023, Jesús Fernández-Villaverde (the professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania) gave an interview in El Mundo with a very simple headline “it shows: (in Spain) everything works badly.” Everyone thought it was exaggerated, sensationalist. But then it came the DANA (and its management), the April blackoutthe Redsys repeated crash and the payment system, fire chaos and, finally, the Andalusian mammography scandal. What began as an (apparently) isolated complaint has become a deep institutional crisis for Andalusian healthcare. But the problem goes much further, the request for data from the Ministry of Health to the rest of the communities has revealed that Spain has a huge problem with all this, that in fact in Spain more and more things are working poorly. The mammography crisis. Although the first complaints surfaced at the beginning of 2024 and the affected associations met with the Board during the summer, until the first cases reached the media, the Ministry of Health did not recognize that more than 2,000 women may not have been informed of a questionable lesion after screening. What came next was chaos: after limiting the problem to a single Hospital, they were forced to recognize a widespread problem and implement a “shock plan” that no one knows very well how it will be implemented. And, in the midst of this commotion, the Ministry of Health asked the communities for data to know how screening was working throughout the country. many of them they have refused (although not all). The prosecution has taken letters in the matter. The underlying problem. Because, honestly, we run the risk of thinking that all this is nothing more than another political battle: a partisan scuffle that, this time, has acquired the format of a health controversy. The clearest example is that the PP Health Ministers they just left en bloc the Interterritorial Health Council; while the Ministry accuses the communities of “hiding” the screening data because it is “bad” and shows their “incompetence.” But not. It is enough to analyze the data of any community to see that the underlying problem is that healthcare is increasingly having problems addressing the care burden it has on it. The case of Madrid is paradigmatic because, even though protocols are well designed On paper, “in most public centers the lists and the average waiting time grow” year after year. Similar problems we can see throughout the country. How deep is this crisis? That is surely the worst of all: that we still cannot know how deep the problem is because the opacity of the Spanish institutional framework is enormous. It is true that this is not exclusively a Spanish problem: we still remember thehe confidence with which public health systems Westerners that they would be able to detect COVID and block it before it arrived to their respective populations. Shortly after, Italy’s outbreak broke out. What we don’t know is costing us our health. Civio has been researching for years as primary care is drowninghow public psychological care is almost a chimera, how dozens of health services depend on where you live and how, little by little, health is falling into the hands of private interests. But even that doesn’t explain the problem we are in. Because the central issue is that we don’t even know how we are. We also don’t know where we are going. And that is the worst of all: it removes the very possibility of us taking the reins and coming up with solutions. Image | Junta of Andalusia | NCI In Xataka | Predicting breast cancer five years before it appears, possible thanks to artificial intelligence

The Chinese subsidiary of Nexperia has just broken ranks with its parent company in the Netherlands. And that takes the conflict to another level.

by

Nexperia has gone from being unknown to becoming the new focus of tension in the technological war between the West and China. The company, with Chinese capital but based in the Netherlands, has been intervened by the Dutch Governmentwhich alleges national security reasons. And its impact could soon be felt in sectors as sensitive as automobiles and consumer electronics. The movement is not minor: Nexperia controls an extensive network of factories and assembly centers in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Malaysia and China, all important for the global semiconductor chain. Since the Netherlands took over governance of the company at the beginning of the month, a key question has arisen: how far does its control over those international operations really extend? Different laws, one company: Nexperia, caught between Europe and China The answer, at least in part, we already have. Nexperia operations in China have recalled that They work “independently” from the Dutch headquarters. A gesture that not only challenges this European authority, but adds a new layer of uncertainty to an industry that continues to suffer the consequences of the chip crisis. The statement released by Nexperia China on October 17 through its official channel WeChat marks a turning point in the dispute. In the text, signed by all the group’s operating entities in the country, the company reaffirms its autonomy from the headquarters in the Netherlands and remembers that its activity is governed exclusively by Chinese legislation. The document clearly establishes that the legal representative has exclusive authority to make decisions and approve any instructions from abroad: “Nexperia companies in China are independent companies that operate in accordance with national laws. The legal representative has exclusive authority to make decisions and approve any external instructions. No employee is obliged to follow orders coming from outside without their express consent.” The Dutch headquarters, for its part, has denied that “independence” and has attributed it to unauthorized information and actions, which adds another chapter to the internal clash. A ban on exporting its products from China has put European manufacturers on alert, especially the automotive industry, which depends on Nexperia chips for the operation of numerous electronic components. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) warned last week that the situation could cause production stops if supply is not restored in the coming weeks. According to the organization, current stocks would barely cover a few assembly cycles and approving new suppliers would take months, a period incompatible with market demand. One of Nexperia’s facilities in Guangdong Nexperia’s weight in the semiconductor chain is best understood by looking at how its production is organized. Although the headquarters and operational management are located in the Netherlands, much of the group’s added value comes from Asia. Its assembly and test plants in China, the Philippines and Malaysia manage enormous production volumes that supply both the Asian market and Europe. The coming weeks will be marked by the search for a fragile balance between regulators and governments. Nexperia has confirmed that it is in talks with China’s Ministry of Commerce to reverse the export blockade, while the Netherlands retains control of its governance. The question is whether the company will be able to operate normally. without violating either of the two legal frameworks. For now, the signals are mixed: production continues, but under an environment of uncertainty that leaves manufacturers waiting for a quick outcome. Images | Nexperia In Xataka | The problem is not that Europe has “expropriated” Nexperia from a Chinese company: it is that it approved its sale just a year ago

The fortunes of its oligarchs are growing so much that they have broken a record

by

While the offensive of Russian bombings It is intensified and Russia crosses New red linesthe international community (including USA) threatens these days with increase sanctions and blocks to the Russian economy. However, far from accusing the slightest wear after three years of blockages, Russian Milmillonarios have not stopped increasing their personal fortunes. It has been so much that in 2025 they have broken a joint fortune record adding 625.5 billion dollars. Russian fortunes boom in the midst of sanctions. In the last year, the total wealth of Russian billionaires has increased more than eight percent, placing a record of 625.5 billion dollars, according to published data by Forbes. This growth in its assets occurred despite the severe economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the USA After the invasion of Ukraine. In fact, the list of Millionaires of Forbes not only reveals that the fortunes increased, but after three years of war conflict, Russia increased The number of Milmillonarios, ascending to 140 peoplecompared to The 125 millmillonarios that the publication registered in 2024. Who leads the ranking of fortunes. According to the Russian edition of Forbes, Vagit Alekperovformer president of the oil company Lukoil, occupies the first place among the rushest Russians, with a fortune valued at 28.7 billion dollars. Alekperov has maintained this position on the list for the second consecutive year, despite having left the company’s address after receiving sanctions from the United Kingdom in 2022. He follows closely Alexey Mordashoventrepreneur of the metallurgical and energy sector, which has promoted second place with 28.6 billion dollars, improving its position compared to the previous year. In the top three, also figure Leonid Míjelsonwith a fortune of 28.4 billion dollars, thanks to its participation in Novatek (main gasist in Russia) and Sibur (petrochemical industry). Other usual names on the list are Vladimir Lisin, Vladimir Potanin and Guennadi Tombko, all with assets exceeding 20 billion dollars, thus consolidating the Energy sector weight and natural resources in the ranking of Russian wealth. New faces and rising sectors. The list of Russian Millionaires of Forbes includes new incorporations, which reflects the revitalization of different industries, despite the war economy that, according to the Latest bank reportsHe is damaging his economy. OK To what is published by The Moscow TimesRussian millionaires earned $ 22.5 billion only in the first six months of 2025. Among the newcomers stands out Vikram Puniaowner of the Pharmasyntez pharmacist, who debuts with 2.1 billion dollars, becoming the richest of the new members. These new millionaires come from varied sectors, covering from the pharmaceutical industry and food to technology and The energy. According to The data of ForbesRussia is the fifth country to the generation of new millmillionaires, being the United States, Germany, China and India the countries that lead the list of new additions. The lucrative war industry. A good part of the “miracle” of enriching itself in an economy under international blockages is explained by the close relationship Of these great fortunes with sectors linked to the defense industry and key raw materials for the country’s military apparatus. Russian billionaires come from industries Like oilgas, metallurgy – specially steel, nickel, aluminum and titanium – as well as technological and pharmaceutical companies, where state demand has shot in the current war context. The official expenditure in Russian defense will be at about 119,000 million euros in 2025, mainly financed by the Export of fossil fuels. These oligarchs, Far from distancing yourself Del Kremlin, have strengthened their loyalty, adapting their companies to supply materials, technology and military industry, as it was broken down into the Published research by Proekt. Sanctions? What sanctions. As seen on several occasions When trying to seize yachts And properties, avoiding international sanctions has been another key to economic success for this elite. Such and As they pointed out from Fortuneoligarchs resort to sophisticated financial structures, using fiscal paradises and allied countries free of sanctions and the creation of alternative channels such as cryptocurrencies. This has generated A debate About the real efficacy of sanctions to hit the Russian economic elite and the limitations of international tools to stop the boom of these heritage. In Xataka | The mystery of Putin’s fortune: it is believed that it exceeds Bezos or Zuckerberg but nobody knows exactly how much it has Image | KremlinUnspash (Matthew Lancaster)

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.