euros

This does not reach two euros per month and comes with three extra months

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After Black Friday, this pre-Christmas season we are in is one of the times of the year when we most often buy online. The search for the perfect gift is not easy, but having the Internet It allows us to access many different stores to find even original gifts with which to truly surprise. Buying online (like any other online activity) can carry certain risks, especially if it involves stores that we don’t know much about or if we do it on a WiFi network about which we don’t have much information, such as that of a hotel. The simplest way to protect ourselves is by using a VPN and we have quality like Surfshark for very little: only 1.99 euros per month. Surfshark Starter Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A VPN is one of the best tools there is to protect ourselves on the Internet As we usually tell you, a VPN is a very useful tool that never hurts to have installed on our devices (be it a PC, mobile phone or tablet, among others). Maybe at this moment you are wondering if it is worth paying for one if there are free ones and the truth is that yes. Although there are free options, these are not recommended in the long run because They are not as safe as they say they are.. Now, is it worth using it when shopping online? When using a VPN, what we do is pass all our Internet traffic through a secure and encrypted tunnel, so that no one can see what we are doing. Thus, we will protect our transactions and purchases by keeping things like, for example, our credit or debit card safe. The fact of encrypting our Internet traffic is also ideal when using a public WiFi network or some type of establishment, such as a hotel or a shopping center. Plus, with a VPN too we will keep our IP address safewhich can fall into the wrong hands and be used, among many other things, to impersonate our identity. Now let’s talk about Surfshark, which is with its Winter Sale active. Thanks to them, as we said above, we can get hold of it for 1.99 euros per month if we opt for its two-year modality. With it, in addition, we will take three extra months (same as with the rest of the plans). In this way, to sum it up, we would have 27 months of VPN for a total of 47.46 euros. If we are looking for a tool that offers more and we have a larger budget, then we can opt for the plan Surfshark One. This one, which has a price of 2.29 euros per month in its two-year modality, it comes with VPN and other additional tools such as antivirus or an alert system that notifies us if our data is leaked on the Internet. Surfshark One Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Finally, we have to talk about the most powerful plan that this company has, called Surfshark One+. This one, what does it cost? 4.19 euros per month in its two-year modality, includes everything from the previous plan and an exclusive tool called Incogni, thanks to which we have the possibility of delete personal information from databases. Regardless of the plan we choose, we will have more Internet security at a very good price. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Image | Money Knack, Arun Kuchibhotla In Xataka | Why it is dangerous to connect to public Wi-Fi and what you should do to protect yourself In Xataka | Free VPN and security: what’s the problem, why you should be careful

Torrejón de Ardoz has a plan to control his geese, parrots, rabbits and pigeons. One of 150,000 euros

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With bird flu and the african swine fever grabbing headlines, the Torrejón de Ardoz City Council wants to protect itself against “possible health risks”. The City Council is looking for a company to help it “control” the populations of certain wild species that live in the municipality. Specifically, it has focused on four: parrots, Nile geesepigeons and rabbits, although the list can be expanded. It offers interested firms a three-year contract (extendable) with a budget of up to 150,000 euros. Its mission: quantify, control and capture. What has happened? That Torrejón de Ardoz (Community of Madrid) wants to control the wildlife that populates its fields and parks, especially parrots, Nile geese, rabbits and pigeons. “It is necessary to maintain the population and avoid possible risks to health, public safety, maintain environmental health and the ecosystem,” the Consistory states in your ad to attract companies interested in providing the service for three years. The deadline for submitting offers ended in November. Now the Contracting Platform reports that it is in the “evaluation” phase. The budget: a maximum of 150,000 eurosVAT included. But what exactly do you want to do? “Control and manage” the populations of certain species and anticipate possible “unhealth risks” or damage to ecosystems. Hence the focus is on three types of animals that stand out precisely for their ability to expand: “invasive exotic birds” (a category in which the City Council includes the Argentine parrot, Kramer parrot and Nile goose), pigeons and turtledoves and the European rabbit. “This includes any other wild animal that could cause a risk to health, safety and/or ecosystem,” they require from the Consistorywhich leaves pest control, disinfestation and deratization tasks outside the contract. The objective is for the company to carry out an annual “diagnosis” on the situation of these species and carry out health controls. If necessary, it will undertake sampling, analysis and veterinary tests to detect diseases. Just that? No. The documentation of the contest clarifies that, if circumstances demand it, the company will have to carry out work to control wildlife populations, which includes removing nests, controlling eggs, work with compressed air rifles and cages or capturing specimens. In the case of rabbits, the contract states that the company may control them with the help of ferrets and capillos, as long as it meets certain conditions. Captured healthy rabbits will be moved to preserves. When this is not possible, the contract contemplates euthanasia (in compliance with the animal welfare law), just as occurs with geese. One of the conditions placed on companies is that they have agreements with captive breeding and recovery centers. But… Is it so urgent? This is considered by the Madrid City Council, which recalls, for example, that parrots and Nile geese are “exotic species that can become invasive if control is not carried out” on the population. “Therefore, it is necessary to develop this service to reduce its distribution area, reduce the number of specimens or stop its spread,” prevents. About the rabbits, technicians remember that it is a wild species “capable of colonizing urban ecosystems” and that is already causing “damage” in green areas of the city, especially in groves, bushes, meadows and even in irrigation systems and land. “That is why it is necessary to control the population to prevent the increase and severity of damage. In addition, they can pose a risk to public safety and health,” duck. As for pigeons, the City Council recognizes that they are “adapted” to urban life, but their proliferation can cause annoyance and health problems. Images | Wikipedia 1 and 2 In Xataka | Torrejón de Ardoz thought it had found a golden opportunity by hosting the Madrid macro festivals. Now he’s canceling them.

and the gap is 787 euros

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In the middle of the debate on the pension revaluation Looking ahead to 2026, the data show a much starker reality: there is a significant (and growing) gap between the pensions charged in the most industrialized communities and those that are less. With an aging population increasingly dependent on pensions, this gap between territories has become one of the great axes of economic inequality in Spain, to the point that between Vizcaya and Orense there is already almost 800 euros of difference in the average retirement pension. The two Spains in retirement. The Social Security data of November 2025 show that the provinces with higher salaries and a denser industrial fabric also concentrate the highest pensions, while the areas with lower salaries and older people are left behind. Social Security places the average retirement pension in Vizcaya at 1,872 euros per month, while in Orense it remains at 1,085 euros, which represents a gap of 787 euros per month between the province that pays its retirees the best and the one that does the worst. In 14 payments, this difference is equivalent to more than 11,000 euros per year between a pensioner from Biscay and one from Ourense. An upward trend. If we compare these same data with those of the same month As of 2020, the distance between the highest and lowest retirement pensions by province was around 615 euros per month, so in just five years this gap has increased by just over 170 euros per month according to the series from the National Social Security Institute. The data for November 2025 confirm that the Basque Country remains at the top of the retirement pension ranking, accompanied by Navarra, Madrid, Asturias, Aragon, Cantabria, Catalonia and Ceuta, which are above the national average. For their part, Galicia and Extremadura remain in the pension queue, well below the national average. Average Pension by autonomous communities. November 2025. Source: Social Security The weight of salary and the industry. This pension gap It is nothing more than a reflection of the salary situation of each of these communities. The Annual Salary Structure Survey from the INE for 2023 indicates that the average annual salary in the Basque Country was 33,504.92 euros, while in Extremadura it was 23,684.22 euros; The difference is around 41% and indicates that the Basque Country is clearly the community with the highest salaries and Extremadura is the one with the lowest salaries. These territorial differences are not the result of chance, but of type of jobs and salaries that each community has had for decades. The Social Security distribution system itself rewards long careers with high contributions, so that provinces with more industry and high salaries transform that advantage into more generous pensions. They are the same positions that they occupy in the ranking of communities with the highest and lowest pensions given the close relationship between the salaries received by workers, your Social Security contributions and the amount of their pensions. Therefore, those from more industrialized communities that have traditionally paid higher salaries are the ones that now have the highest pensions. An increasingly decisive pension. Given the aging of the population, pensions have already become the main stable income of a growing part of Spanish households, especially in the territories of emptied Spain, with the highest average age. In provinces like Orense or Zamorathe number of pensioners is approaching that of busywhich reflects the extent to which the local economy depends on the money that arrives each month from Social Security. This reality is aggravated in communities with less industrial fabric and worse salarieswhich have average pensions clearly below the national average and negative balances between contributions and benefit income, as occurs in Andalusia, Extremadura or Galicia. In Xataka | Being your own boss has a price: an average retirement pension 657 euros lower than that of employees Image | Unsplash (Val Vesa)

from 30 to 60 euros per month to travel throughout the country

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Almost like Groundhog Day, the announcement of a public transport pass to move around the country hits the headlines. He does so because Pedro Sánchez, in his press conference this morning, announced that in a month this single ticket for all of Spain will be active, which was already advanced in January of this same year and about which there had been no further news. All over Spain. It will be approved in the last Council of Ministers of this year, as Pedro Sánchez has pointed outPresident of the Government, at a press conference this morning. The price will be 60 euros per month but will be reduced to 30 euros for those under 26 years of age. In his presentation, Sánchez confirmed that this pass will be available to travel on Cercanías and Media Distancia trains and on public buses. That is, high speed is out. Some doubts. The Government has indicated that it will be available in “the second half of January” and that it will be used, as we said, for the aforementioned trains and buses. However, in the appearance, Sánchez indicated that “he calls on the Autonomous Communities to progressively join all regional and local public service networks.” What does it mean? Although the Government has to give more details, everything indicates that the holders of these passes will only be able to travel on the Renfe trains that provide public services (including here Cercanías and Media Distancia) and the buses that also provide these public services defined by the State. Therefore, it is not explicitly mentioned but everything indicates that municipal buses or metro or tram services, dependent on the cities or, in any case, on the Autonomous Communities, are excluded from this subscription. The same happens with the bus services provided by the latter. Aids. In his statement, Pedro Sánchez assured that aid for public transport will be maintained. This aid has been active almost all year. They were announced in the last days of 2024 specifying that would cost 1.6 billion euros. A few days after their application, they fell because the Congress of Deputies did not approve an Omnibus Decree which included aid. Weeks later it was approved again after a new negotiation. The point is that the aid was only maintained where the Autonomous Communities and municipalities confirmed that they co-financed the user aid. And the State only maintained the discount on the price of season tickets at 50% if the municipal or regional entity contributed 20% of that reduction. The question is whether these aids will now be part of the negotiation so that the passenger continues to access the discounts. It remains to be seen whether the Government will use it as a pressure measure to get regional or municipal public transport to join the single ticket for all of Spain if they want to continue receiving aid to lower the ticket price for their travelers. Background. Although it has been announced and a specific date has been set for its arrival, it is not the first time that the Government mentions the entry into force of this ticket. In January of this yearÓscar Puente, Minister of Transport, already indicated that the intention in 2025 was to define this new transport pass and have it prepared for its activation in 2026. The measure is no exception in Europe, which has seen how this type of proposals gained strength with the Covid-19 crises and the economic damage caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Germany this ticket has become available for 9 euros and after dying of success It has ended up settling at 58 euros. Austria has a very similar subscription although in this case there are no restrictions on the chosen means of transport. Its price is 79 euros per month and a subscription of 110 euros/month allows you to travel with up to three children. The main doubts that have been raised with this type of transport passes were collected Financial Times. And it is not entirely clear that increased travel will take drivers off the road. They point out in the economic newspaper that the increase in journeys was due to greater mobility of those who already used the train but that after the first call effect, drivers stayed in their cars. Photo | European Union and Juan Enrique Giraldi In Xataka | The most pacifist city in Germany lived off its legendary train factory. Now they will make it from a gigantic tank factory

The EU already has a date to charge Chinese platforms at least three euros per package. Temu had been preparing for a long time

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Buying something cheap online has become an almost automatic gesture for many. A pair of t-shirts, a mobile accessory or a small gadget that costs little more than a coffee arrives at home in a few days, often from platforms such as Shein, AliExpress or Temu. It is not an isolated perception. The compliance reports themselves under the Digital Services Law They show the extent to which these platforms have been integrated into the day-to-day life of digital consumption in the Old Continent. This change in habits has a very concrete translation in figures and logistics. In 2024, the European Union received 4.6 billion low-value shipments, equivalent to more than twelve million a day. According to the European Commission91% of these shipments came from China, a constant flow that has not only grown exponentially in recent years, but has put customs and control systems, designed for another volume and another reality of international trade, under unprecedented pressure. What changes come and when. Brussels’ response to this scenario has a calendar and concrete measures. It has been agreed to apply a fixed tariff of three euros to items contained in small shipments that enter the European Union and have a value of less than 150 euros. We are facing a transitional solution that will begin to be applied on July 1, 2026 and that will serve as a bridge until the entry into operation of the new European customs systemwith a large data node to centralize information and improve risk management, and with a community authority to coordinate and homogenize the application of the rules. The EU has been working for some time on a structural reform of its customs union to unify data, streamline procedures and strengthen supervision at community level. The creation of a common information system and a European customs authority seeks to correct the fragmentation between Member States, a problem that the massive increase in small shipments has made evident. Faced with increasingly atomized and low-value trade, Brussels aspires to a different model, with more coordination and a more homogeneous application of the rules throughout the internal market. Behind the scenes of the measure. The political impulse behind this reform responds to several fronts open at the same time. On the one hand, European authorities have been warning for years about undervaluation practices that distort competition and penalize businesses that do comply with the rules. Added to this are “risks to the health and safety of consumers, high levels of fraud and environmental concerns.” When is the fee paid? The key to this measure is the moment in which the tax is activated. The three-euro tariff is applied when the merchandise enters the European Union, that is, at the time of importation. This implies a fundamental difference for our purchases. If the product is shipped directly from outside the EU, the shipping is subject to that rate. Things change when the order leaves a warehouse located within the single market, the package does not cross a customs border again and the tax is not activated in this case because the import should have occurred earlier. The document approved by the EU does not say at any time that the consumer will pay this tariff directly. The rule is limited to establishing that the tax will be applied to the goods at the time of their importation. From there, the logic of the market suggests that it will be the platforms, sellers or logistics operators who manage the payment before the customs authority and then decide how to integrate that cost. In practice, the most common thing is that it ends up being reflected in the final price or in the costs of the order, that is, we would see it reflected at the time of “checkout” of our purchase. Three euros per product or per item? The Council document is precise in one key nuance. The tariff is defined as a fixed charge of three euros on items contained in small shipments, and not as a flat rate per package or as a surcharge for each individual unit. This choice of words indicates that the calculation is linked to the declared content of the shipment, and not only to the box in which it travels. In the absence of a more detailed operational guide from the authorities, and following the usual logic of customs, this allows us to interpret that several identical products would be grouped under the same item. For example, if an order includes three pairs of sneakers and three watches, the tax would not be applied six times, but rather once for the sneakers and once for the watches. That is, three euros for each type of product included in the shipment, and not for each unit purchased. Temu anticipates the change. Faced with this new scenario, Temu has been adjusting its model in Europe for some time. The platform has reinforced agreements with local logistics operators to expand delivery options and support its local seller program, with a bid to serve more orders from within the community market. In its official communications, the company notes that it expects local sellers and logistical compliance within the EU represent up to 80% of its European sales, a strategy that seeks to gain agility, shorten deadlines and adapt to a more demanding regulatory environment. The key question is whether this model pays off. Centralizing stock in the EU provides control and speed, but requires better selection of which products are offered and in what quantities. The calendar, in any case, is already defined and the countdown for the changes in the community customs system to come into force is underway. At the same time, e-commerce platforms are starting to respond. Everything indicates that part of this adjustment will end up being reflected in higher prices for some products from China, although its real scope will depend on how logistics is reorganized in the coming months. Images | Xataka with Grok | Olga Nayda In Xataka … Read more

The Great Rental Review of 2026 is going to be dramatic for thousands of Spaniards for one reason: 1,700 euros more

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The usual thing around these times is that people start talking about New Year’s resolutionsprojects, trips… plans for 2026 that is already around the corner. That’s the usual. In Spain there are thousands of families who face the year with a very different feeling: restlessness. They are tenants, they have been residing in rented houses for years and now they see how their contracts are about to expire in a very different scenario to the one they had when they signed them, back in 2021. Things have changed so much that there are those who estimate that some tenants will have to pay up to 4,600 euros more per year if they don’t want to move. What has happened? For thousands of Spanish families, 2026 will not be the year of North America World Cup nor that of Eurovision without Spain. 2026 will be the year in which they will have to decide whether to move or agree to pay much more for their homes. The reason is a phenomenon that some have baptized as “the big rental review” and in practice it is nothing other than the expiration of the contracts signed between 2020 and 2021. After the five-year extension that marks the lawnow many tenants have to sit down and negotiate with their landlords. But that’s normal, right? Correct. Contracts signed from 2019 onwards last five years if the landlord is an individual or seven if it is a company. During this period they are renewed annually automatically and the normal thing is that the rents are updated in a controlled manner, based on the CPI or the IRAV index. That hasn’t changed. What is special about the rental contracts signed in 2020 and 2021 is that they were agreed in a very specific context, conditioned by the impact of the crisis of COVID-19. It comes with taking a look at the price chart of Madrid prepared by Idealista to understand it. After years of moderate rent increases (or stagnation), in mid-2020 rents began to become cheaper and did not recover until well into 2021, when they gained momentum that continues even today. What does that mean? That if you signed a rental contract in January, February, March… 2021, you did so at an advantageous time that has kept you ‘safe’ these last five years from the price increase that the market has accumulated. Now, once that agreement expiresif your landlord wants to renegotiate the contract, he will do so in a very different context, with rents in maximum values. Has rent become so expensive? Yes. Until now we could get an idea thanks to platforms like Idealista. Now we have a theoretically more precise tool: calculations from the Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption prepared from data from the INE, the Tax Agency and the IEF. The results has advanced them The Country and they show that contracts that must be renewed in 2026 will become more expensive by up to 383 euros per month compared to the time of the original signing, which translates into about 4,600 euros more per year. That would be the forecast for the most extreme cases (not the average), but it is eloquent. Is there more data? Yes. The estimates of advanced consumer The Country show an estimate of how much rents will rise per year for a household with a median income. For Spain as a whole, this calculation shows an increase of 1,735 euros. In the case of the Valencian Community it would reach 2,686, in the Canary Islands 2,267, in Madrid 2,042, in Cantabria 1,869 and in Andalusia 1,952. In the rest of the regions analyzed, the increase in median income ranges between 1,408 and 884-329 euros/year, the latter data corresponding to Ceuta and Melilla. And the calculation of 4,600 euros/year? It comes out of the heaviest estimate, the one that corresponds to the Balearic Islands. There the Consumption data show the increase in rent prices can exceed 4,615 euros per year. As a reference, Idealista indicates that in March 2021 the residential square meter was rented on the islands at 11.2 euros. Today it is above 19. If we take an 80 m2 apartment as a reference, that means that a tenant who five years ago paid 896 euros/month today would have to pay 1,528. That is, 632 more. When managing the advanced table by The Country It is worth keeping several keys in mind. To begin with, it does not include data from the Basque Country or Navarra due to their regional regimes. Nor from Catalonia, since one relevant part of the population resides in declared neighborhoods “stressed market areas”which influences their prices. The increase calculations also seem to have been carried out with respect to the values ​​at the signing of the contract (2021), which leaves the doubt as to whether they have taken into account the updates of recent years. Another fundamental factor is the context: the estimates are based on a portfolio managed by Sumar, which takes time pressuring its government partner to extend hundreds of thousands of rental contracts about to expire. Does it affect many people? The answer is once again positive. At least if we take Consumption as a reference. After examining the data from the Household Panel, Pablo Bustinduy’s department has come to the conclusion that in 2020, 568,500 contracts and in 2021 another 632,300. The first ones have been completing their five years of validity in recent months. The latter will begin to do so from January, affecting 1.6 million people. The communities that will (potentially) be most affected are Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Valencian Community. The first saw 145,900 contracts signed in 2021, affecting some 404,100 people. In Catalonia, 112,700 and 301,000 were recorded respectively, although there the tenants have the declaration of stressed areas in their favor. In Andalusia there are some 85,500 contracts with 213,700 affected tenants and in the Valencian Community there were 65,500 agreements with 155,000 people involved. Anything else? Yes. … Read more

Spain adds eight more billionaires in 2025. A single fortune accounts for six out of every ten euros: Amancio Ortega, of course

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Before the arrival Christmas lottery and change the luck of some people, the latest report ‘Billionaire Ambitions 2025’ from UBS, reveals that Spain is experiencing a new leap in the elite of great fortunes, with more billionaires than a year ago. But that’s not all, since the report indicates that not only has the number of billionaires increased, but the volume of existing assets has also grown. That is, richer than they are richer. The rest of us mortals only hope to be healthy after the Lottery draw. Spain wins “ultra-rich.” He UBS report points out that in Spain there are already 32 people with assets exceeding 1,000 million dollars. This represents a net increase of eight new ultra-rich in the last year since the same 2024 report recorded 27 assets over one billion in Spain. UBS calculates that, together, these 32 great fortunes reach 213.1 billion dollars, equivalent to about 182.6 billion euros, as calculated Forbes. …and they are getting richer. This equity volume represents a growth of 21.5% compared to the previous year, an increase that UBS links to the good performance of some of the main businessmen in the country and to the greatest concentration of assets in the hands of a few families. According to these same sources, Spanish billionaires have added around 11.6 billion dollars (about 9.94 billion euros) to the national wealth in the last year, reinforcing the weight of this small group in the economy. Six out of every ten euros in the hands of Amancio Ortega. Within this new photo of the new ultra-rich in Spain that UBS has left, the weight of the enormous concentration of wealth in a single person has not gone unnoticed: Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex. The UBS report indicates that the Ortega’s heritage It has remained at average levels of $124.1 billion during the last two quarters of 2025, after having increased its fortune by about $21 billion in just one year. This increase marks Ortega as the owner of approximately 58.2% of all the combined wealth of Spanish billionaires. That is, about six out of every ten euros of that group are concentrated in their personal fortune. The solidity of Pontegadea and the “great success” of Inditex. The strong increase in Ortega’s assets in 2025 is explained, to a large extent, by the strength of investments of Pontegadea, already converted into one of the real estate most solvent in Europeand by the behavior of Inditex on the stock market. In fact, Ortega’s textile empire has recently experienced one of the days most bullish of the yearin which each share of the company rose by around 8.9%, closing with a revaluation of 8.86%. This surge in the stock market has directly impacted the wealth of Ortega, who controls 59.294% of the capital of Inditex, causing the valuation of his fortune to skyrocket by $16,100 to the current $140.2 billion. assigns Forbes on your list. In Xataka | Amancio Ortega has collected dividends at Inditex: he has bought Amazon’s headquarters in Canada and has money left over Image | Unsplash (Igal Ness)GTRES

14,000 million euros had disappeared

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Raise your hand if you haven’t lost money before. It’s happened to all of us and then the first day of cold in the pocket of some coat. The problem is that this money is the fortune of one of the main heirs of the hermès empire. Nothing less than 14,000 million euros. Nicolas Puech, heir to the founding family of Hermès, has just presented a demand civil against LVMH and Bernard Arnault, claiming the fraudulent sale of 6 million bearer shares of Hermès. However, this is not a simple business demand. Behind there is decades of betrayed trust and a story that mixes friendship, wealth management and one of the most intense stock market battles in French luxury. A trustworthy advisor. For years, Nicolas Puech, fifth generation heir of Thierry Hermés, founder of the select luxury fashion brand that has manufactured cult pieces only available of a lucky fewentrusted the administration of his assets to Eric Freymond, a Swiss manager who managed his Hermès shares and investments with broad powers. According what was published by The Wall Street Journalthe relationship between the two was close and based on total trust, which is why Puech signed mandates and documents without really supervising each operation. According to the heir, this blind trust allowed Freymond to make financial movements behind his back, without his knowledge. The rich heir lived without worrying about the management of his fortune. Operations hidden from the heir. As and how did he count The Wall Street Journaleven the gardener’s wife of one of his properties in Spain, the one he wanted to adoptwarned him of the excess of trust he was placing in his wealth manager and his dubious loyalty. The critical point arose from the Hermès shares that Puech owned. It is suspected that Freymond, taking advantage of the trust placed in him, sold part of those shares during LVMH’s offensive to take over the share control of Hermès in 2010. Although LVMH finally agreed to withdraw and sold his participation in 2014, Puech maintains that some of those shares came from his assets and were transferred without his consent. The shares were bearer shares, which makes their traceability in transactions difficult. Complaint against the deceased manager. Upon discovering what he considered a scam on the part of his wealth manager, Puech filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland against Freymond for breach of trust and embezzlement, alleging that his manager had defrauded him and that his actions they had disappeared mysteriously. The situation became complicated when Freymond passed away in July 2025 in an accident in Switzerland, leaving many questions unanswered and adding complexity to the judicial process. The only person who knew the real whereabouts of Puech’s fortune has taken his secret to the grave. Direct lawsuit against LVMH. Now, with Freymond deceased, and after some failed financial operations Due to not being able to provide ownership of its shares, Puech has decided attack LVMH directly and its president Bernard Arnault, demanding 14,000 million euros. According to collected Reutersthe lawsuit alleges that the disappearance of its shares allowed LVMH to take control of 23% of Hermès and indirectly benefit from Freymond’s irregular management. Something that the company founded by Arnault has denied categorically. “LVMH and its shareholder firmly reaffirm that they have never, at any time, misappropriated Hermès International shares, in any way or without anyone’s knowledge, and that they do not own ‘hidden’ shares,” the group stated in a press release. According what was published by Swissinfoafter the share purchase operation and subsequent sale agreed between LVMH and Hermés, Arnault would have obtained a capital gain of 3.8 billion euros for those shares. The first civil hearing was held on November 20, 2025 at the Paris Judicial Court, and the case remains open while the responsibility of all those involved is investigated. In Xataka | There are more and more millionaires determined to spend their entire fortune before they die. They don’t want their children to inherit it. Image | Flickr (Trump White House Archived), Hermès (Kevin Scott)

five refurbished consoles from 92 euros

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Now that Christmas is approaching, it is a good time to go shopping for gifts. And if you have to give something to a retro lover, Back Market has some refurbished consoles at a very good price. All of them have the seal of “Very good“, which means that they work perfectly and the parts have been checked, but they show some signs of use. It is also worth mentioning that Back Market offers a two-year warranty and allows returns until January 31. In addition, they can be financed in 3, 4 or 6 months. Nintendo DS Lite by 176.02 eurosNintendo’s iconic dual-screen console. Game Boy Color by 207.04 eurosa portable console that has a huge catalog of video games. Nintendo 3DS XL by 284.05 eurosa portable console for those looking for a large format. Wii by 92.60 eurosan ideal desktop console to play with family or friends. PS Vita by 261.33 eurosthe latest portable console launched by PlayStation. Nintendo DS Lite The nintendo ds It is one of the Nintendo consoles with the best video game catalog. In fact, titles like ‘Chrono Trigger DS‘, ‘Pokémon White 2 and Black 2‘ either ‘New Super Mario Bros.‘. The peculiarity of its double screen was exploited in many of them and its portable format allowed us to take it anywhere. By 176.02 eurosBack Market has the Lite model in white. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Game Boy Color On the other hand, if what we are looking for is a console prior to the Nintendo DS, Back Market has the Game Boy Color for a price of 207.04 euros. This console also had a huge assortment of video games that took advantage of the color screen that the original model did not have, such as ‘Pokémon Crystal‘ or ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. In this case, the store has the console in purple. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Nintendo 3DS XL A few later generations came the Nintendo 3DS betting on its screen that was capable of playing video games in a “3D mode.” Titles like ‘Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate‘ either ‘Pokémon X/Y‘. Back Market has the console in its XL version for 284.05 euros in silver and black. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Wii If what we are looking for is fun at home with family or friends, rather than a portable console, we may be more interested in a desktop console. Back Market has reconditioned the Nintendo Wiia console with a large assortment of family video games and that offers us a quite striking premise: moving while we play. Its price in this case is 92.60 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links PS Vita Although the PS Vita It did not receive as many video games as the portable consoles that we have mentioned in this list, many of them gave a twist to such emblematic sagas as Uncharted or God of War. Back Market has this same console refurbished for a price of 261.33 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Lyashenko in freepikNintendo, PlayStation In Xataka | PlayStation 5 Pro vs PlayStation 5: these are all the differences between the two Sony consoles In Xataka | Two years ago I bought a PS5. I wish someone had told me I needed these plugins too.

For many people, making an appointment with the SEPE is hell. So there are already “managers” charging 99 euros to sneak you in

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Where you see something as unremarkable as an appointment with the SEPE, there are those who see something quite different: easy money. A juicy business that is cooked between networks, chats and platforms on-line of advertisements and that skirts the law to reach clients desperate to deal with the State. Its dynamics are very simple: managers appointments take advantage of the weaknesses of public administrations and their reservation systems to monopolize (free) appointments and then sell them. What do you urgently need to be attended to at the SEPE to process the unemployment benefit but there is no way to reserve an appointment on the official website? Do you need a procedure in Immigration? No problem. Pay and have an appointment tomorrow. five seconds. That’s how long it takes to find advertisements of people who offer to find and book appointments to carry out procedures at the SEPE. All (of course) in exchange for a payment that can range from 10 to 30 or even 100 euros. Your business it’s not entirely newjust as it is not the situation which they take advantage of: a cocktail of factors in which the staff cuts in the administration, failures in computer systems and the mischief of people willing to get rich by flouting the law and marketing a public service: prior appointments for citizens who need to make urgent arrangements, such as requesting unemployment benefits or presenting documents at the Immigration Office. “There were no appointments”. A few days ago elDiario.es published an article which gives an idea of ​​to what extent this has become chronic. illegal marketing of SEPE appointments, at least in part of Spain. The newspaper recounts the case of a 35-year-old woman, Sofía, who after losing her job did the most logical thing: go on the Public Employment Service website to request unemployment benefits. No luck. He did not find available appointments to go to the agency’s offices. Neither in Lleida (its province) nor in nearby areas. He tried it the next day with identical results. And on the other, and again on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh day. Always without success. In total, he spent ten days in front of the computer, pressing the F5 key every so often in the hope of finding a free space. “It’s an abuse”. “I would have been willing to drive hours if necessary. But there was nothing at all,” confesses desperately Sofía, who saw how the deadline was consumed 15 business days that was available to request unemployment without losing benefit time. In the end she managed to get treated, but not thanks to a stroke of luck. She got the appointment through a friend’s contact, a stranger who, in exchange for 45 euros, scheduled an appointment for her in 48 hours. Maybe 45 euros seems like a lot of money for a free public service, but she herself recognizes There are those who charge up to 99 euros. “It’s an abuse.” How is it possible? For several factors. To start with the tensions in the administration. a few months ago The Country denounced the difficulties that citizens in Spain are having in getting appointments in the offices of the old INEM, especially those distributed along the Mediterranean coast, the islands and Madrid and Barcelona, ​​a phenomenon that is explained by the thinning of the workforce, the workload and failures of those they have already warned the unions. “Between 2022 and 2024 we have had 1,412 retirements. In 2025 we have lost 725 people,” laments in elDiario.es Manuel Galdeano, from the CSIF. From UGT they recognize that a service that should be provided by 12,000 personnel must be content with 7,300, which in their opinion translates into a work overload for the SEPE staff, but also a decrease in service to citizens. Taking advantage of the system. The other key that explains the ease with which people like the one who helped Sofía get appointments when the SEPE seems collapsed must be sought in the bowels of the system. Those who market with shifts They have their “tricks”such as bots and resources that allow them to automate searches and collect dozens of appointments daily. Then they just have to advertise their services on networks and chats and wait for vulnerable citizens to knock on their door. When that happens and they ‘hunt’ a desperate user, the managers appointments only have to cancel one of the many reservations they have made and request that space again, in seconds, with the personal data (name and surname, ID, postal code…) that the client has previously provided them. In exchange they charge 10, 20, 30, 40 or more euros via Bizum. In some cases almost 100 are required. Easy, simple… Ethical? Communication is online and clients are recruited through call centers, WhatsApp groups, social networks and advertising websites. In some case the managers dating sites advertise as companies and, assures elDiariothere are those who even try to appear more authoritative by using images of professional organizations without any permission. Their business relies mainly on the anxiety of users who need to contact the administration. Also in ignorance. The SEPE website allows, for example, to carry out a pre-application unemployment benefit that prevents users from losing days of unemployment even if it takes more than two weeks to get an in-person appointment. Is it something new? No. And perhaps that is the most curious thing. A quick search in the newspaper archive arrives to verify that the marketing with prior appointments with the administration It is not a new practice. In fact in 2020 the SEPE has already denounced before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Barcelona the resale of appointments to resolve procedures in its offices, a practice that USO had warned about shortly before. Nor is it something that exclusively affects Employment. The same illicit business affects immigration services, a practice reported by officials and that has even led to police operations with dozens of arrested. In the case of the SEPE, … Read more

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