escape

Tariffs pose price increases in all types of products. Digital services are not going to escape

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On January 20, 2025 there were five very special guests to Donald Trump’s investiture ceremony. Were nothing less That Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk and Tim Cook, the CEO or founders of five of the most important technology companies on the planet. Then things happened. Billionaire losses. Three months later the companies of these five leaders have lost 1.26 billion dollars, An absolutely colossal figure. Donald Trump tariff All products that we buy and consume They rise appreciable. The services are not safe. However, what will happen to digital services? Taking into account that they are intangible, almost ethereal products, one might think that they will be safe from those increases, but we fear that there will also be important increases in these services. Infrastructure after service. The reason is clear: to provide these services services make use of data centersservers and components that will end up more. And if maintaining and providing these services costs companies more, it is logical to think that this cost increase will end up impacting users and customers. Subscriptions more expensive than ever. Thus, it seems that we will end up paying (even) more for being able to use Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft 365 or, of course, our subscription to Chatgpt Plus. Here the dominoes will fall everywhere, and it is expected that the digital services that users and companies use daily rise. We will buy less (and less imported products). As they point out In The New York Timesthere are outstanding examples such as internet payment intermediaries and of course electronic commerce platforms such as Amazon. If, for example, in the US, fewer people buy products imported from abroad – because tariffs will make them much more expensive – both Amazon itself and payment processing entities such as banks or services such as Paypall will suffer the consequences. And the EU prepares tariffs for those services. One of the possible EU responses to the tariffs Trump has announced for member countries (20%, without differentiating by country) is that of impose tariffs to services exports by the Big Tech. China exports goods, but USA exports services. The United States is the largest digital services exporter in the world. According to the analyst Jerry Ar P., in 2022 the United States exported digital services to Europe worth 187,000 million dollars, more than 25% of the total. Tariffs would clearly affect the US revenues due to these exports of digital services, and this consultant estimates that in 2022 these digital services represented 2.5% of the US GDP. Unpredictable collateral effects. The implementation of these tariffs on digital services raises notable consequences for the US economy and, of course, for global finances. North American technological ones who nourish these exports would be the clear victims, and there would also be a direct effect on their templates not only in that country, but globally. The market capitalization of these companies would probably also fall, triggering clearly clear effects in all types of areas, not only at the economic level but also at the diplomatic level. Image | Xataka with chatgpt In Xataka | The great technology built their empires in a connected world. Now that world is falling apart

A Venezuelan invented a city without law in the middle of an island. Now the millionaires who followed him do not know how to escape

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In recent history there are several examples of projects of private for profit that sought to redifing the concept of governance and economic development combining libertarian, neoliberal and corporatist principles in the same cocktail shaker. ShenzhenIn China, it began as a special economic zone in 1980 and grew from being a fishing village to a metropolis with a GDP of 482 billion dollars. And there we have Neom in Saudi Arabiaalthough it is about to see that this future is confirmed. In any case, none as prosperous. A radical experiment. Located on the island of Roatán, Honduras, Prospera It was conceived as A libertarian citywith an independent fiscal and regulatory structure Designed to attract investorstechnological entrepreneurs and defenders of the free market. Created by the Venezuelan Erick Brime, a former manager of Investment Funds, the community operates under its own legal code, minimum tax rates and a digital judicial system administered by Arizona’s retired judges. With a 1% corporate tax rate And without capital gains taxes, the enclave was presented as an alternative to the Honduran system, seeking to demonstrate that the free market economy and the minimum government intervention can generate prosperity. Millionaires to the race. As we said, since its foundation in 2017, the city attracted the interest of Silicon Valley investors. There, people like Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase) and Peter Thiel, who saw in prosperous space for technological and financial innovation. The community also became a meeting point for Biohackers and cryptocurrency, organizing conferences with the motto “Make Death Optional” and facilitating the installation of biotechnology and nuclear energy companies. However, the ambition of the project soon crashed with the political and social reality of Honduras, triggering a crisis that now threatens to dismantle its existence. Millionaires who look so happy do not know how to get out. The collapse of the legal framework. Prospera’s existence was possible thanks to the Employment and Economic Development Law (Zedes), approved during the mandate of former president Juan Orlando Hernández. What happened? That Hernández was arrested and convicted in the United States for drug trafficking, and her successor, President Xiomara Castro, went on to qualify the project as a creation of a “narco-regime.” In 2024, the Supreme Court of Honduras declared unconstitutional the law of the Zedesquestioning the legality of Prospera. Given this threat, Brime sue Honduras for 11,000 million of dollars before an international arbitration tribunal, claiming that the revocation of its special status constitutes an illegal expropriation. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in Lobby in the United States Congress seeking to press the Government so that sanction Honduras if it does not protect investment Foreign in Prospera. The community is revealed. In addition, the problem for these “investors” was aggravated when the rejection of the central government of the “city” added local leaders and indigenous communities In Roatán. Moreover, the Crawfish Rock community, which borders Prospera, has denounced that the project represents A threat to its territory and way of life. Tensions about access to water and territorial expansion have resulted in clashes between prosperous employees and local residents. A regulatory paradise. If you wonder why so many millionaires came to Brime, the answer is in one of the most controversial prosperous aspects: Your self -regulation modelwhere companies can choose between regulations from 36 different countriesSo even create their own regulations, provided they hire civil liability insurance. Hence, it has become a refuge for high -tech and biomedicine sectors, including startups on extreme longevity and prohibited experimental therapies in the United States. Who is it? Bloomberg had A few days ago in a special about the city that among the companies that have established operations in Prospera Oklo stand outa startup backed by Sam Altman that develops small nuclear reactors, biotechnology companies, some dedicated to unregulated medical treatments, and a large amount of Investors in cryptocurrenciesattracted by the possibility of paying taxes with Bitcoin. In any case, and despite its success by attracting private capital, the lack of a clear tax framework has generated those Frictions with the local government. The mayor of Roatán, Ron McNab, has criticized that Prospera uses the island’s infrastructure Without paying municipal taxeswhich aggravates urban problems such as lack of roads, drainage and safety. Model expansion. As Prospera’s viability in Honduras has become more uncertain, Brime and businesswoman Magatte Wade have launched a new project: Africa prosperan attempt to replicate the model in African countries. Apparently, Sub -Saharan Africa is seen as a fertile land for this type of projects due to its rapid urban growth and high demand for private investment. Of course, Wade has emphasized that his intention is to avoid mistakes made in Honduras and work in collaboration with local governments. A libertarian utopia. Thus, which began as an experiment in self -government has evolved in A legal, political and social struggle With the Honduran government and the premises In “Weapons” against this invented city. While Brime and his allies press for the international recognition of Prospera, local resistance and government actions have turned their dream and that of investors into a nightmare with a figure to settle: 11,000 million dollars. The curious thing about this story is that, far from trying to put an end, Prospera’s fate could be replicated in other places and, if necessary, determine the future of other autonomous cities worldwide. If you manage to survive and give you the right, a precedent will sit for many other similar projects. If it fails, it will reinforce skepticism about The viability of these libertarian enclaves in countries with fragile political and economic contexts. What seems clear is that the confrontation between Prospera and Honduras is far from ending, exposing fundamental challenges of private cities: can a corporation replace a state? Or maybe the big question: how far does the right of a community come to self -govern? Image | Zaha Hadid In Xataka | How much money Elon Musk has: how the fortune of the man who plans … Read more

convert the escape of Helio de la Starliner into a great military advance

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A few weeks ago, the two “stranded” astronauts in space after leaving for the International Space Station on June 5 aboard the Starliner ship, received good news: He had decided to advance his return. For Boeing, however, the mission fiasco is far from finishing. In fact, the company is Trying to sell your bleeding space division by piecesl. The latest: it seems that China has taken “oil” from the main problem of the Starliner. Boeing’s problem as inspiration. In a surprising return of technological nut, Chinese scientists seem to have transformed the serious crisis that affects NASA (and especially Boeing) in A revolution in aerospace propulsion. The Boeing Starliner capsule suffered multiple helium leaks that incapacitated their propulsion systems, leaving the two astronauts trapped at the International Space Station. That incident turned the heliuman ultralight gas traditionally used to pressurize liquid fuels, in A symbol of technical vulnerability. Now, Chinese researchers have seen in that same weakness a unique opportunity to develop a disruptive technology, a Able to revolutionize both the military and spatial field. Solid propulsion driven by Helio. The team of scientists, led by Yang Zenan of the Harbin University of Engineering, has revealed in a recent study Published in the Magazine Aeronautica et Astronautics Sinica How helium controlled injection can considerably multiply the performance of solid fuel rocket. Specifically, they discovered that by introducing helium through microscopic pores (about 2 mm) in the combustion chamber, It is possible to increase the specific engine efficiency by 5.77%. In addition, by precisely adjusting the proportion between helium and combustion gases (a part of helium for every four parts of fuel gas), scientists They managed to instantly triple the engine thrustcarrying it from 100% to 313% according to operational needs. Advantage: Thermal camouflage and invisibility. The use of helium is not limited to potential improvements or thrust. One of its most strategic advantages lies in the drastic reduction in the temperature of the exhaust gases. The helium, Being extremely light (With a molar mass of only 4 g/mol in front of the 29 g/mol of the typical combustion gases), expand and cool the escape flow, lowering its temperature by up to 1,327 degrees Celsius. This thermal reduction implies a radical decrease in the infrared signal of the missiles propelled by this technology, making them almost impossible to detect through infrared sensors modern military satellite employees such as Spacex Starshield and interceptor systems such as The SM-3 Block IIA. Also improved stability and safety. Another relevant feature of helium, highlighted by researchers, is Its chemically inert naturewhich avoids common problems associated with unstable combustion caused by other light gases, especially hydrogen. This ensures, they explain, that The flight is soft and predictableeliminating many operational risks that traditionally hinder the practical application of more volatile alternative technologies. In addition, by absorbing excess heat generated by combustion, helium not only reduces the exhaust temperature, but also Protects internal engine materials, extending its useful life and decreasing operational risks. Military and strategic applications. They count on work that from a strategic and military perspective, technology has deep implications. The Ability to quickly modulate the thrust of a missile in flight allows Unpredictable attack trajectoriessignificantly improving your maneuverability. This aspect is especially relevant to advanced defensive systems, since the combination of lower infrared detectability and variable acceleration capacity makes interception greatly difficult, especially in the context of defense against hypersonic missiles. According to Chinese researchers, this innovation could directly solve the current challenges facing their weapons systems in terms of speed, scope and thermal stealth, presenting a real challenge to antimile defenses developed by the United States. Civil and spatial potential applications. However, the benefits of this technological innovation transcend the military. According to the research team, this technique could also revolutionize the civil and commercial field, especially in The rapid and economical launch of satellites by solid fuel rockets. As? The capacity would be particularly valuable for urgent deployments in commercial, scientific or humanitarian contexts, providing an agile, profitable and adaptable solution against the expensive current launch systems. Current context and relevance. Meanwhile, in the United States the initial crisis continues. As we explained at the beginning, NASA recently announced that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, affected by the Starliner’s breakdown, Finally they will return to Earth in mid -March using a Spacex ship. In the words of the NASA Traffic Program manager, Steve Stich, the incident has demonstrated once again that “the human space flight is full of unexpected challenges.” Paradoxically, that same challenge that affected NASA and Boeing has served for Chinese scientists to achieve, on paper, a disruptive innovation that could deeply redefine the rules of technological and strategic game in the near future. Image | POT, Gaystock In Xataka | After the fiasco of the Starliner ship, Boeing is trying to sell its bleeding spatial division by pieces In Xataka | The two “stranded” astronauts in space have received their first good news in months: their return will be advanced

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