expensive

The house is getting so expensive that in the United Kingdom there are already people opting for a plan B: living in ships

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In the United Kingdom there are hundreds of people who do not live in houses, buildings or urbanizations. Nor do they have neighbors. Not at least in the conventional sense. In a country that has seen how housing It was more expensive until it turns Privatethere are those who choose to reside in river channels and rivers. They do it aboard barges of several meters that, although they are not cheap and carry their own costs, remain much more affordable than The apartments Of the big cities. And there are reasons to think that over the years your number It has been increasing. Living between ducks and fish. Sounds romantic, but that is the lifestyle for which thousands of British who reside aboard barges have opted. And there are some data that suggest that their number has increased over the last years. A few months ago The Economist public An article in which he remembers that the last census of Canals and Rivers Trust (CRT) shows that at least 2022 there were 35,000 vessels With a license to operate in 3,200 km of river routes distributed by England and Wales, a third more than in the last two decades. The case of London. Moreover, in London, where the “navigators” stand out between 25 and 34 years, their number has almost doubled in a matter of a decade. In Your report The Economist It does not specify how many of these barges are used as the main residence, but slides that it is probably a good part. In 2021 The Guardian I was A little further And he pointed out that Canals and Rivers Trust surveys show that, at least at that time, the proportion of people who lived aboard their vessels was 25% at the national level (in 2011 they were somewhat less, 15%), although the percentage would be higher in London. Is there more data? Yes. And although the figures vary depending on the source that is always consulting in the same direction. Although the British who have decided to change conventional apartments and houses for barges continue to represent a minority, in February Sky News placed their number in about 15,000. And growing. According to Boats.com the number would be even superior. Your data They estimate the census of permanent residents in barges docked in the rivers, channels and coasts of the United Kingdom in around 30,000 people. Price issue. The big question is … why? Why change the comforts of an apartment in the center of Bristol, Manchester or London for a boat moored to a channel? Analysts answer those questions with Several keysbut there is one that is usually repeated: the price. A narrow barcaza and in good condition with which to move along the country’s river paths can cost near 50,000 pounds. It is a considerable figure (of course there are much cheaper), but that is far from what an apartment costs on the United Kingdom metropolis. Reviewing figures. According to official data, in January the average price of a home in the country was 268,500 pounds. If we talk about London, that reference is triggered until the 600,000 tires are touched through a house in a room, which makes the British capital one of the most expensive cities on the planet to become a owner, based on The data of Global Property Guide. In 2023 the London mayor spoke directly about “housing crisis” and crossed out “scandal” that there were dozens of houses and unused floors. Is it cheap to live on a ship? Depends. Yes, if you compare the cost of buying a barge with that of acquiring an apartment in London. But that does not mean that changing the streets, urbanizations and blocks through the channels is available to all pockets. First because their owners pay navigation licenses. Second, because a boat has certain expenses rigged. Recently the tenant of a United Kingdom barge confessed To the Sky News chain that spends around 4,500 pounds annually in invoices, including insurance, hubs, coal, fuel and navigation permits. If you want to keep your home in good condition every three or four years you must also get it out of the water and paint the helmet, which costs you approximately 1,200 pounds. Money … And something else. Although money is a key factor, it is not the only one that explains that in the United Kingdom there are thousands of people passing (at least) most of the year aboard boats. At stake they enter otherssuch as the influence of pandemic, the rise of teleworking, the interest in traveling along the British coasts or a simple issue of taste, either as a permanent or temporal vital option. After all, in life aboard a barge, not all are idyllic moments. “I wanted so much a ship that I didn’t care to live without shower, wearing a cube as toilet the first months or running cold,” Elizabeth Earle recallsfreelance writer and illustrator who chose to leave the comforts of an apartment to live in a barge. Now reside in a centenary floating house of about 20 meters. “I have no one to bother me and if I want to leave this place I can do it tomorrow. You are always covered with bruises and soot, and there is a lot of mud, but you also think ‘go, I can make fire’ and load 25 kg of coal.” An option with challenges. Navigation, maintenance or supply are not the only challenges facing the tenants of the barges. Elizabeth does not pay mooring as such, but that has its ‘face B’: when opting for the “Continuous Cruiser” Your floating house must change location from time to time. In a similar situation you can see the rest of British navigators who have no right (or paid) permanent moorings and are forced to move between squares along the same river, or beyond, every 14 days. “We pay a license that does not equals a rent, but rather to the municipal … Read more

The world’s most expensive coffee cup costs 300 euros and is sold in the only country willing to pay something like this: Japan

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He price of a cup of coffee It is an excellent socioeconomic indicator. That “1.20 euros” of a coffee with milk in a conventional bar is the measure of measuring with which many Spaniards in recent years have compared the Daily Products Pricebut that rod has long since broke. The boom of chains like Starbucksspecialty coffee shops and trembling reality of the coffee market has caused the price of this delicious and healthy drink increase dramatically. But even if we pay more or less depending on the place where we live, there are so exclusive cafes that does not matter where we take it because its price will continue to be crazy. And one of those expensive coffees occurs on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The price? 315 euros. The cup, not the kilo. And even the most coffee experts do not know if it is worth it. Coffee that costs a third of the minimum wage We are talking about asking for a donut of a couple of euros to accompany a cup of coffee of more than 300 euros. It is complicated that many of us imagine something like that, but it is what happens with some coffees such as Nakayama Estate. And, within that it is a barbarity of money for a cup of coffee, I will turn to that xataka meme: it makes sense. Put the quotes you want here. Okinawa is just at the north limit of the so -called ‘coffee belt’, which makes it one of the most extreme areas where it can be cultivated. We have already told that coffee occurs mostly in what we know as the “coffee belt” and that, although the Climate change It is allowing coffee to develop in areas Like Sicily either Spainit is still a peculiarity that coffee occurs so to the limit of the optimal zone. In addition, Nakayama is not too high above sea level. To grow coffee, especially the Arabic varietywhich is usually used in the specialty coffee, the altitude to which it is grown must be between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level. In Nakayama, farms are between 150 and 500 meters. To round the formula, it must be taken into account that they use sustainable practices without pesticides and with Japanese employees who charge higher wages than those that farmers from other coffee producing areas can collect. In summary: they are not the ideal conditions, it is difficult to harvest and the wages are high, which directly impacts the price, but there is more. Nakayama Café is not only exclusive for the achievement of carrying out such a harvest, but for the low production they get every year. Brazil is the main coffee producer and in 2022 that production was more than 3,100,000 tons. Vietnam is the second, with almost 2,000,000 tons that same year. New Caledonia is one of the most producers weakwith two tons of coffee. Nakayama would not enter the graphics, because its production is 300 kilos a year. And if we add that very scarce annual production with the factors mentioned above since coffee has distinctive notes thanks, precisely, to that low height crop, we result in a cup that is exceptionally expensive. I would be unable to distinguish a cup of this select coffee from my coffee in Costa Rica every morning, but someone can: James Hoffman. We have ever talked about him, since he was named better barista in 2007, he has such interesting recipes –I have tried this– like that of a Donut coffee and, in addition, It is coffee toaster. It has, in short, a palate qualified enough to analyze something like a cup that costs more than 300 euros. To do this, he went to one of the most expensive coffee shops: Shotin one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in London, to try this coffee. There are only special coffees, such as private crops of islands like Kona in Hawaii, Santa Helena Café (one of the most remote islands in the world) coffee Kopi Luwak that is extracted from excrement from an animal and, of course, that of Nakayama. The letter has no prices, and we already know what this usually implies. Ok, very good, but … is it worth it? According to HoffmannNo. Not quite. “It is more acid than I expected and has a good texture, a touch of wood and is very fruity,” says the British YouTuber. “The barista has done really well, there is a good barista after this coffee and it is a mature coffee, well -processed, well roasted and well done, but I do not think that its flavor and its price are connected.” In addition, he adds that he does not think he has distinctive characteristics of other low -altitude coffees that he has tried. And, although this may seem devastating, really, as I said before, it makes sense. Because, as Hoffmann, the price and perception of those 300 euros for a cup of coffee (espresso, in addition, without milk), depends on the value that we give to things, something that is linked to the size of the portfolio. It occurs with virtually any product whose price is not objective and depends on what we are willing to pay. This Okinawa coffee, better or worse, is like an exclusive wine, fashion brands, chocolate, watches, cars and What can occur to us. Because, obviously, Shot has not cost so much money, but has revalued to the extreme the price of that coffee due to the aura of exclusivity that has to be of the few coffee shops in the world that has those grains in particular. The truth is that, after writing this, I still escape from my head to pay 315 euros for an espresso and I don’t know how many Bernabéus equivalent. But I know that for the price of that espresso, you can buy three games of Nintendo Switch 2 and you have left over for a coffee from the street end. … Read more

TSMC will manufacture its best chips on American soil, although presumably they will be 30% more expensive

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Taiwan’s silicon shield It has definitely fallen. The government of this island was determined to protect its economic interests preventing TSMC from manufacturing integrated circuits abroad using your most advanced lithography nodes. This plan entered into conflict with the expansionist strategy of the semiconductor manufacturer most important on the planetespecially at a juncture in which the US is forcing the displacement of chips manufacturers to their own territory. “Since Taiwan has regulations that seek to protect their own technologies, TSMC cannot produce 2 nm chips abroad today,” Jw Kuo saidMinister of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, on November 8 during a meeting of the Taipéi Economy Committee. “Although TSMC PLANS MANUFACTURE 2 NM CHIPS Abroad in the future, its central technology will remain in Taiwan. “ Kuo’s statements reflected at that time that TSMC could not produce integrated 2 Nm circuits in the US or Europe until it was ready its lithography A14 (1.4 Nm). From that moment the latter would remain in Taiwan and could move the production of 2 Nm chips to other countries. For TSMC this restriction was a problem. And it was because the demand for its most advanced integrated circuits is very high because of the undoubted success that semiconductors are having for applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Chips manufactured by TSMC in the US will be 30% more expensive, according to Walter Bloomberg Finally, the Taiwan government has moderated its protectionist strategy. Jw Kuo He pronounced again In the middle of last January to declare that TSMC may produce 2 Nm chips in its US plants, although the Taiwanese administration will cautiously evaluate the use of this technology in the country led by Donald Trump. “Private companies must make their own commercial decisions covered in their own technological progress (…) TSMC is building factories in the US with the purpose of serving their US clients because 60% of the world’s chips designer companies are based precisely in the US. “ Lisa su and CC Wei have taught the first EPYC ‘Venice’ chip produced in the N2 (2 nm) node of TSMC Today, just four months later, we can be sure that the manufacture of integrated 2 NM circuits on a large scale in the TSMC plants in Arizona (USA) will arrive. Lisa her, the general director of AMD, and CC Wei, the president and general director of TSMC, have taught the first Epyc Chip ‘Venice’ produced in node N2 (2 nm) of this last company. This CPU has been manufactured in Taiwan, but both managers They have confirmed their commitment When strengthening the production of the plants that TSMC is putting ready in Arizona. The first of these factories is about to produce large -scale chips, but its plan does not end here. The second plant will be operational in 2028 and will produce integrated circuits in N3 (3 Nm) and N2 (2 Nm) nodes. And finally, the third factory will not be listed at all until the end of this decade and will produce chips in the N2 (2 nm) node. At the current situation and under the pressure of the US government, which is Pertrechado with its tariff policyit is very likely that the production of 2 Nm semiconductors in Arizona arrives long before 2028. It is not official information, but in the current circumstances it is a very reasonable forecast. However, there is something else that is worth not overlooking. According to G. Dan HutchesonAnalyst in Techinsights, producing a 300 mm wafer in the new Arizona plant costs TSMC less than 10% more than manufacturing that same wafer in one of its Taiwan facilities. It is explained by something that we should not overlook: the cost derived from labor represents less than 2% of the total cost. However, according to the financial journalist Walter Bloomberg TSMC will increase the price of integrated circuits produced by 30% in the US to compensate for the costs triggered by tariffs on the production equipment of imported chips from Europe and Japan. The Government led by Donald Trump has not yet revealed how the import tariffs of photolithography machines used by TSMC, Intel or Samsung plants in the US will affect the import tariffs. Will do it within a period Not exceeding two months. But it seems that Bloomberg assumes that the increase in chips will arrive. We’ll see. Image | TSMC More information | Walter Bloomberg | Tom’s hardware In Xataka | The US confesses its worst nightmare: if China invades taiwan and controls TSMC the US economy will go to pique

The key ingredient of the Torrijas has shot in price. That does not mean that they will be more expensive

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God squeezes, but does not drown. Not at least if we talk about Torrijas. Although the ovoflation threatened to shoot record levels The cost of one of the typical Sweet cheaper That just a year ago. About 20%. And the reason is simple: perhaps the dozen eggs has more expensive in recent months, but other ingredients, such as Olive oil And sugar, have softened their price. After all, Torrijas are more than a sweet tasty: they are also a curious (and interesting) indicator of how the purchase basket evolves. Don’t say torrijas, say economics. It occurs sometimes that a dish ends up becoming an economic and social thermometer. An example is The “pizzometro”an informal indicator that according to some experts is activated just before global crises. Another clear case is THE BIC MAC INDEXa way of measuring inflation with hamburgers. And a third example is the Waffle House indexwhich allows US authorities to calculate the scope of storms with gofres. In Spain we have The Torrijas. Its combination of bread, milk, sugar, oil and eggs makes them a curious indicator of how IPC evolves. So He claims Sara Herrero, director of Business & Talent by EAE Business School, for whom the sweet is a “good thermometer of the basic basket basket of the basic products of Spanish families.” The problem is that in full ovoflationthis Holy Week that indicator has looked at each other with a special concern. Why’s that? Because Torrijas recipe includes eggs. And these have been expensive exponentially over the last months. In March the OCU calculated that in alone A few weeks The price of the dozen medium eggs had increased about 25%. And the Updated data Facua show that since then they have not been cheaper in most linear. Moreover, the tables prepared by the Toledo Lonja either Bellpuig They reflect that in some cases the price of the eggs has increased, which is in tune with the data collected by the INE itself. His last IPC confirms that in the last month the eggs took care 7.2%well above the general index. Prohibitive Torrijas? That is what some have feared in recent weeks: that in view of the escalation in the price of eggs, with the effect of avian flu and the ovoflation From the United States as a backdrop, tortals fired their price this Holy Week. There are even those who until recently warned that we would meet the “most expensive” sweets. It does not seem to be like that. And not because the eggs are going to be reduced in the short term. The key is other ingredients of the toast that today come out much cheaper than a year ago, which has damping the ovoflation. This concludes A study From EAE Business School, which after analyzing the latest segregated IPC data calculates that preparing Torrijas will come out 19% cheaper that in 2024. IPC Annual variation (March) Ipc variation so far this year (March) Bread 1.8 0.2 Whole milk 3.2 23 Eggs 11.4 8.6 Olive oil -37.9 -19.9 Sugar -15.6 -1,9 Electricity 12.8 5.7 Natural Gas and Gas City 8.4 4 Sugar and oil, rescue. According to EAEthe key to the cheaper is in olive oil and sugar, ingredients that are also used in Easter sweet. The first has seen how its price was reduced by 32%. The second, 15%. Taking into account that today these resources are cheaper, the agency estimates that, in general, the recipe will cost almost 20% less than in 2024. Some calculations go further and suggest the dessert will come out this year 27% cheaper. EAE calculations were made with the Segregated data of the IPC of the month of February. If analyzed those of Marchthe percentage can vary. The reason: the year-on-year IPC last month was more favorable if we talk about olive oil (-37.9%) and sugar (-15.6%), but much worse when we examine the cost of eggs. His interannual rise was that month of the 11.4% compared to 3.8% in February. And the rest of the ingredients? Torrijas are not made solely with eggs, olive oil and sugar. But we analyze The rest of the ingredients We see that its variation with respect to 2024 is not so marked. The PAN recorded in March an interannual CPI of 1.8%, below the general index of 2.3%. The milk did exceed that value slightly, scoring 3.2%, but the increase is minimal compared to that of eggs. What became more expensive is energy. The EAE study concludes that in 2025 the Torrijas will break in any case the tendency to become more expensive that they had been dragging over the last years, which does not mean that in general today they leave much more expensive than four years ago. The agency calculates in particular that the increase was about 53%. Images | Moritz Barcelona (Flickr) and TNARIK INNAEL (Flickr) In Xataka | The price of eggs has shot and having an own chicken coop seems attractive. But there are fines of up to 3,000 euros

Luxury floors are so expensive in Madrid that Millionaires already look at more “affordable” areas such as … the moral or farm

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Throughout a whole year a half -won (or won at least in 2022, last data of the INE) a salary of around 27,000 euros. It is a considerable sum. But soon it will not even pay an M2 in the Madrid residential luxury market. This is estimated by the consultant Colliers, who in A report Published this same week on the most exclusive properties of the capital, letting a striking idea: prices of the city real estate They are warming up In all segments, also the Prime. In fact, this price increase in the central almond of Madrid is forcing which part of the demand It moves to other parts of the city, such as the moral or farm. Probing luxury. In Your reportColliers is dedicated to putting the thermometer to the most exclusive segment of the Madrid real estate market, which is associated with labels such as Ultra High-end, High-end, premium either Branded reside. Basically these are homes that cost at least two million euros (much passes from the five) and in certain cases they are associated with a hotel brand that offers services, which gives them a plus of exclusivity. It may seem a very limited segment, but Colliers reveals that it has some weight in the most exclusive neighborhoods of the capital. In the report its technicians claim to have identified in the Barrio de Salamanca, Chamberí, El Viso and Centro 153 homes For sale that two requirements meet: they are new construction and go from two million euros. There are more 52 that belong to the most exclusive group, the Ultra high-endwith a price per m2 that reaches 27,400 euros. A figure: € 1,550. One of the first conclusions that the report leaves is that the residential luxury market has not remained oblivious to generalized increase of the house in Madrid. The other way around. Colliers estimates that throughout the last decade the price of M2 in the market High-end The capital has grown at a rate of € 1,550/year, which the consultant interprets as “constant and sustained growth.” In practice that means that the M2 in the most exclusive properties and floors is today much more expensive than in 2005. And you don’t have to look so far back. Surprises. When analyzing the luxury housing stock for sale in Madrid, the consultant has encountered two surprises: first, the number of promotions and homes has increased considerably with respect to 2023; Second, the maximum prices are today quite higher than those that were handled just two years ago. If in 2023 the maximum was in € 24,800/m2now it goes from 27,400. On the contrary, the minimum values ​​have softened around 12%. 27,400 for an M2. What is the result of this “constant and sustained” price increase? That right now the residential square meter in the most exclusive homes for sale in neighborhoods such as Salamanca, Chamberí or Viso Ronda, on average, 18,300, with some cases in which this value has shot above € 27,400/m2. This is just that, means that can vary depending on the characteristics of the property or the concrete area of ​​Madrid in which they are located, but still interesting. In the Salamanca neighborhood for example Colliers analyzed 112 properties in which the average square meter cost ranged between 12,000 and 18,600 euros, which translates into homes that cost by total between 2.75 and 8.6 million. In Chamberí the photo already changes and the consultant did not register properties in which the € 17,800/m2 was exceeded. Spraying records. They may seem high prices, but if Colliers technicians give in the nail it is likely that in a few years they will not seem so. Especially if we take into account that the market has maintained a trend over the last years that seems to direct it towards new record values. “If this evolution is maintained, we estimate that by 2030 the average price in the areas Prime of the luxury residential market could exceed the barrier of € 30,000/m2, which would represent a key milestone for this segment, “he collects The report. “Now we are seeing projects that will probably come out at the end of the year around 25,000 euros per m2,” Luis Valdés recognizesmanaging director of the Colliers luxury housing area to the newspaper Five dayswhich remembers that there is probably some property associated with Branded reside Restored for more than € 30,000/m2. If the consultant’s forecast is finally met in a matter of only a five years, it will no longer be the exception, but “the average price in the primary areas of the residential market High-end“ What is the reason? The study is not limited to talking about prices and draws medium -term forecasts. Part of its analysis is also dedicated to probe the market, which otherwise goes online with the whole of the Madrid real estate sector. In general, idealist calculates that the residential M2 in the capital He has shot In the last decade: € 2,700/m2 in February 2015 to the more than 5,200 charged now. In the specific market case Prime However, certain trends with a key weight. Foreigners. In Your report Colliers dedicates special attention to foreign capital, highlighting the capacity of Madrid “to attract investment, tourism and wealth.” “It has climbed positions until consolidating as the second most attractive European city for real estate investment, only surpassed by London,” The analysis stands out. “This fact shows the strength of the Madrid real estate market, driven by both international and individual investors looking for higher levels of profitability.” Among other factors, the consultant recalls the opening of new five -star hotelsthe rise of business schools, security and a climate that can be attractive to investors from other latitudes. According to the data handled by Colliers, in 2024 about half of the homes acquired in the community were concentrated in the capital and 7% corresponds to foreign investors, especially of Latam and the US, which places Madrid, in their opinion, among the “most profitable” markets … Read more

TSMC always said that making chips in the US was more expensive than doing it in Taiwan. His Arizona plant denies it

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Morris Chang is not infallible. No one is. This veteran Taiwanese engineer formed in the US is One of the most respected experts in the global semiconductor industry. After all, he founded TSMC at a historic moment, 1987, in which Taiwan occupied a very discreet position in the integrated circuit production market. His cunning is undeniable. After all, objectively has made very successful decisions at the head of TSMC. However, their forecasts are not always accurate. And is that on several occasions He has pointed out publicly That the production costs of their plants located outside of Taiwan will double in the future, which will have a direct impact on the price of the chips. This increase is a consequence of the increase in the price of energy, of the cost derived from workers’ salaries and the impact that inflation is having on the price of essential raw materials. Processing a wafer in Arizona costs TSMC less than 10% more than doing it in Taiwan In mid -April 2024 CC Wei, the executive who at that time held the reins of TSMC, clarified Morris Chang’s statements anticipating that the increase in costs derived from the manufacture of integrated avant -garde circuits in the plants that the company has outside of Taiwan would be assumed by both TSMC and its customers: “If my client wants to manufacture in a specific area (outside of Taiwan) then definitely TSMC and the client himself will have to share the increase in costs (…) We are already discussing it with our customers.” The performance of a lithographic node is crucial because it reflects its valid chip production capacity Chang and Wei’s statements have caused many analysts in the integrated circuit industry to follow the steps that this company has in Phoenix (Arizona) very closely. This avant -garde chips factory We were surprised in October 2024 When Rick Cassidy, the president of the TSMC American division, confirmed that its initial production performance had surpassed that of the comparable factories that TSMC has in Taiwan. The performance of a lithographic node is crucial because it reflects its valid chip production capacity, so that a high performance has a very beneficial impact on the competitiveness of semiconductor manufacturers. What was not yet clear was if the cost derived from the production of these semiconductors was perceptibly higher than that of comparable chips manufactured in Taiwan. Now an interesting report of Techinsightsthe respected Canadian analysis company that revealed that Huawei and SMIC had managed to produce Integrated 7 Nm circuitsshed light on this matter. According to G. Dan Hutcheson, Techinsight’s analyst signed by the article, producing a 300 mm wafer on his new Arizona plant costs TSMC less than 10% more than manufacturing that same wafer in one of its Taiwan facilities. It is explained by something that we should not overlook: the cost derived from labor represents less than 2% of the total cost. Salaries are much higher in the US than in Taiwan, yes, but Chips factories are highly automated. And equip them with the lithography machines that require essentially costs the same in the US and Taiwan. There is no doubt about one thing: they are good news for American customers of TSMC, among which are Apple, Nvidia, AMD or Broadcom. Image | TSMC More information | Techinsights In Xataka | TSMC is willing to take control of Intel chips factories. What you don’t want is to do it alone

The eggs are so expensive in the US that a new phenomenon ravages on the border with Mexico: its smuggling

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The egg crisis continues to whip the United States. Also Many other countriesbut the United States is starring in a time when the price of eggs is true Economic thermometer. After an increase of more than 50% year -on -year in January of this year and some forecasts of increases of more than 41% throughout 2025, there are those who are already resorting to something worthy of the dry law or the prohibited products. Because yes, there is something that concerns US border agents as much as drug trafficking: illegal traffic of Mexican eggs. Egg. The United States has lived for years a negative spiral in regards to its eggs. Just a year ago we echoed how US consumers warned that His eggs were increasingly fragilefinding more and more pieces of shell when they broke them. It is the result of a cluster of factors: a Aviar flu that has ended with millions of birds and the need to sacrifice as many millions, as well as the need for keep to their heavier laying chickens more time in activity. The more the chicken, the less eggs and of lower quality it produces, but the farmers are forced to keep them because the consumption wheel cannot stop. And national production is already quite touched. In summary: there are no eggs and the demand is still there, which has caused the Average price From a dozen eggs it would reach $ 4.95 in January and $ 5.90 in February. Eggs smuggling. The worst has not happened: not only is it not expected, as we say, that the situation improves, but that two festivities such as the Jewish Easter of April 12 and the Christian Easter on April 20 are approaching, in which the eggs have a leading role. The shortage is causing restaurants that charge a surcharge if an egg plate is requested and the illegal import of eggs is already a topic of conversation in the country. A case that demonstrates the unreal situation is the one that recounts The Wall Street Journal: In one of the border steps of El Paso, in Texas, the agents stopped a vehicle with almost 30 kilos of methamphetamine, but what really caused their alarms to jump were several egg trays that also went in the vehicle. Because, given this situation, there are already those who are happening Mexican and Canadian eggs within the American border. Booming interceptions. According to the CBP, which is the US Customs and Border Protection office, “eggs interceptions” have increased 36% in this fiscal year. In Texas it has increased by 54%, but in other areas it has doubled. Roger Maier is the spokesman of the CPB in El Paso and does not discover America by stating that “the price difference is the reason: it is approximately one third of what it costs in the United States.” When we talk about the dozen costing $ 5.90 on February, we talked about that, an average. They can find themselves cheaper, but also much more expensive. There are cities in which prices are more than $ 10 per dozen. In Mexico, they are below two dollars, so it is so attractive to put them illegally in the country. I go shopping to Mexico. And here there are two other added problems. There may be anyone who wants to trade with those eggs, but border agents comment that what are being found are many travelers who cross from one country to another with dozens of eggs for personal use and are not aware that they are prohibited products. If they declare the load, there are no problems, but many do not and try to hide the eggs in different ways inside the vehicle. Added difficulty. When they are caught, the eggs are requisitioned and, as with other products, they are taken to incinerators in which they carbonize. To curl the curl, during Easter, Mexicans empty and decorate eggs. They fill them with confetti and other elements and cannot be eaten (there is no food matter there), but in the WSJ article the agents already comment that they will have to make sure that these eggs, called ‘Cascarones‘, they really don’t have any egg inside. National measures. The authorities’ response to this problem is a series of actions to help fight the price escalation. On the one hand, the US Department of Agriculture has allocated 1,000 million dollars that add up to 2,000 million since 2022 to improve biosecurity in farms, help affected farmers and investigate vaccines. On the other hand, more eggs are importing from countries that comply with US sanitary norms. As a short -term solution, they want to import eggs, but it is always key that the sanitary standards are met, since each country has its own. Türkiye, for example, has already begun to export Containers with 15,000 tons of eggs. Search for solutions -legals-. There are also people who do not resort to the smuggling of eggs, but to the search for alternatives so as not to depend on a market that has become a real Russian mountain. One of those solutions is … to rent chickens. For 600 dollars, six months, a company rents you A two chickens kitadvice and what is necessary to maintain them this time. The direct accounts do not come out: if two chickens put 12 eggs a week, there are 312 eggs in those six months, united in 26 dozen. Five dollars the dozen, there are $ 130 if you buy them directly. The problem is no longer the price, but there are establishments They run out of their daily cargo in just a few minutes. There are companies in the US that already rent chickens kits with chicken coop so that they give eggs for six months World problem. There is a lot of talk about the United States, but in other countries the thing is not much better. Spain, and Europe, are examples. The ghost of the aviar flu is there, … Read more

The O1-PRO model of Chatgpt Pro is 140 times more expensive than the Chatgpt O3-mini. What is not clear is that it is much better

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Paying $ 20 per month for accessing Chatgpt Plus did not seem too serious. The thing began to get interesting when Openai launched its chatgpt pro subscription at 200 dollars a month. But now there is an even more expensive version of these models, and this again shows that we are at the beginning of a worrying slope: that of AI prices. What happened. OpenAI He has just announced That O1-Pro, the most powerful version of its reasoning model, is now available through its API. Until now it was only possible to enjoy it in a limited way through the subscription to Chatgpt Pro, but now the developers can also create services with it. The striking is not really that the company offers this version, but the price at which it is available. 140 times more expensive than O3-mini. As we said, O1-Pro is only limited to Chatgpt Pro users. If someone wants to use it intensively through the API, prices They are really high: O3-mini O1 O1-PRO Price for 1m tokens input (dollars) 1.10 15 150 Price for 1m tokens output (dollars) 4.40 60 600 As can be seen, O1-Pro is 10 times more expensive than O1, and about 135 times more expensive than O3-mini, which is the version of the reasoning model that for example we can use (limitedly) in the free version of Chatgpt. Gold Price Tokens. That cost imposes an important barrier for those who want to use this AI model for projects in which we introduce a lot of text and want to obtain a lot of text. For example, if we want to analyze a lot of documents and We saturate The input context window (200,000 tokens) and the output (100,000 tokens), we will have a cost of $ 90 … for a single question and an answer (an API request). But is it really so good? Preliminary O1-Pro impressions in Chatgpt Pro They were not especially striking according to whom They have tried italso They have protested for one falling quality. According to Openai O1-PRO, it offers “responses that are better consistently”, and highlight that it is an O1 version that uses more calculation power to “think more and offer even better responses to the most complex problems.” For asking not to be. IA companies are losing a money training their models, but they hope to recover it with a simple technique: increasingly faces. Data leaked in The Information also pointed out how Openai were already raising how an AI agent could replace a “human doctorate” to investigate, the cost would be $ 20,000 per month. They seem faces, but maybe they don’t. Of course, the price of these subscriptions and these accesses to the API may seem expensive, but they can also be a true bargain. What matters here is the profitability that we can get out of these models of AI: if they help us generate many more income, we will end up having “robotic employees” who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and also do so with a productivity and quality of theoretically extraordinary work. But of course, we will first have to use them like this … and ensure that these results are effectively valid, something that for now does not seem so clear. In Xataka | AI agents are promising. But as in Tesla’s FSD, you better not take your hands from the steering wheel

Café and cocoa have become so much more expensive to suffocate the sector itself. They leave it without liquidity to pay grain shipments

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They do not run easy times For coffee lovers. Not even cocoa. Both goods have seen how their prices They shot themselves until reaching Historical values Fruit of a “perfect storm” in which bad harvests and the imbalance between supply and demand are mixed. And although there is who predicts That by the end of the year we will see the occasional price drop (Arabica coffee), today the operators are not having it easy. In fact there are already some who, given the shortage of liquidity, are being seen With difficulties To move the merchandise. It is the nth proof of how the sector is. What happened? That the escalation in coffee and cocoa prices is noticing beyond costs, The demand either The accounts of the sector. A few days ago Bloomberg revealed How the rise in futures markets Of both products is depleting the liquidity of some operators, which is already reflected in their logistics. As? According to the agency, there are companies that are finding problems to finance international merchandise movements. How does that affect the market? Bloomberg’s analysis is clear: to guarantee its position for the future and before the escalation of prices, there are operators who have had to mobilize great sums in the New York Stock Exchange. And that translates into a significant amount of cash blocked, which complicates financing the cargoes that transport grain from the production areas to the consumption points. As a backdrop are The difficulties with which it is part of the industry with the cash flow. What is the problem? “The market in cash and the availability of financing”, Clarify Pam Thornton, with a long experience in the raw materials and cocoa market. To the lack of liquidity it is also added that, in a clearly upward market, some suppliers that have sold at lower prices are breaking their commitments. Another handicap that affects the coffee sector is the shortage of containers and the lack of incentives for reserves. The situation is complicated because many companies sell at the same time with both products, coffee and cocoa, which leaves them in a difficult position when facing cash scarcity. An example aforementioned by Bloomberg herself is Olam Groupdedicated to both grains and that in just one year he has seen how his circulating capital shot 68%. The cause, as explained by the company: the “strong unprecedented increases” in the price of goods. Did prices upload so much? Yes. Specialized platform graphics such as Investing either Training Economics or of one’s own World Bank They are eloquent. The futures of Arabica coffee and cocoa In New York they have descended in recent weeks, but they still remain high if the entire historical series is taken into account. The causes respond in both cases to a sum of factors, including bad harvests in producing areas such as Western Africa, Brazil or Vietnam. In the specific case of cocoa prices 28% have fallen In 2025, but still the future negotiated in New York shot both last year that they remain at levels far higher than the average of the last decade. If we talk about coffee, They remain quite above of those of a year ago. Are there more indicators? Yes. Last week Reuters warned of the complicated situation faced by world coffee trade. In his analysis he even speaks of “paralysis”, with merchants and toasters throwing the brake and reducing their activity to minimums due to the increase in prices. “Normally we would be exhausted, but so far we have sold less than 30% of the production,” a manager of a manager of Elcafe ca does A few daysduring the Convention of the National Coffee Association of the US. “The great price increase is eaten the liquidity of the customers. They do not have all the money to buy what they need,” he adds. There are already signals They point out that Arabica coffee could be reduced sensitively by the end of 2025, both for the behavior of the Brazilian harvest and the effect of prices on the demand itself, but for the moment the industry is forced to be conservative. The footprint in the silos. Reuters points out another equally interesting effect: coffee stores close to US ports, which receive grain from the center or south of America, remain in half of their normal volume and in some cases they are even pretending them. “Some storage companies are returning the silos to the owners, canceling the rental contracts in advance,” Explain An executive of the sector. Images | Kelsen Fernandes (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | 2025 promised to be a calamitic year for the price of coffee. We would love to tell you that the forecasts were wrong

The OCU has investigated what happened to the light bill since January and has reached a conclusion: 44% more expensive

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We are just three months from 2025, and the light of light is already one of the more commented issueseither by Inflationvolatility of the energy market or fiscal policies. Now, the OCU brings bad news. Short. The Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has issued a statement warning about the climb on the electricity bill in Spain. Last February, the indicators have shown a 5% increase over the month of January and this has caused that, with respect to February 2024, the annual increase has been 44%. And no one gets rid of this, it affects the users of the regulated rate (PVPC) as well as those of the free market. In data. The impact has been especially severe for users of the PVPC regulated rate, whose average bill has gone from € 56.81 to € 81.60 in just one year. However, the problem is not limited to this group. The OCU has warned that many free market clients have also suffered increases in their rates due to reviews made by marketers in January. The reasons. Several factors have contributed to this climb and here we have talked about it. The first would be The high price of gasimportant to set major electricity prices. In addition, wind energy production is has reduced in February, which has caused greater dependence on sources such as gas. Finally, the upward modifications have influenced Electrical system tolls and VAT return to 21% Since January. What can we do? But we are not going to wear ashes, because there are different measures. First, it is advisable to periodically compare electric rates using tools such as The CNMC comparator or independent platforms, such as the one that has the OCU, Octopus Energy either Selectraamong many others. Second, it is important to review the contract conditions, paying special attention to possible price reviews, permanence commitments and additional costs for non -essential services. Another effective strategy is the use of appliances at lower cost or valley hourshow to program the washing machine or dishwasher, but this is only possible if you are inside the PVPC. On the other hand, replace traditional bulbs By LED and go like a father turning off lights from empty rooms. Another “tricks” that people take into account is to disconnect or unplug to Avoid ghost consumption. However, something that people do not usually take into account is FRIDITIONAL TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT, The water heater and The air conditioning To avoid excessive consumption. Along the same lines, for this winter, although more with a view to the coming, The heat pump It can be an efficient option, but the investment is quite high. How do I know if I am paying more? From the CNMC They have developed A system through the QR code that comes with your light bill to access a comparator with your power and consumption data, which will help you understand the invoice and teach you what are the best offers on the market. Finally, it is advisable lower 5% VAT In the light invoice. Forecasts The heavy rains of recent weeks will have a positive impact on the light bill. The large amount of rainfall They have raised The level of the reservoirs, increasing the generation capacity of the hydroelectric plants. However, the reservoirs belong to companies and will see how They store and release water. Image | Unspash Xataka | The Light rate rose in this last month of August: the most affected, those welcomed to PVPC

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