expensive

We paid for the most expensive tomato in the last decade and farmers claim that they can’t pay the bills. They are right

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“I’d rather throw away the harvest than pay us 80 cents per kilo of tomatoes.” Almost a year ago, Riojan farmer Clara Sarramián gave an interview to Jaime Gumiel that still kicking. Above all, because it explains in a simple and accessible way the last five years of tractor units. And yet, no matter how much it is repeated, Sarramián’s speech and that of other farmers never ceases to surprise: “they wanted to pay me half as much as the previous year. I preferred to throw it away. If we all go through the hoop, we are going against ourselves,” he says. We have heard it many times, yes; but does it make sense? Are they right in their complaint? That is the first thing to clarify and the truth is that if we look at the data, it is difficult to say no. The origin-destination commercial margin of tomato reached in 2025 81.1% (second highest in a decade)according to data from the Observatory of the Junta de Andalucía. In fact, without leaving aside the case of the tomato, a 2020 study by the Institut Cerdà on the value chain pointed out that the total cost of tomatoes is €0.61/kg (labor 0.258; seeds 0.081; structure 0.078; fertilizers 0.059; others) compared to the €0.57/kg paid to the producer. And this is data from 2017: the situation has only worsened since the war in Ukraine. It doesn’t seem like the best business in the world. In fact, it seems like a pretty bad one. Above all, because although we have been developing regulations for years that allow us to limit the impact of these problems, they all end up in a dead letter. Furthermore, the external pressure (especially from Morocco for the tomato issue) is enormous. And many of the main market players play “double agents” because they are conglomerates with investments on both sides of the Strait. Why should we care? I imagine that the simplest data to understand how this impacts the consumer is this: we are paying for fresh tomatoes. the highest price in the last decade and, at the same time, the farmer who grows it in Spain affirms that it does not pay him to harvest it. And, anyway, as we have just seen, he is right. And, under these circumstances, why would they want to throw away the harvest? That is to say, it is worth paying below cost; But something will always be better than nothing, right? And that idea makes sense, but it ignores some important things. To begin with, that between 25 and 30% of agricultural costs They occur in collection, packaging, transportation and wholesale sales (with possible associated losses). If they are not collected, the farmer loses what he has already invested, yes. But it does not incur more costs that it cannot recover. Furthermore, as we have seen in situations like lemon either the bananaletting part of the harvest be lost prevents prices from collapsing. It is not an easy strategy to implement (because there are always people with incentives to sell as the price rises), but it is a rational strategy. Tick ​​tock Tick ​​tock All this happens in a very specific context: in June it begins the negotiation of the post-2027 CAP and that is what makes the key question not “why does Clara Sarramián throw away her tomatoes?” but “how do we ensure that one of the central industries of the Spanish economy (the only one that supports the emptied Spain) does not die in a matter of a few years?” Image | Rachel Clark In Xataka | We have a problem with pesticides in agriculture. And a bigger one with the panic they generate

In London someone has paid 310 million for the most expensive house in history. It is proof that the luxury market has no ceiling

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In the world there are expensive houses (increasingly), very expensive houses and then houses within reach only of the greatest fortunes on the planet, like the one that has just been sold in London for a whopping 270 million poundsabout 310 million euros at the exchange rate. The figure is shocking in itself (it is the same that has been paid in other parts of Europe to build a stadium), but it becomes even more interesting when another detail is known: everything indicates that it is the most expensive home sold to date in an operation of that type, focused on a single residence. To get the keys, its new owner, an influential British businessman, had to beat three royal families from the Middle East. What has happened? that the real estate market premium has just reached one of those milestones that sound almost like science fiction, at least among ordinary mortals. The British press has revealed that a wealthy businessman in the country has closed the purchase of the most expensive home sold to date. And “more expensive” can be understood in a literal sense. Although it is not easy to talk about world records in a sector in which properties do not always go on the market nor are operations advertised, the Bloomberg agency slide which is probably the largest sale in history centered on a property of its type: a single single-family home. It is not crazy if you take into account that the transaction was signed for 270 million pounds, about 310 million euros. Some sources raise the figure to more than 315 million. What is the housing like? The property is called Providence House (formerly Gordon House) and is a huge 19th century mansion located in the Chelsea neighborhood of west London. The plot once housed the residence of the British Prime Minister Robert Walpolebut for years it has belonged to Nick Candya London businessman linked to the brick sector and the Reform UK party. Beyond its privileged location, in the heart of one of the most expensive cities on the planet, the house surprises with its figures: the house stands on a plot of two acres (just over 8,000 m2) with a lake and swimming pool and Georgian style decoration. Media like Financial Times they need which has a private cinema with IMAX screen, greenhouse and the second largest garden from the center of London. It is only surpassed by the one surrounding Buckingham Palace. Who bought it? The buyer is Sunel Setiya, co-founder of Quadrature Capitala trading firm that according to Bloomberg data obtained a profit of 411 million pounds in the financial year ending January 2025. Although with Providence House he has broken all the molds, this is not the first time that Setiya has made headlines for his taste for luxury homes… and his enormous generosity in paying for them. In his day he already paid 110 million pounds for a penthouse in One Hyde Park. And that the property, of around 1,300 m2lacked interior divisions and required works. The Times details which on this occasion has had to pay more than 31 million pounds for property tax alone. The operation certainly marks a before and after in the British real estate market. The most expensive house sold in the United Kingdom before Setiya took out his checkbook was the mansion known as 2-8A Rutland Gate, awarded in 2020 for £210 million to Hui Kan Yan, founder of the Chinese developer Evergrande Group. Click on the image to go to the tweet. And who sold it? Nick Candy, another British tycoon who shares Setiya’s taste for exclusive homes. In fact, he has a penthouse in the same complex that is also for sale for around £175 million. Nick and his brother Christian are known in the sector for the development of the complex One Hyde Parkmade up of 86 apartments and duplexes in the heart of Knightsbridge. Beyond their taste for luxury homes, Setiya and Candy are at opposite poles on an ideological level. The first (Setiya) is a important donor of the Labor Party and dedicates large sums of money through his company to fighting climate change. Nick Candy however is a prominent figure of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s far-right party. Have there been more interested parties? Ideological differences do not seem to have been an obstacle to closing the operation. In fact, to become the new owner of Providence House Setiya had to prevail over three Middle Eastern royal families also interested in the luxurious London mansion. Given its characteristics (and amounts), the operation was carried out outside the market. The operation represents a lifeline for the luxury residential market in London, which, as remember Five Daysis not going through its best moment. According to LonRes, 2025 was the second time since 2011 that no sales of more than £50 million were closed and in February transactions worth five million (or more) suffered a year-on-year drop of 55%. The puncture coincides with a tax change that directly affects properties. Image | Jaanus Jagomagi (Unsplash) In Xataka | If the question is whether house prices will rise forever, London has the answer. And it is a warning for Madrid

In the Middle Ages there was a very expensive culinary trend that today would make your food inedible: they bathed it in spices

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For tastes, colors. But if you were the guest of a landowner from the Middle Ages, a wealthy count or baron who wanted to impress his diners with a sumptuous banquet of fish, meat, wine and sweets, it would be best if your tastes leaned towards hyper-spicy food. After all, it was not unreasonable that on the table you would find a tray of pheasant swimming in a sauce made with 17 different spicesso many that its flavor would hardly please today’s palates. Maybe that expectation seems unappetizing to you, but for medieval diners it made perfect sense. Better with spices. Medieval diners liked spices. A lot. So much so that their banquets were an authentic display of dressings of ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmeg or saffron, among a long and well seasoned etc. As an example, Michael Delahoydefrom Washington State University, explains that a meat sauce could contain about 17 different spices. In another recent example The Country spoke of recipes up to 15 and plenty of sugar. Everything on the same plate. Combined. Forming a mixture of flavors that would make the foods that gave luster to the great banquets of medieval nobles hardly edible for 21st century diners. And that (culinary ironies) has never been as easy to find spices as it is today: it comes with entering any supermarket to find full shelves. A gastronomic window. If we know what and how medieval nobles ate, it is thanks to the work of historians and works such as ‘The Book of Sent Soví’a manuscript that stands out for several reasons: it is the oldest recipe book of its type in the Iberian Peninsula and for a few days it has been starring an exhibition about medieval food in Valencia. The work contains 72 recipes and dates back to the 15th century, although experts are convinced that the work is based on a previous original, now lost, that was written in 1324. The work is interesting not only because of its recipes. It is also because it tells us about what the diners of the Late Middle Ages were like, perhaps somewhat different from us in tastes, but not in terms of attitude. In addition to appreciating the good taste of the dishes, they liked to show off, using gastronomy as a status symbol. They appreciated kitchens with large stoves, the carvers who cut and distributed the meat among the diners, spices and sugar. Cooking and marketing (medieval). “We all have to eat, every day, but in the Middle Ages they did not have the ways of distinguishing themselves that we have. They turned food into a liturgy, a ritual in which they demonstrated their wealth and that was seen even outside because they gave leftovers to the poorest classes. It was a way of demonstrating status,” comment to The Country Juan Vicente García Marsilla, professor of Medieval History and curator of the exhibition. The 15th century recipe book preserved in Valencia has much of that pomp and prestige that was sought among kitchens and pantries. In its prologue it slips that the original work was prepared some time ago by commission from an English kingbut the recipes speak of another reality: an author probably Valencian or Catalan accustomed to the gastronomic tradition of the Mediterranean. “Marketing hype of the time”, summarizes García. By attributing the work to a foreign and ancient chef, the recipe book sought to imbue itself with exoticism and prestige. Why so many spices? Partly because of the above. Status. Today we may find them in any Mercadona, but spices or sugar centuries ago They were luxuries that were not within reach of all the tables. “Spices were a sign of luxury and opulence. They denoted prestige,” comments Delahoydewho reflects on the peculiar value of medieval cookbooks: probably not all cooks knew how to read and the recipe books were not used in the kitchen either, but rather were kept in private collections. Therefore… Were they useful for those responsible for provisions? Were they a sign of status? A way to learn about the exotic ingredients in each dish, garnishes that might otherwise go unnoticed by diners? In search of flavors… and names. Analida Braeger slips some interesting reflections in Medievalist.neta platform founded in 2008 and specialized in medieval history. In a comprehensive article On the subject, he points out that the medieval palate became accustomed to foods heavily seasoned with spices, a symbol of power increased in part by its exotic origin and the imports from the East. In the extensive list included cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, pepper, saffron, mace, cardamom or galangal. insatiable demand. “Europe’s insatiable demand for spices in the late Middle Ages is a notable example of a drastic historical shift brought about by consumer preferences,” pointed out in 2012 Paul Freedman in an article published in ‘The Oxford Handbook of Food History’. The result is recipes like chicken with sugar which we can read in the 15th century manuscript preserved in Valencia. Furthermore, spices were not only used in cooking, they also had medical applications. There is who assures that despite their limited availability and high cost, a very high percentage of the recipes in cookbooks from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries include spices and that at least some works cite up to 40 different types. In any case, it must be clear that the cuisine of the aristocracy and that widespread among the popular classes are not the same. Among the latter it was not strange that cold food for a matter of costs. Revisiting old topics. As happens often With everything related to the Middle Ages, the use of spices is overshadowed by clichés and prejudices that are not always accurate. Delahoyde remembers the “common myth” that cooks of the time relied heavily on seasonings to mask the taste of spoiled meat. After all, there were no refrigerators or freezers to keep meat fresh, right? Why not season it well? It is not likely that … Read more

expensive literary retreats to overcome mobile addiction

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February weekend, Welsh coast. A group of women sits around a table accompanied by appetizing portions of pasta and fruit. They ignore each other very politely. Nobody looks at their cell phones, but at the voluminous books they carry with them. They open them, begin to read their own in silence, and pay 1,200 euros (or more) for that strange privilege. Expanding business. In the United States and the United Kingdom, a new category of travel experience has been born: reading retreats. A group of people meets in a rural house or hotel boutique during a weekend to advance their personal readings, in friendly silence and without obligation to read a common book, as happens with reading clubs. Very expensive and exclusive, prices vary from company to company Page Break (between $1,000 and $1,200 per weekend) up to Ladies Who Lit (£3,450 for four days in Mallorca) or Bad Bitch Book Club (between $950 and $1,750). It’s his thing. Although today it is perceived as a solitary activity, reading as something introspective is a historically anomalous perception. For centuries, reading was a social practice: families gathered by the warmth of the fireplace to listen to loud sermons, women sharing stories while they sewed, travelers exchanging books in train cars. In fact, the appearance of the railway in the 19th century generated an entire industry: the publisher Henry Walton Smith began selling cheap novels on the platforms of London stations, and Allen Lane installed a vending machine for books from the Penguin publishing house (the Penguincubator) in the subway lobbies. It is read less.The decline in reading rates is well documented. From 2003 to 2023, the share of Americans who read for pleasure daily fell from 28% to 16%, approximately 3% annually. The report from which these data come, prepared from more than 236,000 participants, indicates that the drop is more pronounced among the population with the lowest income and lowest educational level, although the decline affects all demographic groups. Teleworking has also affected a historical reading space: the commute to work. The importance of BookTok. But in the face of this general decline in reading rates, especially in more modest classes, there is a demand for reading as a form of leisure that disconnects from the connected and hyperactive rhythm in which we live. Paradoxically (coming from a social network), the TikTok reading community has a lot to do with this new vision of reading: with 200,000 million views under the hashtag booktokthis social network is already a sales engine that rescues titles from oblivion and catapults works by independent authors to the best-seller lists. According to the founder of The Literary LeagueAccording to Gabi Valladares, who has organized reading retreats at the Scribner’s Lodge resort in the Catskills, “book vacations offer a built-in connection point,” adding that they are “undemanding,” combining time with authors and other fans with free hours to simply read. It disconnects. The idea, even though the Internet is the platform for disseminating this type of retreat and its philosophy, is to disconnect from the online world, in search of recovering uninterrupted reading. As Leah Price points outauthor of ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Books’, the current problem is not work, historically the main competitor to reading, but “the competition from short-form digital content.” The year 2018, when Wi-Fi reached the entire New York subway network, was described as “horrible” for reading in the subway by Uli Beutter Cohen, who interviews travelers about their reading for his Instagram account Subway Book Review. Some clubs. Bad Bitch Book Club was born in 2018 as a Facebook group of friends with common interests. By 2020, confinement boosted the page to 38,000 members worldwide, receiving income of around $200,000 annually through a Patreon subscription of 14 per month. Their summer camps in The Forks, Maine, received 500 applications for 240 spots spread over three weekends. Page Breakfounded in 2024 by Mikey Friedman, has a different proposal: participants read aloud (in turns, we imagine) the same novel throughout the weekend, interspersed with frugal meals and themed games, getting closer to the idea of ​​a traditional book club. For a recent retreat in the Joshua Tree, California desert, the company received 50 applications for 15 spots, which were assigned by lottery. Your goal: millennials and zetas too busy to commit to a conventional book club. Women. The profile of attendees is overwhelmingly female. Emma Donaldson, founder of Boutique Book Breaks (spa hotel retreats in the English countryside), notes that to date she has only had one male guest. The organizers attribute this bias to the feminization of the publishing industry in recent decades and to marketing for these retreats that adopts the language of well-being: candles, bath salts, non-alcoholic cocktails… Theorist DeNel Rehberg Sedo connects the popularity of these women’s reading clubs with the awareness groups of the 1960s and 1970s, speaking of spaces that “continue the training of women and distance them from domestic responsibilities.” The metaphor of well-being is not accidental. When the debate Often focused on choosing between reading as accelerated consumerism or as a reflective practice, these retreats offer a middle ground. The possibility of reading slowly, without being accountable to any algorithm, in the company of other people who also do not understand why the hell reading a book has become something that costs so much work these days. Header | Photo of Michael Kyule in Unsplash

It is so expensive that Spaniards can no longer spend the summer there.

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With summer almost (almost) around the corner, we Spaniards begin to think about where to spend our holidays. That has little new. What is curious is what the INE reveals about our behavior when planning these trips: we think less and less about national destinations, without leaving the country, and we look more abroad. The question is… Why? The low cost they make it easier for usTrue, just as true is that the tourism market is no stranger to generational change and changes in trends. There is however another key factor: the cost of spending the summer in Spain. It has risen so much and so fast that sometimes it makes more sense to travel to the Caribbean either Indonesia. Where do we Spaniards travel to? The question arises, but fortunately we have a valuable tool to answer it: the INE. Recently its technicians published a report on “resident tourism” that leaves a couple of curious conclusions. When we travel, we Spaniards do it above all through our own country. In fact, ‘domestic’ (national) trips meant in 2025 87% of the totalfar from the 13% destined abroad. That’s logical. The surprise comes when we go down to the detail, to the trend. What does the data say? The INE estimates that in 2025, residents in Spain will carry out 175.7 million trips4.7% less than in 2024. However, the ‘puncture’ did not affect all trips equally. The drop was concentrated in those that had a domestic destination, whose flow contracted by 6.1%. Those made abroad experienced the opposite trend, with a growth of 5.2%. The trend was even more pronounced during the last quarter of the year: between October and December the flow of trips to destinations within the country itself fell 7.1%. Those made abroad rose 7.2%. Year Spanish trips without leaving the country Spanish trips abroad 2020 96.45 million 5.07 million 2021 135.69 million 7.20 million 2022 155.25 million 16.13 million 2023 166.60 million 19.29 million 2024 162.81 million 21.62 million 2025 152.94 million (-6.1% year-on-year) 22.75 million (+5.2% year-on-year) Is it the only indicator? Perhaps Spanish tourists think less about Spain when planning trips, but in return foreigners do so much more. In 2025 they visited our country almost 97 million of international tourists, a historical figure that maintains the growing trend registered since the health crisis. They increased over all visitors from the United Kingdom (19.1%), France (12.8%) and Germany (12%). As for the most popular destinations, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Andalusia and the Valencian Community stand out above all. This flow was in turn reflected in the money billed by the sector. Last year, direct spending exceeded 175 billion euros, 5.2% more than in 2024, although the trend is again very different depending on whether we are talking about national or foreign tourists. While spending associated with foreign tourism grew at a rate of 7% the national one stagnated, declining a slight 0.3%. Is it something new? Yes. And no. The data itself is new and updates the ‘general picture’, but the trend comes from behind. If the hotels in Spain have already managed to increase their flow of overnight stays about 5% In 2024 it was not due to the greater dynamism of domestic tourism, but rather due to the avalanche of foreign clients, whose demand skyrocketed by 7.5%. The same thing happened (although more cushioned) in 2025: the Spanish hired 0.2% less of hotel rooms while travelers from other countries demanded 1.6% more. They are not the only clues that tell us about a new reality: as tourist destinations in Spain become more expensive, driven in part by travelers from countries with greater purchasing power (in the case of the United Kingdom, France or Germany), more and more Spaniards choose to go abroad. It is not at all surprising if we take into account that sometimes spending a week in a country of the Southeast Asia or the Caribbean It costs them the same as doing it in the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands. Are the prices that close? That’s how it is. At least if we go to the most extreme cases. In 2025 Mabrian made a study which demonstrates it with a specific case. After searching different options, their technicians concluded that the average price of the plane ticket to visit the Balearic Islands amounted to 142.77 euros. Added to this was an average price per accommodation of 285.72. In the case of Bali the ticket rose to 238.97 euros, but in exchange the cost of the hotel remained at 99.26. The agency made similar comparisons with Sicily, Algarve and Atalya. The conclusion was always the same: flights abroad were more expensive, but the difference with the Balearic Islands was compensated by including accommodation. Other similar analysis from Destinia, also published last year, showed that the 2,726 euros paid per couple in Menorca or 2,694 in Mojácar barely differed from the 2,883 in Punta Cana or 3,094 in the Riviera Maya. Is there price data? Yes. And from different sources. One is the INE, which calculates that in 2025 the hotel price index increased on average by 5.1%which raised the average daily billing of the accommodations per occupied room to 127.7 euros. The other indicator is offered by the firm Cushman & Wakefield. According to your calculationsin 2025 the average price per night in a hotel in Spain rose to 166.1, 4.8% more than in 2024 and (above all) “a new all-time high.” In the Balearic Islands, Marbella and Benidorm the increase was around 10%. It’s not just that hotels are becoming more expensive in Spain, it’s that they are doing so faster than those in the rest of Europe. “Spain’s 4.8% growth is well above that of Europe as a whole (1.2%) and is also higher than that of southern Europe (3.5%). In terms of revenue per available room, Spain continues to be one of the leading destinations, with an increase of 5.5%, surpassing European growth … Read more

In 1945 someone bottled 75 centiliters of wine in Burgundy. And now that wine is the most expensive in history: 700,000 euros

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With 812,500 dollars in your pocket (almost 700,000 euros, at the exchange rate) you can buy a good house in a wealthy neighborhood, embark on a business adventure or simply face life with much more peace of mind, at least on a financial level. In New York there are those who have decided to use that amount of money on something very different: buy a bottle of wine most expensive ever sold at auction, a very exclusive burgundy made from a 1945 vintage that has shattered the previous record, which It dated from 2018. This is still ironic if you take into account that the wine industry (at a general level and in France in particular) does not go through his best moment. An $812,500 wine? That’s how it is. The milestone was reached a few days ago, during an auction held in New York. Of course neither the wine nor the date were normal. The sale was closed during bidding Acker’s Pauléeone of the reference events for wine collectors in the world and (especially) lovers of wines from the Burgundy region, France. Those responsible they boast that in just three days sales of 25 million dollars were made and a good handful of records were achieved. Among all of them, however, there is one that arouses interest beyond the world of viticulture: the bottle for which the most money has been paid in a bid. And what is it like? Special, of course. The piece in question is a 750-milliliter bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945. Said like that, it may not seem like a big deal, but there are several reasons why this wine is so attractive to wine lovers. To begin with, its history. The broth in question was made with grapes collected in 1945 in Romanée-Contiwhich is interesting in itself. Not only because of the symbolic value of that date (the end of World War II). It was also the last harvest before the winery decided to uproot its vineyards to replant them, strengthening them against phylloxeraa plague that dealt a severe blow to the European wine industry, especially in the 19th century. This peculiarity made the 1945 vintage an object of desire for collectors around the world. Not only was it good for Burgundy itself, but it marked a before and after in Romanée-Conti’s production. To make matters worse, there are very few bottles of that vintage. Only 600 were produced. If we trust the most trained palates, the wine obtained at that time also offers a “depth and complexity” difficult to find in other broths. Is it so extraordinary? John Kapon, president of Acker, gives an idea how extraordinary it is to have a bottle like that. “I have had the privilege of tasting the 1945 Romanée-Conti three times in my life, but I have not tried it again in more than 20 years and probably never will again.” “To this day it is still the best wine I have ever tasted. The 1945 vintage was the last harvested before the vineyard was replanted in 1947. As a result of the fight against phylloxera, for many years production was reduced to only 10%. What was made was almost impossible to acquire.” Does it stand out for something else? Yes. Acker stands out that the bottle that has just been auctioned for almost 700,000 euros was part of the personal cellar of Robert Drouhinthe late patriarch of the Drouhin and a reference in the world of wines and more specifically Burgundy. It is not a minor detail because it affects the history (and especially the traceability) of the bottle, giving it even more value. Is it just wine? No. It is also a magnet for investors. Proof that the Romanée-Conti 1945 is exceptional is that the record has been ‘taken from itself’. Right now the Guinness World Records identifies as “the most expensive wine sold at auction” a bottle of that same vintage that reached $558,000 during an auction organized by Sthevby’s in New York in 2018. That its price has gone from $558,000 to $812,500 in less than a decade shows that, in addition to a wine with oenological and historical value, French bottles are an interesting asset from an investment point of view. The Telegraph assures In any case, the (secret) buyer is a citizen from outside France who was moved by his love for vines, not by dollars. A great irony. That a bottle of wine sells for almost 700,000 euros is striking in itself, but it is even more so when we remember that the operation catches the sector at low times. Not that of luxury, but that of wine. For some time now, the indicators used by the industry have pointed to an undeniable and prolonged decrease in consumption or at least a stagnationin the best of cases. His future is not too rosy either. a report The recent European Union (EU) report on agriculture anticipates that demand will fall by 0.9% annually until 2035, leaving per capita consumption at approximately 19.3 liters, significantly lower than the figure recorded at the beginning of the last decade. Images | Acker Wines and EU Via | DAP In Xataka | Europe had placed its hopes in China to continue selling wine to the world. They didn’t have “morality”

The Aragón justice system has shown how expensive it can be for a company to get involved with dismissal letters: 46,665 euros

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There are mistakes that can be corrected with a simple apology. And then there are errors that, once committedhave legal consequences that no apology can undo. A freight transport company in Huesca discovered this in the worst possible way when it fired one of its employees, regretted it days later, trying to back down, and then fired him again. All of this while the worker was at home on medical leave. What seemed like an internal bureaucratic mess ended up in court and with compensation of more than 46,000 euros. The dismissal letters the devil carries them. Two layoffs, one leave and fifteen days of chaos. As documented in the sentence In the case that reached the Superior Court of Justice of Aragon, the worker had been in the company since 2011, with an indefinite contract, and had accumulated more than a year of medical leave due to a cervical injury when, on December 14, 2023, he received a burofax from his company informing him of the disciplinary dismissal. As indicated in the dismissal letter, the employee had carried out incompatible activities with his low status. The worker did not take long to react and began the process to challenge the dismissal in court. But then something unexpected happened. On December 20, just six days later, a second burofax arrived in which the company declared that the first dismissal was annulled and that an internal disciplinary file was opened in its place. Not satisfied with this, on December 29 they received a third burofax containing another dismissal letter, this time accompanied by the payroll and the corresponding settlement. Within two weeks, the employee had received two dismissal communications and one cancellation while was still convalescing at home. Why the company wanted to back down. As stated in the ruling, the company argued that the first dismissal had been a procedural error and considered that the initial letter had formal defects related to the applicable collective agreement, since the worker had questioned by email whether the merchandise transportation agreement or the chemical industry agreement should apply. The company’s intention was to annul that first dismissal, open the correct disciplinary file and issue a new letter in order. From his point of view, the only real dismissal was that of December 29, which had never been challenged by the worker. The company also tried to demonstrate to the court that the underlying reason for the dismissal was legitimate: a private detective report recorded the worker carrying out physical activity during his medical leave, which he interpreted as a simulation of the disability or, at least, as a behavior incompatible with recovery. A dismissal letter is not a draft. The problem for the company is that the dismissal letter is not a simple administrative communication with the employee, but is a document with key legal value with which an entire dismissal process begins with very well-defined deadlines and procedures to give maximum guarantees to both companies and employees. He article 55.1 of the Workers’ Statute establishes that disciplinary dismissal must be notified in writing, with the facts that motivate it and the effective date. Once that letter is delivered, a legal mechanism is put in place that neither party can stop unilaterally. The law itself contemplates the possibility for the company to retract the dismissal and provides a way out when a company wants to correct a poorly formulated dismissal, but as stated in article 55.2 of the Workers’ Statute, it is subject to very precise conditions and deadlines. Furthermore, it is only admitted if, during that rectification period, the company keeps the worker registered with Social Security and pays them all salaries. In this case, the ruling states that it was not proven that the company had complied with that requirement, which blocked this means of rectification. Without the worker’s acceptance, there is no turning back. On the other hand, and beyond the administrative procedures, there is an additional requirement that the company did not comply with in its process of rectification of the first dismissal: for the employment relationship to be restored, the worker who has been dismissed must expressly accept it. It is not enough for the company to declare on its own that the dismissal is without effect. The Supreme Court already established that a communicated dismissal determines that the worker is not obliged to accept any subsequent retraction from the company, and that claiming before the courts in that situation does not constitute any type of abuse. In this case, the employee did not explicitly accept the annulment of the first dismissal or return to his position. The email he sent to the company questioning the applicable collective agreement was not considered by the court as a tacit acceptance of the withdrawal, but rather as confirmation of his dismissal status. The employment relationship, in the eyes of the law, had been terminated on December 14 and no subsequent communication from the company could change that unilaterally. The outcome: more than 46,000 euros in compensation. The TSJ of Aragón also ruled out the argument about physical activity during sick leave. It was proven that the outputs recorded by detective They were walks or runs of about 40 minutes of moderate duration that, according to the medical assessment, were not contraindicated for the worker’s recovery from the cervical injury. With all these arguments on the table, the court declared the dismissal inadmissible, the first, because the second no longer had any legal value, and established compensation of 46,665.34 euros, calculated based on age of the worker. The company appealed that decision to the Superior Court of Justice of Aragon, which confirmed it in its entirety and also ordered it to pay 800 euros in costs. Dismissal letters, especially if they are not well formulated, are carried by the devil. In Xataka | He had been in the same notary office for 16 years and was fired for not passing the trial period: the Supreme Court ended up seeing the … Read more

Cocoa is so expensive that some suspect that a shipment with 12 tons of Kitkat has been stolen

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There was a time when big robberies had their own Hollywood epic: the Bank of England goldthe diamonds of the Great Antwerp Raidthe tickets from the Federal Reserve or the assault on the Mint and Stamp House of The Money Heist. Well, in 2026, European organized crime has decided that the most valuable thing you can take with you in a truck is 413,793 chocolate bars. No, it’s not a joke. In a statement to the AFP agencyNestlé has reported the theft of a shipment of more than 12 tons of KitKat chocolates, an incident that the multinational warns could cause supply problems right in the middle of the Easter campaign. A blow to Easter. According to the company, one of its logistics trucks carrying 413,793 a batch of chocolates KitKat has disappeared while transferring between the production center and the distribution center. According to pointed Reutersthe vehicle had left a factory in central Italy bound for Poland, but its trace was lost somewhere along the way. Since then, neither the truck nor the merchandise have been located and the investigation remains open. Nestlé warns that the disappearance of more than 400,000 units could be noticed in stores in the coming weeks, just at one of the times of greatest chocolate consumption of the year with the arrival of Easter and coinciding with the preparation of traditional sweets and cakes during these days. Pay attention to the black market. The company assures that it is collaborating with local authorities and its logistics network to try to locate the sweet shipment, although for now there are no details about the exact point of the journey at which the truck disappeared. The brand also warned that the stolen bars could enter unofficial sales channels in European markets. To combat this, KitKat noted that it is possible to trace the origin of products by scanning the unique lot codes listed on each bar. If the traceability system detects a coincidence, an action manual has been put in place to alert the company. Make a KitKat. Despite the seriousness of having lost almost half a million chocolate bars, the company has found humor in the face of such an unusual situation. A spokesperson for the brand made fun of KitKat’s famous slogan about taking a break or, as they call it, “making a kitkat.” “We’ve always encouraged people to take a break from KitKat, but it seems thieves have taken it too seriously and made off with more than 12 tonnes of our chocolate.” The truth is that, joking aside, the thieves have taken a button so voluminous that it will hardly go unnoticed if they try to “place” it on the market. “While we appreciate the exceptional taste of criminals, the truth is that merchandise theft is a growing problem for businesses of all sizes,” KitKat stated in its statement. brown gold. The theft comes at a time when the cocoa market is experiencing its biggest correction in decades. After reaching all-time highs above $12,000 per ton in 2024, the price of cocoa at origin has fallen more than 60%, reaching around $3,165 per ton at the end of March 2026. However, that moderation has barely reached the consumer and the cocoa prices They rose by 18% in the EU during 2025. Despite the price of the raw material having moderated, European supermarkets keep prices rising because manufacturers passed on the increases when the market was skyrocketing, but they took it more calmly when it fell. In Xataka | Coffee and cocoa have become so expensive that they are drowning themselves: buyers do not have the money to send them Image | Unsplash (justin, Gabriel Santos)

We know its price and even its name from the most expensive mansion in Spain. The only thing we don’t know is who sells it.

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In Sierra Blanca, the urbanization most exclusive in Marbellawalls do not only delimit properties. They are also silent. It is the unwritten rule of Spanish luxury. The most expensive mansion of the country has just gone on sale with 5,600 square meters of luxuries and opulencewhich does not lack a fountain inspired by the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas. His sale price It is 70 million euros and has absolutely everything, except the answer to the most obvious question: who is selling it? ELON MUSK VS JEFF BEZOS: STAR WARS An oasis of luxury overlooking the Mediterranean As and as highlighted ForbesSierra Blanca is one of the most exclusive urbanizations in Spain and a natural fortress for privacy. Nestled on the slope of the mountain range that gives it its name is Villa Bellagio. The impressive mansion sits on a plot of 14,000 m2 300 meters above sea level. Its gardens mix palm trees, cypresses and native species in a setting designed both for beauty and to keep its tenants out of reach. of curious looks. The 22-meter infinity pool seems to extend to the horizon, with spectacular views over the Mediterranean. A fountain, a replica of the one at the Bellagio hotel-casino in Las Vegas, greets visitors before they even cross the door. The façade, designed by the Spanish architect Jesús del Valle, is impressive with a double staircase flanked by 20 columns up to eight meters high. Engel & Völkers In fact, the house is so ostentatious that it even caught the attention of YouTuber Ibai Llanos, who dedicated it to one of his videos in which he went through it it already showed its details. The mansion was built by Joe Ricotta, founder of a logistics company in the United Kingdom and a luxury real estate developer in Spain. According to the local pressRicotta sold the property (at that time called Villa Ricotta) in 2021. for 40 million euros. However, no one knows the identity of the current owner, faithful to the tradition of discretion that prevails among the residents of the most exclusive urbanization in Spain. Thirteen suites and no random details The interior of the mansion does not disappoint those who arrive expecting opulence and luxury in abundance. The 5,600 m2 built of the mansion are distributed in thirteen suites between its two floors: four of 40 m2 each on the ground floor and eight of up to 50 m2 each on the upper floor. Engel & Völkers Each of the suites has large windows with direct views of the Mediterranean and its own marble-clad bathroom. In total, no less than 24 bathrooms spread throughout the house. The main living room exceeds 200 m2 and connects with a dining room for 14 people and an impressive 60 m2 kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances. Engel & Völkers During his visit to the spectacular mansion, Ibai discovered that the entire house had a centralized home automation system from which the lighting, climate, blinds and sound are controlled in every corner of the house. An in-house electricity generator and several independent water tanks ensure that nothing ever fails, turning the lavish mansion into a self-sustaining bunker. The lower floor is the best example that Villa Bellagio is not a conventional luxury mansion and falls into another category. The spa area includes a heated indoor pool, haman, Finnish sauna, massage room and full gym. Engel & Völkers The leisure offer of the mansion includes a private cinema with capacity for 22 spectators, a double bowling alley of professional sizes, a billiard room with its own bar and a hairdressing and manicure salon for exclusive use. For motor lovers, the mansion reserves its most extravagant chapter: an air-conditioned gallery where to exhibit a collection of up to 12 vehicles as if they were museum pieces, with lighting designed to highlight every detail of their bodies. Underground, a second garage accommodates 40 more cars. In total, 52 places of parking for a collection which, in this context, no one would consider excessive. Engel & Völkers Concierge, cleaning and maintenance services with five-star hotel standards complete the proposal that, more than a home, functions as a private resort. All this behind walls that, as tradition dictates in Sierra Blanca, they reveal nothing about who lives (or has lived) on the other side of the luxurious entrance gate. In Xataka | The most expensive mansion in the world costs 1 billion dollars: the CEO of Citadel is building it in Florida Image | Engel & Völkers

toilet paper 10% more expensive

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It may be better or worse, single or double layer, white or decorated, but there are usually two characteristics that are often repeated in toilet paper. Their rolls are voluminous. And cheap. Both peculiarities explain that right now there are a part of China where they fear that the price of packages will skyrocket between 10% and 20%. The reason is very simple: the iran war. We explain ourselves. What has happened? That Hong Kong is preparing for an accelerated escalation in the price of toilet paper. The news is reported by local media such as The Standard, South China Morning Post either Dot Dot News: in the region there are already those who believe that rolls will soon become more expensive 10%, even more. Right now the stores are working with stored stock, but it is feared that as this stock runs out, businesses will update their rates upwards, generating more pressure on the pockets of Hong Kong families. Why’s that? Because of the Iran war. The Middle East conflict the price has skyrocketed of oil until the brent barrel is located above 100 dollarstransferring the tension to the logistics and transportation industry. This increase has an impact on any merchandise that must be transported, but not all are equally sensitive to the fluctuations in crude oil, such as I remembered these days Shiu Ka-fai, a retail sector representative in Hong Kong. Does oil affect that much? “While the value of toilet paper is low, its volume is very large, meaning it requires considerable transportation space,” Shiu reflectswho compares as an example what happens with a ship container full of iPhones and another with rolls of paper. The rise in the price of oil (and transportation in general) affects both equally, but since the first shipment has a high value, the increase in freight will be less noticeable in its final cost. Things change when we talk about very cheap and voluminous merchandise, like a pallet full of paper. Does only crude oil influence? The million dollar question. That the rise in Brent is transferred to transport and threatens to directly infect merchandise, fully affecting our shopping baskets, is no surprise. Another thing is the extent to which oil justifies price increases. In Hong Kong in fact already there are voices which encourage you to pay attention to which items become more expensive in the coming weeks, how much they become more expensive and, above all, why they become more expensive. Pascal Siu of Our Hong Kong Foundation warned yesterday that one thing is goods dependent on oil, such as fuels or petrochemical products, and quite another is items such as toilet paper, manufactured with other raw materials. In the latter case, crude oil intervenes in only part of the production. To be precise in transportation and plastic packaging. As an example, Siu points out that if inputs related to crude oil represent between 10 and 20% of the total costs of producing a commodity, no matter how much the barrel of Brent becomes more expensive, the final footprint on the price of the items should be low. After all, he emphasizes, other costs, such as labor or rent, have not yet experienced increases that affect the price. Is this something that happens only in Hong Kong? At the moment the alarms seem to have gone off in Hong Kong, an economy with its own peculiarities and that stands out above all for its high dependency of imports. If we talk about toilet paper the “photo” It is different in Spain. That does not mean that the Chinese region is the only one who fears that the war will affect the prices of basic goods. Right here, in Spain, the OCU published a report a few days ago in which he warned that the cost of food is skyrocketing “as a result of the war” in Iran. Specifically, the organization warns that March threatens to leave “one of the biggest increases” since 2024, when it began collecting monthly data. The emphasis is on the prices of fresh meat and vegetable products. Hong Kong is also not the only region where toilet paper is in the news because of the Middle East. In Japan, supermarkets have found a curious effect: panic buying of rolls like those already seen during the pandemic or the 1973 oil crisis. The authorities they have made a move to ask citizens not to engage in compulsive shopping. Images | Marques Thomas (Unsplash) and Michael Marais (Unsplash) In Xataka | There is only one correct way to place toilet paper. A patent ended the debate in 1891

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