countries

China is so clear that the future of pork lies in ‘skyscraper farms’ that it is doing something: taking them to other countries

by

When you think of pig farms, what comes to mind are large farms with pig pens, breeding areas, silos with feed… All of this (of course) horizontally. Things change if we are in China. There they have been thinking vertically for years and betting on farms in buildings of various heights, including authentic skyscrapers, such as the two 26-story towers raised in Ezhou (Hubei) and that are capable of breeding 1.2 million pigs every year. Now China has started ‘international’ model. What has happened? That China has begun to export its model of macro farms pig verticals. Although a few years ago the ‘farm towers’ sounded like science fiction and there were even foreign ranchers who raised their eyebrows reading about them, the bet seems to have worked for Beijing. At least enough to consider take her to Vietnamwhere the Chinese firm Muyuan Foods has joined forces with the local BAF to build a complex in the province of Tay Ninhin the southeast of the country. Its main peculiarity: breeding at altitude. What do they want to do? The idea is to develop a high-rise complex dedicated to pig farming, an infrastructure that will be carried out with an investment of just over 450 million dollars and will integrate a farm of 64,000 pigs with a factory capable of producing close to 600,000 tons of feed every year. In September Vietnam Investment Review pointed out that the project has received approval from the authorities of the province of Tay Ninh, where the complex will be built, and from the state authorities. What does it have to do with China? That one of the promoters of the project is Muyuan Foodshe greatest breeder of pigs from China and a heavy weight of the sector at an international level. In addition to his enormous capacity of production, the firm stands out for its commitment to raising pigs in buildings of up to six floors. “We have replaced traditional single-story pig farms with multi-story ones to improve efficiency and land use, promote recycling of manure and waste and ensure biosecurity,” the company explained during its IPO in Hong Kong, a few weeks ago. What is China doing? Although in other countries macro pig farms in towers may be shocking, in China they have been implementing the model for some time. To understand it, you have to go back to 2018, when the country saw how swine fever undermined its herds. The American Society for Microbiology estimates that in total the outbreak killed or forced the sacrifice of 225 million of pigs. The country is the largest producer and pork consumer in the world and it is estimated that before the 2018 outbreak it housed half of the planet’s pig population. In 2019, the Government formally allowed the use of multi-story buildings for livestock farming and just a year later Muyuan opened its doors. a macro complex in Nanyangwith twenty blocks of various plants capable of producing more than two million pigs each year. Little by little, China has been moving from a model in which pig farming was a common practice in homes (it still is in part of the country) to one based on commercial farms in which it is easier to manage waste and diseases such as swine fever. Why farms in skyscrapers? a few years ago The New York Times I was chatting with an expert of the US pork market that acknowledged that US farmers “look at photos of Chinese farms and just scratch their heads and say, ‘We would never dare do that.’” The truth is that buildings like those of Muyuan or the 26-story towers driven by Hubei Zhongxin Kaiwei Modern Farming in Ezhou have their advantages. This is what its promoters defend, at least, who present it as another step towards industrial agriculture. The same one that has also opted for the vertical farming farms. By thinking vertically, instead of the traditional horizontal model, they basically seek greater biosecurity and more efficient management. Why’s that? In the Ezhou skyscrapers, for example, they boast of incorporating thousands of automatic feeding points and a system capable of collecting, analyzing and using livestock feces. Not to mention that by betting on high-rise models, macro farms such as those in Muyuan, Zhongxin or Guangxi Yangxiang make it possible to address one of the sector’s biggest problems: the availability of land is limited, especially in populated areas. Of course, the tall model also has significant risks. The main one: that diseases spread more quickly through ventilation systems. Now, as Beijing tries stabilize the livestock herd China to avoid surpluses and prop up prices, the country is considering taking vertical macro farms beyond its borders. Images | China-Singapore Kaiwei Modern Animal Husbandry WeChat In Xataka | The new Spanish farmer no longer lives in the town: his name is John, he studied at Wharton and manages olive trees from New York

Arab countries are taking it away

by

What we understand by luxury It is no longer what it was. Its meaning has evolved, and with it our way of consuming. We prioritize the result —a search for outstanding in an almost arithmetic sum of factors such as price, quality or experience— more than the historical lineage of a great house French like Dior or Chanel. The truth is that the young consumer does not have as much attachment to the heritage of the brands that, perhaps, they hope to have by divine mandate; However, that does not stop us from continuing to pay attention to the high-end of iconic brands with cosmetics for one hundred euros. The difference is that today we can find an alternative on the market that provides us with a similar experience (the already famous dupes) has become a small personal triumph. So much so that not hesitating to publish the experience on networks ends up creating a call effect more powerful than twenty advertisements on Christmas Eve. Not so long ago, any allusion to “imitation” had connotations that we tried to avoid, but the reality is that the consumer now has no complexes. And the same thing happens in perfumery. A few years ago, talking about olfactory luxury automatically led us to French names, campaigns with the actors of the moment and bottles that easily exceeded one hundred euros. Today, however, we are directly witnessing a democratization of luxury, specifically in the field of perfume. Success comes from the Arab world On this occasion, this democratization does not come from perfumery dupes, the classic versions inspired by iconic fragrances and at more affordable prices that help remove the thorn of that high-end perfume or niche. The novelty is that the revolution comes, in large part, from the Emirates (they have not stopped with the Dubai chocolateno), with proposals for original perfumes that maintain the sophisticated aesthetic and olfactory character, but in which, in addition, the price is not a barrier at all. Thus, Arab perfumes have burst onto the market with force and have established themselves as a phenomenon that has filled cities with stores specialized in the sector and social networks of recommendations from these brands. Now brand names like Amouage, Afnan or Lattafa rub shoulders with classics like Dolce & Gabbana or Burberry and lead this transformation. According to data from Circana, global perfume sales grew by 17% in the first half of 2025 largely thanks to demand for Arabic fragrances. Lattafa herself increased its sales on TikTok Shop at the end of 2025 174% compared to the previous year, while the Omani house Amouage reported a 30% increase in sales in 2024 compared to its figures from the previous year. These numbers support a success that is based on a compendium of multiple factors that match current consumer trends. The keys to the global consolidation of Arab perfumes are clear: long-lasting and intense thanks to raw materials such as oud or musk, their pompous design and a price within reach of most pockets (around 30-40 euros). But, without a doubt, another of the factors that has consolidated the triumph of these perfumes is their massive presence on networks. Influencers continually recommend fragrances from these Arab houses, generating an appeal that, in combination with that price, favors impulsive purchasing by consumers, also sponsored by the striking and novelty of the product. In fact, searches on TikTok and Google for the term “Arabic perfumes” have grown more than 60% in 2025. The networks tell you how you should smell Until now it was very common for the algorithm to stuff us with hauls clothing, recommendations outfits or miracle makeup products like a base that lasts all day. Now there is an influencer sector that has been able to identify this new demand in the market and our way of consumption, making perfume recommendations for each occasion, depending on the intensity or olfactory notes that we are looking for. @marcelperfumes 5 Arab Perfumes You Must Have: 1. Mahd Al Dhahab 2. Rayhaan Terra 3. Kayaan Terra 4. Titan Khadlaj 5. Ravine Ginger #perfumes #Perfume #marcelperfumes ♬ peace – mindset So, it doesn’t hurt to say that yes, the algorithm is redefining perfumery. The call blind buywhich is nothing more than blind shopping on the internet, is no longer limited to clothing but also to perfumes. The reality is that many users decide to choose an Arabic perfume that appears in their “for you” because the bottle is beautiful and their trusted influencer claims that it will smell like lemon cake or give off notes of vanilla. We already know the benefits of accessing quality products in exchange for an affordable price, but also its risks. As happens with the skincare or makeup low costthe attractive price can lead us to spend even more. If we get a dupe of a lipstick that costs 40 euros for only 5, that feeling of savings leads us to complete the entire set and end up falling into the trap of micro spending. With perfumes, especially thanks to being a trend on social networks, exactly the same thing can happen. It is true that these Arabic fragrances are reasonably priced, but the context in which they are consumed has completely changed. For example, on TikTok videos about layeringThat is, combining several perfumes to create your own aroma with notes that you want, or enhancing the one you like the most and, to achieve this, you obviously have to add several scented products to the cart. @dyanbay Why should you mix your perfumes? And how to do it like a professional?😏🔥 Here I teach you everything I have learned studying in Paris and in the masterclass in Milan so that you don’t get confused. Tell me what combinations you make✌🏻💛 #dyanbay #perfumetok #humor #deinfluencing #antihaul ♬ original sound – Adrián Carrera👃🏻🩷 Perfume has become something totally modular and from networks we are encouraged to vary the fragrance according to our mood or the weather, as if … Read more

Countries are trying to prevent the accumulation of wealth of technological millionaires. Ancient Rome tried it too

by

The concentration of wealth in a few hands that we see today in technological billionaires is not a new phenomenon. More than two thousand years ago, the Ancient Rome faced exactly the same dilemma that worries today to governments around the world: a few rich people accumulated land and resources, while the majority of citizens became impoverished to the point of bordering on misery. A young politician named Tiberius Sempronius Graceither He thought he found a solution to redistribute the wealth accumulated by the Roman patricians: his idea cost him his life. In the middle of the second century BC, after destroying Carthage and Corinth, Rome had become the dominant power of the Mediterranean. However, this expansion it didn’t make everyone rich equally. For the humblest Roman peasants, it brought a devastating social crisis. The small landowners, who for centuries had cultivated their lands and served in the Roman legions, were displaced by large estates exploited with slave labor brought from the new conquered territories. The long military campaigns had prevented the soldiers peasants return in time to harvest their lands, which affected the economies of their families. Furthermore, upon their return they discovered that their lands had been expropriated by millionaire aristocrats from Rome. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchusgrandson of Scipio Africanus, the general that defeated to the Carthaginian Hannibaland heir to one of the most powerful families in Rome, was guaranteed a brilliant political future. However, in the year 133 BC, being elected tribune of the plebs, he decided to propose an agrarian reform with which he attempted to redistribute the enormous fortunes that Roman landowners had accumulated. Something similar to what is trying to make California and other countries all over the world. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus With this measure, Gracchus was directly confronting his own people since he himself came from a wealthy family. Its law established that no citizen could own more than 500 iugera (about 125 hectares) of public land, the so-called ager publicus. The plots that exceed that limit will be expropriated and handed over to landless peasants. A measure that, de facto, ended with the large estates in the hands of the richest romans. The objective of the measure was twofold: to restore economic solvency to the Roman people and to ensure that Rome had enough citizens with assets to nourish its legions, since only the owners They could serve as soldiers. Making friends among the richest According to the ancient sources of Plutarch, written between the years 96 AD and 117 AD, Tiberius did not seek to start a revolution against the rich, but to restore old republican laws that had fallen into disuse. To defend his reform, Tiberius gave speeches in front of the impoverished people of Rome. In one of his most famous, which was collected by Plutarchthe young tribune declared: “Their generals deceive them when, in battle, they encourage them to fight for the temples of their gods and for the tombs of their fathers. This is because, of a large number of Romans, not one has his own domestic altar or family tomb. They fight and die to feed the opulence and luxury of others, and, when they claim to be masters of the entire world, they do not even own a piece of land.” The Senate, dominated by large landowners, tried to block the reform by all means. They persuaded another tribune named Octavius ​​to veto the proposal, but Tiberius responded with a bold and unprecedented maneuver: he called for the assembly to remove Octavius ​​from office for acting against the interests of the people. The reform was finally approved and applied by distributing the large estates of the landowners among the Roman peasants. However, when Tiberius attempted to run for a second term as tribune, a practice then considered contrary to Roman tradition, the aristocracy decided he had gone too far. According to the historical documentationduring the elections in the Capitol, a group of senators led by the maximum pontiff Scipio Násica, a relative of Tiberius himself, burst in with a group of followers armed with clubs and with the legs of chairs torn from the Curia. In the sacred place, where swords were not allowed, They beat Tiberius to death and about 300 of his followers. His body was thrown into the Tiber River without allowing his family to bury him. Death of Tiberius Gracchus Ten years later, in 123 BC, Tiberius’ brother, Gaius Sempronius Gracchustook up the cause started by his brother with an even more ambitious program. Caius approved the Lex Frumentariawhich forced the State to distribute wheat among the plebs at prices below the market, laying the foundations of the food subsidy system that would last for centuries. He also proposed extending Roman citizenship to the Italic peoples who fought in Rome’s wars but did not enjoy its benefits. The Senate used populist tactics, warning that Italian foreigners would reduce aid to Roman citizens, and when Caius lost popular supportwas pursued to the Aventine Hill near Rome, where he ordered his faithful slave Philocrates to assassinate him. Nearly 3,000 of his supporters died with him. The legacy that survived violence Although the Senate murdered both brothers, it could not erase their legacy. The reforms that the Gracchi had proposed would finally be implemented decades later by order of Julius Caesar, who had a powerful army that protected him from suffering the same fate. The historians Plutarch and Appian left record of what happened with the Gracchus brothers centuries later, both agreed to portray Tiberius as a politician with solid ideas who looked to Rome’s past to find solutions to the problems suffered by his people. Paradoxically, although the story of the Gracchus brothers happened more than 2,000 years ago, we could find very similar references today with just a quick glance at the news. In Xataka | Mark Zuckerberg is going to change the California sun for Miami. You have 11 billion reasons to do it. Image | Wikimedia Commons (Lodovico Pogliaghi, Guillaume … Read more

Countries are desperate to raise their birth rates. They have a very simple weapon to apply: teleworking

by

He aging population is one of the most pressing problems for large economies around the world. The birth rate is a pillar in a country’s economy, since the economy, the labor market, education and health, among many other policies, depend on it. When governments talk about “birth crisis“, they almost always resort to the same repertoire of solutions: baby checks, tax deductions or daycare aid. The problem is that, after years of applying them, fertility in most rich countries continues on the ground. However, a new study raises a new perspective: what if the solution to the birth rate problem was in the way we work? In that scenario, teleworking appears as a surprisingly powerful lever. Telework to have more children. a study carried out by researchers at Stanford University has discovered that offering work flexibility and teleworking improves the fertility rate in couples in which one of the members teleworks. The researchers did not measure the number of births (natality), but rather the fertility indicator. That is, the number of children that participants say they plan to have. The result is difficult to ignore because someone who does not have free time or who considers that they could not take on the upbringing of a child, nor do they consider having one. That is to say, there is no such predisposition, which does not help the birth rate grows. According to the study, going from having no teleworking option to teleworking five days a week is associated with an approximate increase of 0.13 children per woman in terms of expected fertility. This is equivalent to an increase of between 7% and 8% over the average of the group analyzed. Birth and fertility are not the same. It should be noted that talking about birth and fertility represents different scenarios, and this confusion can distort the debate. The birth rate It is the number of births that occur in a country during a specific period. It is the most common data when talking about birth rate since it determines, in real terms, the number of annual births, and allows it to be compared with the number of deaths to establish the demographic balance. Fertility, on the other hand, is a background indicator. It represents the number of children a woman has (or is expected to have) throughout her life. It is usually expressed as Global Fertility Rate (TGF). The difference between both concepts is important. While the birth rate can vary from year to year (for example, advancing decisions or in response to certain policies) without changing the structural trend, the fertility rate is a long-term metric: it indicates whether a woman plans to have only one child (no matter the year) or more. Motivated to have children. Examples like South Korea or Japan They show how complicated, and how expensive, it is to change a downward birth rate trend. That is why the increase in the intention to have children, without making any investment or applying additional fiscal policies, is very striking. The results of the study suggest that, perhaps, the way forward is not to subsidize the birth of more children, but rather to make the organization of parents’ work compatible with their upbringing. It’s not for money: it’s for time. For years, the political response has been fairly predictable. Having children is expensiveso you have to put money on the table to lighten that burden. The problem is that, although in most homes they need two salaries To survive, the truly scarce resource is time to take care of the children. Teleworking and flexible hours have reduced this daily friction since it implies less time traveling, greater control over schedules and, above all, greater ability to react to unforeseen events. for child care. The report ‘Women in the Workplace’ prepared by McKinsey showed that the lack of flexible hours forces many women to reduce their hours or stagnate their professional career. On this point, the conclusions of the Stanford researchers fit with the data that Pew Research got In a previous survey: Even with the difficulties of reconciling family and work, the majority of respondents considered it necessary to continue working and did not want to sacrifice their professional careers. What they needed was a job that does not make work life and childcare incompatible. It needs investment, but it is cheap. The study concludes that to match the fertility rate achieved by teleworking, it would be necessary to apply fiscal policies and incentives at a much higher cost. Subsidized childcare can improve the situation, but none of these measures make it easier. child care on a day-to-day basis, nor does it encourage families to have more children that complicate logistics even more. The time availability and flexibility of teleworking does. This does not mean that the implementation of teleworking is free. Has organizational costs for companiesyou cannot telework in all sectors and it can generate inequalities between employees whose positions do allow teleworking and those who do not. In Xataka | We have been teleworking for four years and a study has reached a conclusion: working from home makes us happier Image | Pexels (Anastasia Shuraeva)

This website is a magnificent calculator to calculate and compare with other countries

by

Talking about taxes in certain scenarios is a recipe for disaster. All the ingredients are present: ignorance about basic concepts in economics and how they work, a misunderstood selfishness and confusion between whether what we dislike is how they are managed or their mere existence. One of the most controversial is the Personal Income Tax or Income Tax. How much IPRF do we pay? Is it a lot or a little? Well it depends. In general, we don’t even like money being “taken” from us and in Spain it is quite common to hear that they “take” too much from us. Keep in mind that most states have some personal income tax similar to personal income tax (there are exceptions such as Monaco either Kuwait which they don’t have), so neighbors like Germany or France do have it and leaving the EU, in the United States they have their equivalent in the Income Tax). From here two questions arise: what part of my income goes to personal income tax and whether I would pay more or less if I lived somewhere else. Without intending to replace an economics class (or reading in depth the ministry website) and yes like brief notes on personal income taxIt is important to be clear that this tax is progressive in sections, that is, you do not pay the same percentage for all your money. This is one of the most common mistakes when we hear that someone with a high salary (for the average in Spain) pays 47%: no, the Treasury does not take almost half. That first tranche up to 12,450 euros has a withholding of 19%, from there up to 20,199 euros it is 24% and so on. On the other hand, personal income tax is also divided into sections: state and regional. Depending on which autonomous community you live in, you will pay more or less. Finally, there is a personal and family minimum for which personal income tax is not paid as it is considered to be used to cover basic needs. Defaultit is 5,550 euros per year for a single person. Personal income tax calculators There are a few on the internet and in fact, even the Treasury has its own to make sure we are with the official. Now, if we look for an intuitive alternative that allows us to compare, this website by Benjamin Akar It is an excellent option even if it is in English. An easy personal income tax calculator and comparator to estimate what you pay After choosing a country from the list and verifying that the currency is the Euro, we only have to add annual gross salary. In the advanced options you can also add other deductions such as pension plans or union dues. We see it better with an example: 25,000 euros per year in Madrid and Navarra, two very particular autonomous communities: the state capital has deflated the sections and has one of the lowest minimums in Spain. Navarra, for its part, has its own Treasury, regional regime and personal income tax law. Thus, the sections are modified and there are differences in deductions and calculations such as the structure of the savings base. For the simulation we will assume that we are single people without children. From the previous calculation it is deduced that Madrid is the best option to maximize your salary. But not everything is money in the pocket: Navarra compensates with its own management of services that sometimes entails indirect benefits in the form of personal or family deductions either more budget per inhabitant in health. Now we try changing to Germany and its capital, Berlin, to see what the personal income tax calculation looks like. Deductions from work are very low because Germany has a very high exempt minimum because you do not pay taxes, but then social contributions arrive in the form of social security, pension, unemployment taxes, among others. The EU forms a mosaic where each state has its own tax recipe, although they all share to a greater or lesser extent the objective of financing the welfare state. However, the big difference is not only how much we pay, but how it is paid. So We essentially distinguish three routes: There are states like Germany, France or Spain, with a standard progressive model where you pay based on what you earn; Others, such as Bulgaria or Romania, apply flat systems with low single rates regardless of income. Finally there is the “Nordic” model of places like Denmark or Sweden, with very high maximum rates to finance extensive public services and social benefits. He Spanish state is located in a medium-high zone of the EU. The Eurozone average in maximum rates is around 40% compared to 45% in Spain (considering the combination of state and regional average), reaching 50% or more in regions such as the Valencian Community or Cataloniawhich only affects very high incomes. In Xataka | 64% of Spaniards believe that they pay more in taxes than they receive from the State. It’s actually the other way around In Xataka | Income Tax Calendar 2025: dates and when the 2026 Income Tax return is made Cover | Jakub Zerdzicki

The countries with the highest number of billionaires among their population, brought together in a very revealing graph

by

The great fortunes they are not distributed uniformly across the planet. A few countries concentrate the majority of the world’s billionaires, while others barely contribute names to that exclusive club. The geographical distribution of extreme wealth leaves us with a snapshot that gives clues about which countries or tax policies encourage capital accumulation and they are the perfect breeding ground for generating wealth. In 2025, the wealth gap between the average population and the great fortunes has skyrocketed, but it has also left evidence of this difference between countries. The comparative graph prepared by Visual Capitalist allows you to compare this distribution in a very visual and direct way. The graph is powered by data provided by the study’Billionaire Ambitions Report 2025‘ prepared by UBS and the consulting firm PwC, in which an annual record of the number of billionaires is maintained. That is, people with assets exceeding one billion dollars at the beginning of the year. A billionaire factory To no one’s surprise, the US dominates by a wide margin the world ranking of countries according to the number of billionaires. The country hosts 924 people with a net worth of over a billion dollars, a figure that practically doubles that of the second-ranked player. This concentration also translates into a increase in joint wealthsince the sum of the US fortunes reaches a total of about 6.9 trillion dollars. China is in second place with 470 billionaires among its population. However, despite accounting for almost 50% of the billionaires in the US, their combined wealth is much lower, being close to 1.8 trillion dollars. That is to say, we only have half as many millionaires as the US, their combined assets are almost four times less. Third place on the list of countries with the most billionaires is occupied by India with 188 people with assets exceeding one billion dollars. Again, the comparison between India and China reveals a asynchronous growth between the number of millionaires and their total assets, with a combined capital of 888,000 million dollars. That is, with one third of China’s millionaires, the sum of the assets of the Indian magnates It is half of its Chinese counterparts. This reveals that a good number of Chinese millionaires have managed to overcome the billion-dollar barrier, but the accumulation of wealth from these great fortunes is not as pronounced as in other countries such as the US or India. The European map of billionaires Europe presents a internal distribution marked by notable differences between countries. According to data from the UBS report, Germany tops the European list with 156 billionairesbeing the main country on the continent in this aspect. Their combined fortune amounts to 692 billion dollars, which places them in a position alienated from the proportions of the United States or India. Common names also appear in the list in the lists of countries with millionaire populations, What are the United Kingdom like?which occupies fifth place with 91 billionairesor Switzerland with 84 great fortunes. In the following ranks are countries like Italy, which with 61 billionaires occupies the eighth position in number of great fortunes. France is also among the countries with outstanding figures, although well below these three leaders as it occupies thirteenth position in the ranking. In these cases, the harsh sales crisis in the Chinese and Asian markets for luxury products have seriously affected the balance sheets of exclusive brands like LVMH or Ferrariwhose owners are located as standard bearers of those great fortunes. The distribution of fortunes makes it clear that, even within Europethe concentration of billionaires tends to cluster in industrialized economies or with fiscal policies very oriented to capital returns. Spain takes positions Spain is not among the European countries with more billionairesalthough it has experienced recent growth in that select group. According to UBS data for 2025, the total number of Spanish billionaires who exceed the billion-dollar threshold It is 32 people. This figure places Spain as the seventeenth country with the most billionaires behind countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom or Italy in the continental ranking. The total combined wealth of the Spanish billionaires reaches $213.1 billion (about 182,602 million euros) in 2025, with an increase of 21.5% compared to previous years. However, in the Spanish case, the concentration of assets is not uniform, there is one figure that monopolizes a good part of that total assets: Amancio Ortega. In Xataka | Seven of the ten largest fortunes in the world in 2026 are due to AI: this illustrative graph makes it very clear Image | Visual Capitalist

Google has smelled blood with AI, so it has decided to spend more in 2026 than the GDP of 158 countries in the world

by

New year, new budgets. Big tech companies are beginning to detail their roadmap for 2026 and the trend is clear: spend even more on AI. a few days ago, Goal announced that the planned capex (capital expenditure) rose to 135,000 million dollars and Microsoft too pointed to a similar figure. Alphabet (Google) just told everyone to “hold my hands.” May the rhythm not stop. The bomb was announced during the last results conference. Alphabet plans to spend between $175 and $185 billion, doubling 2025 capex, which was $91.4 billion, and almost quadrupling 2024 spending (52.5 billion). To put it in context, it is more than the GDP of Morocco, Kuwait, Bulgaria and up to 158 countries. At the same time, the company announced record results, surpassing 400 billion in revenue for the first time. The net profit stood at 132,000 million. Vertigo. That’s what investors seem to have felt. They count in Financial Times that, in the hours following the news, Alphabet shares fell 7% after the capex announcement, but then the fall was reduced to -1.5%. Microsoft experienced a similar response after its earnings call a few days ago, it is the response of investors to these exorbitant figures. However, as long as the results are good, it seems that the scare will not last long. Everything’s fine. They count in Fortune that Pichai assured that this year’s capital expenditure is “a look at the future” and justified his strategy by highlighting that the demand for his cloud services and DeepMind (Gemini) is extraordinary, so the investment must also be. He also announced that AI searches now surpass traditional searches and that Google Search’s business has grown 17% compared to last year. Additionally, the order book for its cloud has increased by 55% during the last quarter. It still won’t be enough. The CEO of Alphabet admitted that, despite the record results, there are insurmountable bottlenecks such as computing capacity, problems in the chip supply chain and energy limitations. These restrictions make it take a long time to get a data center up and running, or in other words, it was preparing investors not to expect an immediate return. Gemini, full out. The Google chatbot is in its sweet moment. The viral success of Nano Banana, Gemini 3 sweeping its competition in benchmarks and Apple choosing him as the new brain for the new Siri They have given a boost in popularity to Gemini, which already has more than 750 million users. OpenAI is still ahead with ChatGPT, but Google is closing the gap and Altman’s people have reacted going into panic mode. He moat of Gemini. Benchmarks are fine, but there is something much more important. During the conference, Pichai announced that they had reduced Gemini’s service costs by 78% “through model optimizations, efficiency and utilization improvements.” It is no longer that its AI is surpassing its competition, it is that it is cheaper and there OpenAI does have a problem. With its advertising businesses, the cloud and more revenue, Google has plenty of room to skyrocket its capex. In Xataka | OpenAI’s entire financial strategy depended on achieving a monopoly with ChatGPT: the opposite is happening Image | Wikipedia

In Spain we are used to the signs on highways and highways being blue. In other countries not

by

If you have ever had to drive or pass near a highway in Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and many other countries in Europe, you will have noticed something curious: the road signs are not blue, but green. This is something that I was always curious to know why a few years ago, and there is more to the story than it seems. And it is the result of a series of historical and cultural decisions that each country made separately when developing its high-capacity road network. The origin of the “problem.” Europe has had a common road signaling system since 1968, when the Vienna Convention on Road Signs. This treaty unified the shapes, symbols and many traffic rules, but left each country free to choose the colors of the orientation signs. The agreement establishes that road markings can be white or yellow, and that pictograms must be internationally recognizable, but does not impose a single color for highways. Therefore, even if you drive throughout Europe under more or less similar rules, the colors of the signs change depending on the country. Image: Maps Interlude Why Spain chose blue. When Spain began to develop its network of highways and highways in the 1970s, it decided to use blue for high-capacity roads and white for conventional roads. This choice responds to a series of practical criteria: blue offered good night visibility with the reflective materials available at that time. Just like Spain, other countries also decided to opt for this color. The green in other countries in Europe. Many other European countries opted for green for their highways. Belgium, Finland, Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, Ukraine, and many other countries have green signage on their highways. The decision has roots in the continent’s early highway systems. The first two major highway networks were the germans (Autobahnen) and the Italian ones (Autostrade), which used blue and green signals respectively. The Italian choice of green probably influenced other Mediterranean and Eastern European countries, while the German scheme remained very consolidated and was imitated directly or indirectly by countries close to or with strong German technical influence. Image: Luigi Chiesa Nor is there one color better than another. Although you might want to start a war and choose sides between countries that use blue or green on their road signs, none is really better than the other. In fact, the main reason why both colors coexist on the continent is because they have not been standardized at the European level. In this sense, both colors fulfill their function perfectly if they are applied consistently within each country. Blue stands out well at night, while green is very legible during the day and is psychologically associated with progress and continuity. As long as each driver can quickly identify what type of road they are using and it can be read clearly and without problem, all good. What is unified. Although the colors vary, the Vienna Convention guarantees that a driver perfectly understands the signs whether he is in one country or another, because the pictograms, shapes and logic of the system are common. Triangles warn of dangers, circles prohibit or oblige, and rectangles inform. This harmonization is what really makes it possible to drive around Europe without having to study every national code. If there are changes, it will not be in the colors. In 2025, the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety launched a proposed amendment which could completely modify the text of the Vienna Convention, including new numbering for all signs. What will not change are the colors on the road signs, so each country will continue to have free rein to maintain its tradition. First because it works, and second because we are already used to it and that on the road means saving a lot of time. Cover image | Google Maps In Xataka | Madrid has committed to having an F1 circuit in September: at the moment it has an open field and four streets of a PAU

Poland and Spain are the European countries that have increased their contribution to space the most. For very different reasons

by

“Europe wants to get its act together in space matters and become independent from States, so in 2025 it has launched the ambitious 15-year plan.”Strategy 2040: Elevating Europe’s future“, ha merged its largest companies and has approved a historic budget of more than 22,000 million euros. In this new budget of the European Space Agency, there are two countries that have taken a step forward in investment: Poland and Spain. Spain and Poland take a step forward. With a contribution of 1,854 million euros, the Spanish state goes from fifth to fourth positiononly behind Germany, France and Italy. Since 2022 it has surpassed the United Kingdom, the only member state that has been reducing its contribution since 2022. Poland has gone from twelfth place to become the eighth largest contributor. Although the objective of Spain and Poland is the same, their motivations are different: while the former’s priority is to support its industrial base, for the latter security and autonomy are essential. The success of ESA’s budget request lies in the programs it houses and how each country and its priorities can influence the general space spending trends of the old continent. The jewel in the crown: EOGS-ESA. One of the great engines is Earth Observation Governmental Service (Government Earth Observation Service), a key program of the European Space Agency focused on Earth observation with satellite data, but not only for science or climate, but also for defense and security in what they call dual use, civil and military. The economic injection from Poland and Spain was significant: 325 million euros for the Spanish state and 109 million euros for the Eastern country, more than half of what it put in 2022. But both financed different components of the project that align with their interests. Each country has its reasons. Thus, Poland was allocated to shared European systems and resilience networks (services that work even if there are failures or sabotage), which fits with its concern for national security, the protection of strategic infrastructures and obviously, the context of the war in Ukraine. For its part, Spain opted for a part of the most tangible project: building satellites, more specifically the “Atlantic Constellation“, a constellation of small satellites shared with Portugal to observe the Atlantic. Missing launchers. In Europe, traditionally the launching countries have been France, Germany and Italy through Ariane and Vega, but in recent years the panorama has become more complicated. On the one hand, the success of SpaceX has overshadowed European work and on the other, the gap in launches that has existed in recent years, as a result of Ariane 6 delaysthe breaking of collaborations with Russia and the stoppage of Vega-C. So other countries with less tradition have taken a step forward, improving competitiveness. In the case of Spain, it has allocated 169 million to miuraa reusable small satellite launcher from the company PLD Space. Poland has increased its contribution to the Future Launcher Preparatory Programme, an ESA program focused on new innovative launcher technologies. From 2022 to 2025 it has gone from providing three million to 48. Bringing historic programs to life. Although they had not previously been a priority for both countries, Poland and Spain have set their sights on older programs such as ‘Celeste’ or ‘Iris2’. ‘Celeste’ is an ESA mission based on low orbit satellites that reinforces Galileo in achieving more precise and difficult to interfere navigation, with a scope of application in the development of autonomous vehicles, drones and critical infrastructures. Poland has made its debut with a contribution of 10 million and Spain has tripled its investment. ‘Iris2‘ is something like the European Starlink, made up of a network of about 300 satellites that will provide secure, fast and resilient communications to EU governments and companies. With supervision from ESA, the objective is to guarantee European digital sovereignty. Its first launch is scheduled for 2029. In this mission, Spain has emerged by contributing much more than any other member state to Element 3, which focuses on user terminals, new services and missions, with 140 million euros. More R + D + i. Likewise, both states have gained weight in FutureEOESA’s R&D program for Earth observation focused on climate change, ecosystem collapse, human health and the impact of resource consumption. Thus, Poland and Spain went from 8.5 and 20 million respectively in 2022 to 35 and 110 million in this new budget. Poland’s space exploration. Poland has risen from 12.5 million to 61 million euros in just three years, with more than half of that increase (30 million) allocated to lunar exploration. However, they have just send its first astronaut in decades: Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, on an Ignis trade mission. The pioneer was Mirosław Hermaszewski, in 1978. In Xataka | “Elon Musk can monopolize everything,” warns Arianespace, which has been launching all of Europe’s satellites for 40 years In Xataka | A space war looms over our heads and Europe is the power that invests the least in defense technology Cover | Image from freepik

Ukraine’s biggest problem is not Russia. There are three European countries trapped in a perverse mechanism: type C accounts

by

Europe faces a decision that goes far beyond an accounting discussion and that defines its strategic credibility: what to do with the more than 210,000 million of euros of Russian assets frozen since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. The problem is twofold, because it is not just about figures, but about what comes after activating the operation. The European crossroads. Yes, because the question is not only whether that money should be used to support kyiv at a critical moment, but whether the European Union is capable to take the risks political, legal and economic implications of doing so. As Washington presses for a quick exit to the conflict and reduces its financial support, Brussels finds itself caught between the urgency of avoiding a Ukrainian defeat and the fear of unleashing a russian retaliation that directly hits several of its Member States. Putin clearly. Statements this week by Vladimir Putinloaded with contempt for European elites and confidence in a protracted war, are not simple rhetoric. Moscow makes it clear that it is not contemplating real concessions and that it considers the use of its frozen assets as theft that demands a response. That response would not be symbolic, but surgical: selective seizures, accelerated nationalizations, endless litigation and the use of the Russian financial system as a weapon. The message, a priori, is unequivocal: if Europe crosses the line, Russia will not only punish Ukraine on the battlefield, but also European countries that still have exposed economic interests within their territory. The real blockage. I remembered this morning the financial times he crux of the whole situation. Although the debate is presented as a struggle between hawks and cautions, the real blockage comes from a handful of countries specific, with Belgium, Italy and Austria at the head. It is not a question of ideology, but of direct vulnerability. Belgium hosts Euroclear, the warehouse that guards most of the frozen Russian assets, and fears becoming the first target of retaliation judicial and economic. Italy and Austria, for their part, maintain banks and companies with billions trapped in Russia, benefits included, which they cannot repatriate. For these countries, authorizing the use of Russian money is not an abstract foreign policy decision, but rather an immediate risk to their financial and corporate systems. Type C accounts: the ace of Moscow. At the center of this fear are the calls type C accountsthe mechanism created by Moscow to withhold dividends, interest and assets from Western companies. That money, formally owned by European and American companies, is under Russian control and can be frozen, redistributed or directly transferred to the state budget with a simple decree. For the Kremlin, these accounts are a retaliation tool fast and effective, far superior in agility to slow Western judicial processes. For Europe, they are an invisible chain that binds entire governments when making strategic decisions, because any false step can translate into lost billions and internal political crises. Germany pushes, Europe hesitates. Germany has become the main political engine of the plan to use Russian assets, convinced that without that money there is no realistic way to support Ukraine for another two years without skyrocketing the European debt or depending on impossible unanimity. Berlin insists that the risk must be shared among everyone and that failure to act would send a devastating sign: Europe is not capable of defending its own security. However, this logic collides with the reality of countries that feel that the risk is not distributed, but rather concentrated in their national balance sheetsits banks and its courts. A (bad) peace as a threat. This financial blockade occurs in an even more disturbing context: European fear to an imposed peace on terms favorable to Russia. For many capitals, an agreement that consolidates Moscow’s territorial gains would not only leave Ukraine defenseless, but would force Europe to prepare for a scenario direct confrontation in the medium term, with longer borders, a strengthened Russian army and a weakened European deterrent. In this framework, the frozen Russian money stops being a tactical lever and becomes a strategic investment: either it is used now to support Ukraine, or it is paid for later in the form of massive rearmament and risk of war. The final dilemma. In short, the European Union has frozen Russian assets to prevent them from returning to Moscow without reparations, but now it must decide whether it dares to give the next step. Without that money, Ukraine could run out of liquidity in a matter of months, losing all negotiating power and forcing a deal from weakness. With him, Europe is exposed to reprisals, litigation and immediate economic losses, concentrated in a few countries that are currently holding back the decision. The crossroads are clear: assume the political and financial cost now, or accept that the fear of type C accounts determine European security policy. Not only the future of Ukraine is at stake in that election, but also Europe’s ability to act as a coherent geopolitical actor when your own interests are at risk. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | A missile has been bombarding Ukraine’s defenses for weeks. What no one could imagine is that he is not Russian: he is from the West In Xataka | A day later the satellites leave no doubt: Russia fortified a bridge, and a Ukrainian drone made science fiction a reality

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.