faces

In case not finding waiters were not enough, the hospitality faces a new problem this summer: where to accommodate them

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According to a recent report Prepared by Obsbusiness School, tourism represents 15.2% of the total of the national economy and 2025 has all the signs of becoming a year of record for this sector, with an estimate of 98 million tourists, which represents an increase of 4% compared to last year. These tourists will spend about 138.5 billion euros. The data from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism They pointthat the sector will use a total of 2.99 million people. Such and as they highlight in Five daysthe main problem facing the hotel sector is not just the Personnel shortage. Is that, although they can hire workers to cover the high season in summer, these They cannot be paid The accommodation by the High price of rentals In tourist areas. Homemade. According to the last ‘Rent prices report in Spain’ Published by Idealista, the average price in Spain is 14.5 euros per square meter. That is, a 60 square meter accommodation should cost about 870 euros. However, the price increases when we approach tourist areas such as Málaga (16.3 euros/m2), Balearic Islands (19.7 euros/m2), Barcelona (23.9 euros/m2). In the case of the Balearic Islands, for example, the rent of a 60 -square -meter house would amount to 1,182 euros, a figure that can be doubled in high summer season. The high price of rentals makes it unfeasible that workers from other territories move to the main tourist destinations during the months of greater influx because, literally, The salary is gone Only in the rent. Work and accommodation. The hoteliers of the Balearic Islands were the first to alert the situation. Hotel chains Meliá, Riu, Barceló and Iberostar had planned increase your templates To meet summer demand. Due to the difficulty of finding accommodation for their new employees, chains have been forced to reserve a part of their facilities as accommodation during the summer months, offering it for free as an incentive to attract qualified talent. Hospitality entrepreneurs in the Canary Islands, meanwhile, They offered to build homes at priced price to rent to workers in the sector. However, the Ministry of Tourism estimates that only about 455,000 employees work in these large chains that have enough financial muscle to assume the cost of the accommodation of its employees. The other 2.5 million remaining employees belong to restaurants, bars and other small businesses. That leaves them with a serious problem, no longer due to lack of labor, but because rental price It makes someone from outside move during the high season to work. The only way out: adapt. It is materially impossible that the supply of local labor covers all the demand for the hospitality during the high season, so, given the impossibility of hiring more personnel, restaurants and small hospitality businesses of those those Tourism areas “Tensioning“They have chosen to adapt and reduce their care schedule depending on their staff. According The data of the Turijobs Employment Portal published by Self -employed and entrepreneurs87% of restoration businesses have had to apply these time adjustment measures to adapt to the lack of personnel. Desestationalization of tourism. One of the objectives of the tourism sector is Destationalize itTo, thus stabilize demand throughout the year allowing a more rest and economic continuity market, instead of focusing all the activity in the summer months. As they highlight in The countrypart of that goal is being achieved, and during the first three months of 2025 it has been increased by 5.7% The number of tourists, so that the tourist season is now ahead of May and ends beyond October. The de -stationalization of tourism would allow employees to settle in these destinations throughout the year, not only during the summer months, stabilizing in turn the availability of a sufficient local workforce. Long -term strategies. Given an unlikely scenario of moderation in rental prices, the most affected companies in the sector have adopted a long -term local personnel collection strategy. Thus, the dependency of personnel from other autonomies is reduced and, with it, the problem of accommodation. Portaventura World and University Rovira and Virgili signed a training agreement In 2024 for 150 employees per year. This agreement offers, in addition to a training accreditation, a job at the facilities and the Tourist Resort of Port Aventura once the training is finished. In the same line the initiative of the hotel chain THB Hotels moves that, through Your program THB College has offered accommodation and training to more than 2,000 employees since its creation in 2014, eliminating the problem of the shortage of qualified and accommodation personnel for them. In Xataka | Construction and hospitality do not hire the same pace as before. Health and education cut cod in job creation Image | Pexels (Allan González)

While NASA faces the cancellation of 41 missions, China is making authentic virguerías in space

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The Tianwen-2 probe is the first of those launched by China with ionic propulsion. Not only is it on the way to a nearby asteroid to bring samples to the Earth: its one -decade trip also includes exploring a main belt kite, as far as a Chinese ship will have arrived. China does not give truce. Just when NASA expects 24% of its budget cuts and the cancellation of 41 space missions, China has launched an extraordinarily ambitious scientific program that will take it throughout the solar system throughout the next decades. Robotic Tianwen missions, which are just part of these plans, focus on exploring and bringing samples from other worlds. Tianwen-1 deployed on May 22, 2021 The first Chinese rover on the surface of Mars. Tianwen-2 will bring the first samples of the Kamo’oalewa miniluna at the end of 2027. Tianwen-3 will take advantage of what has been learned In previous missions to bring Martian soil samples, a milestone that the Chinese Space Administration Wait before the United States. Tianwen-4 will explore Jupiter and one of his moons. Double objective. The Tianwen-2 probe took off on board a CZ-3B rocket from the Xichang space center on May 28. After successfully deploying its circular solar panels and performing an escape maneuver, it is directed to Asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewawith which it will be found for the first time on July 4, 2026, and that will explore closely until April of the following year. In November 2027, after releasing the reentry capsule with asteroid samples, Tianwen-2 will continue on its second goal: 311P/2013 P5 (PANSTARRS). It is a main belt kite, an active object with the orbit of an asteroid and the appearance of a kite that the Chinese ship plans to reach in 2035. Crossing outstanding tasks. To achieve its objectives, Tianwen-2 will not be the first space mission to bring samples of an asteroid (Japan has done it twice and The United States got it in 2023 With Asteroid Bennu), nor the first probe to explore a comet (the European Space Agency landed in Comet 67p in 2014), but the first to do both. China’s space administration is taking advantage of its previous experience to continue crossing outstanding tasks of the list: the Chang’e 2 mission visited an asteroid in 2012 and the Chang’e 5 and Chang’e 6 They brought samples of the visible face and the hidden face of the moon, respectively. When moving so fast, China begins to advance the rest of the nations in some of these milestones, as in the case of samples of the hidden face of the moon. What are these objectives special. Tianwen-2 will not only serve to prepare the recovery of Mars samples. Kamo’oalewa is an interesting object in itself for being a minilun It can be a fragment of the true moon. Tianwen-2 will deploy two small robots: a nanoorbital and a nanoatrizer that will make detections closely. Then, without landing, you will take asteroid samples with an extensible tube and a small excavator wheel to bring them to Earth. Next, it will take advantage of the gravitational assistance of the Earth to travel to the strange comet, which in photos of the Hubble telescope appears with six queues. It will be the Chinese probe that best moves away from the Sun until the arrival of Tianwen-4 to Jupiter. A second probe, launched at the same time 2029, will arrive in Uranus in 2045. But China plans to go further with two missions to Neptune, whose launch is scheduled for 2029 and 2033, with the difference that the second would display an atmospheric probe on its Triton moon. Image | Cnsa In Xataka | No one has advanced NASA in the exploration of other planets from the USSR. China plans to do it even in Neptune

Japan has been seeing how its birth collapse little by little. Now faces the result: the “problem 2025”

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Japan has a great great Population challenge ahead, a demographic watchmaking pump fed by a birth rate that He has won to place in historical minimumsincreased life expectancy and a weight increasing of the elderly population. That is no novelty. However, however, Japanese economists and politicians look with increasing concern A key datethe turning point from which this aging will begin to take its toll to the country. And it has already arrived. The “problem 2025”. Although there is still much 2025 ahead and it is soon to know if Japanese birth will continue The descending curve of The last decadeDemographers have long suspected that this will not be an easy year. And the reason does not reside so much in fertility and mortality rates as in what it represents. 2025 will mark the point where the Japanese born during the Baby Boom of the late 40 (1947-1949) will exceed 75 years. And that means a real challenge for several reasons. In fact, in the country they have been talking about “Problem 2025”. More than a symbol. Japan It is not the only nation that deal with the winds of demographic winter, although there they blow with more force than usual and the problem is faced from a particular perspective. From the outset, the Japanese do not perceive the elderly as most countries. For them, the usual thing is that people who have turned 65 “Genki” categorythat of healthy and active people. As I remembered The Economist A few months agomore than 50% of people between 65 and 69 years and more than a third of those of 70 to 74 are still working. Moreover, in the population group between 65 and 74, only 3% of the Japanese require nursing care. His life is so active that the country’s gerontological association has even proposed to include that cohort in a new category, that of the “pre-estatants.” The thing changes after 75. Crusade that barrier only work 12% of the Japanese and the percentages of the population that require care. They are the “advanced elders”, the horizon that the millions of Japanese are now born during the Baby Boom of the late 40s. And with them the whole of Japanese society does. Why is it a problem? Because, like They have not been warning for some time Experts, that demographic turn will submit the pension system and medical care in Japan to greater pressure. And it will also do it in an aged country, accustomed to seeing how every year it is achieved A new historical minimum of birth rate and in which the population of working age It has been descending evident since the beginning of the century. The result is what experts such as Takado Komine, of the Institute for International Policy Studies (IEPI), has called The “problem 2025”, a crisis with multiple edges and derivatives that affect society and economy. “A sudden increase”. In A recent analysis On the phenomenon, Europa Press cites some of the fronts on which the “problem 2025” will let yourself feel. The first, he remembers citing an IPEI report, will probably be geriatric care services. The organism Consider which is “almost certain” that as of this year doctors and nurses will deal with “a sudden increase” of people who need care, which will result in “a significantly greater burden for workforce.” And what will be the result? A foreseeable personnel and greater pressure deficit on social coverage systems. In 2018, the government has already made accounts and concluded that between 2025 and 2040 the general social security costs, including pensions, will shoot almost 60%. Everything while The weight of the population Over 65 years old does not stop increasing in the country. The report also indicates the challenge that will be for large urban areas, where a greater volume of elderly people is concentrated. The Government has already launched to solve the problem, but the challenge is considerable and is accompanied by threats, such as giving rise to an inequality crisis among older people. How serious is the problem? It arrives with review some figures to understand it. Last year they were born in Japan 721,000 babiesthe lowest data since the country collects statistics. Only in 1949 (in full baby boom) it is estimated that they were born 2.69 million babiesthe same ones that will now cross the 75 -year border. According to Precise The Economistthe population that exceeds that age is expected to rub the 22 million. A decade ago they were just 17. Image | Woody Yan (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | The Japanese demography debacle, illustrated in a graphic that speaks for itself

The “Ozempic effect” that is filling the mirrors with unknown faces

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Thanks to Ozempic, many people have managed to fulfill a goal that had been chasing for years: losing weight faster. What was not expected is that it came with a collateral effect that was not on the prospect: an alien face. In the mirror there is another person. Fallen cheeks, loss of volume, sagging … and no, it is not natural aging. In social networks it has been baptized as “face Ozempic ”, a consequence of accelerated success in weight loss. According to Cleveland Clinicthese effects are not directly caused by the medication, but by the rapid loss of facial fat that accompanies weight loss. The trend. The conversation has gained strength especially after the testimonies of celebrities who have decided to talk about the physical changes they have experienced after using this type of medicines. One of the most popular voices has been that of Sharon Osbourne, British presenter, who has recognized having lost more than 15 kilos with Ozempic, but not without consequences. “I wouldn’t use it again. I look very thin and older, I regret it,” has declared In an interview with The Daily Mail. On the other hand, in social networks, many people are showing change with pride. On platforms like Tiktok, images of the before and afterhighlighting the physical transformation achieved with the use of Ozempic and similar medications. Science behind. From the medical point of view, the explanation is simple: if you lose very fast fat, you also lose it on your face. And not all the skin returns to its place. As detailed by Dr. Nyla Raja, Dermatologist with Clinic in Mayfair, In statements to the Evening Standard“When the thinning process is so accelerated, the skin does not have time to fall, which leads to sagging and a more aging appearance.” This loss of support in key areas such as cheekbones or jaw can cause the face to look more tired or aged than expected. It is not irreversible. Although the effects can be worrisome, there are solutions. Some dermatologists and nutritionists have agreed that the best way to avoid these consequences is to plan a gradual weight loss. According to Forbes has collectedmaintaining a rhythm of moderate weight loss, following a feed rich in protein and collagen, and practicing strength training can help preserve the facial structure. In some cases, aesthetic treatments such as radiofrequency, dermal fillings or even facial lifting are also resorted to correct the offalter. But… There are more effects. However, other unexpected ones are added to this phenomenon. According to The Independentthere are other secondary symptoms that are increasingly being documented. One of the most striking is “Ozempic language”, which is caused by oral dryness, which generates an alteration in taste. For its part, like has reported the same mediumDr. Tim Bradstock-Smith has pointed out that some patients experience “dry mouth, dental hypersensitivity and loss of volume on lips and cheeks, which compromises both aesthetics and oral health.” Besides, I know They have reported cases Blurred vision and, in rare situations, loss of vision associated with the use of semaglutida. The debate is no longer limited to the medical field. Ozempic, like other medicines to lose weight, has become a mirror of collective priorities: a culture of immediacy where the ideal body seems to be an injection of distance. But it is also true that, for many people, represents a real opportunity of recovering health, taking control over your weight and improving your quality of life. Reducing this conversation to aesthetic changes would be to simplify a deeply personal decision. Behind each treatment there are different stories, emotions and contexts. We live in a society every time more crossed by obsessions and trends that are born – and they are amplified – on social networks, where the ideal body is repeated with Filters and algorithms. At that cross, the direction that takes health, self -esteem and beauty is quite complex and dangerous. Image | Unspash and Instagram Xataka | Losing weight without losing muscle is the great challenge of drugs such as Ozempic. A protein keeps the key to face it

China is about to have the ability to make 5 Nm chips, although it faces a difficult solution problem

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SMIC (Semiconductor manufacturing international corp), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer has been working on the development of Your own 5 nm photolithography. In early February 2024 the newspaper Financial Times He said he had access to two experts in the integrated circuit industry who defended that this company was finalizing the refinement of their semiconductor manufacturing processes in their machines deep ultraviolet lithography (UVP). Its purpose was to have the necessary technology to make 5 Nm chips massively before the end of 2024, although it did not succeed. If its 5 Nm chips had already been successful in this project, the first Huawei devices or any other SMIC client equipped with this type of integrated circuits would have even seen the market. Be that as it seems, now, this technology is ready. The challenge facing SMIC is the performance by wafer According to Dr. Kiman expert in the manufacture of integrated circuits who has worked in Samsung and who currently investigates for TSMC in the US, SMIC is about to start the production of 5 Nm chips. It is perfectly credible because, as we have just seen, we know with certainty that this company has been working on this technology for several years. And, in addition, Dr. Kim is a reliable source. However, this expert has pointed out something crucial that we should not overlook: the performance per wafer that SMIC has currently achieved in its 5 Nm nodes is less than 30%. An incipient integration technology usually moves in the orbit of 50% performance per wafer When semiconductor manufacturers produce a chip wafer, some of those nuclei do not work properly. It is normal. When they launch a new lithographic node, their performance by wafer usually has a margin of broad improvement, but little by little, as engineers refine their integration processes, This parameter improves. A mature lithography can deliver to integrated circuit manufacturers a very high performance, but an incipient technology usually moves in the orbit of 50% performance, so only half of the chips produced work correctly. The problem is that for an integration technology to be profitable from an economic point of view, its performance by wafer has to be At least 70%. And, as we have just seen, Dr. Kim argues that the SMIC 5 NM node is below 30%. It is objectively a very poor performance, but we know what this low figure explains: the technique used by this manufacturer to produce these semiconductors. It is known as Multiple patterningand SMIC has used it for more than a year and a half to make 7 NM chips for Huawei and other customers. This strategy consists in transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process. It works, but is responsible for wafer performance is clearly improvable. SMIC engineers have been forced to resort to Multiple patterning because The US and Netherlands sanctions They prevent Asml from selling their extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment to their Chinese customers, which are the ideal to make chips of 7 nm or less. With the UVP machines that SMIC has, it will be very difficult for wafer performance to be optimal, so in all 5 Nm integrated circuits they will be scarce and expensive. The definitive solution to this problem for SMIC, Huawei and the other Chinese companies that are dedicated to semiconductors inevitably goes through developing their own UVE lithography teams. They are in it. Image | SMIC More information | Dr. Kim In Xataka | The US has declared the total war on Huawei: he does not want him to sell his chips for the most advanced outside of China

The United States national dish faces a worrying future if tariffs are maintained: hamburgers

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The commercial war between China and the United States showed a problem for Beijing: they like, much, the American soybeans, to the point that each year they import Millions of tons With the direction of Asia. Of commercial conflict a Unexpected winner: Brazil. Now, the actors themselves appear in another scenario derived from the commercial war. Americans can pass For many things, but do not take away a good barbecue. The commercial war has opened an uncertain scenario for devour meat. Global hamburger in war. Told this weekend The New York Times that, curiously, most of the hamburgers consumed in the United States are not thence. Despite his image as a national emblem, the American hamburger is, in fact, the result of a very wide international supply chain. The ground meat that feeds barbecues, school canteens and fast food chains usually combine local meat with imports, especially and first of Brazil, today The greatest exporter of beef in the world. This interdependence has been exposed after the imposition of generalized tariffs by Trump, whose measures have reconfigured the World Meat Trade And the basic products that millions of Americans consume daily. Brazil, between two giants. In the midst of this commercial war, Brazil emerges (again) as a great beneficiary. Its meat, produced at low cost thanks to huge extensions of grass and cheap labor, has seen shoot your demand both in the United States and China, two economies that alone fail to satisfy the appetite Growing for lean proteins. The imports of Brazilian meat by Washington grew more than 50% In a single year, reaching a record of 1.3 billion dollars, even despite the 10% tariff that raises the final price for consumers. Meanwhile, China, also facing US tariffs, has reduced your purchases There and redoubled his commitment to Brazil, where almost half of his beef is already from the South American country. Molina meat in the eye of the hurricane. This (re) accommodation of commercial flows has caused a Price increase In the global market: Brazilian flesh has become more expensive about 20% Only since April. American meat companies, trapped between the need to maintain affordable prices and the rise in costs, have begun to Mix pork In their hamburgers to reduce the impact to the consumer. Meanwhile, Brazilian producers such as Grupo Fribal plan expand your herds In tens of thousands of heads to take advantage of a demand that, although buoyant, demands time and resources to materialize, in a context of recurrent droughts and logistic saturation in Brazilian ports. Usa dependence. The key in everything is that, although the United States remains a great producer of beef, its specialization is In the premium cuts like him Rib-Eye or the Filet Mignonnot in the type of lean and economic flesh that feeds mass consumption. Therefore, to make their hamburgers, US processors need to mix local meat more fat with imported lean varieties, and Brazil appears. As The economist explains Agrícola Glynn Tonsor in the Times, “in the United States we consume more ground meat than we produce.” The problem? That this structural dependence leaves exposed consumers: ground meat prices have increased 43% in five yearsand they are expected to continue going up while inflation forces homes to leave expensive cuts and return to the basics. All this, at a time when the American livestock census is in minimum of 73 years for droughts and rise in the price of the feed. Brazil and the consumer. Explained the NYT That while China reinforces its ties with Brazil after revoking licenses of more than 390 US processors in retaliation, President Lula tries to maintain diplomatic balances between his two main commercial partners. However, his advisor Celso Amorim Lets meridianly clear: China today offers “more opportunities and less risks” than the United States. Before the new scenario, Brazilian producers prepare to Fill the void left by Americans, although they recognize that expanding production requires time. With a Chinese middle class increasingly fond of the steak and The Hot Pots of beef, and an American demand that does not find substitutes on the same scale, Brazil is positioned as the winning epicenter of a meat trade in full transformation. Of course, with a “but” in the result that summarize very well The president of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters, Roberto Perosa: the ranchers are winning, but it will be US consumers who literally “eat the invoice.” Image | Pxhere In Xataka | The price of beef has shot. And that threatens to turn hamburgers into the new seafood In Xataka | The great crisis of “false flesh”: McDonald’s has renounced the McPlant and Beyond Meat is sinking

A company has created an alternative to facial recognition. Does not scan faces and its use already begins to generate controversy

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When cities like San Francisco They decided to prohibit use From the facial recognition by the police, many celebrated it as a victory for privacy. However, a new tool begins to make its way as an alternative. It does not scan faces, but allows people with remarkable precision to follow. Identify without analyzing the face. The tool is called Track and has been developed by Veritonea company specialized in artificial intelligence solutions applied to video analysis. Unlike classic systems, Track tracks individuals based on attributes such as physical complexion, hair color and style, clothing, accessories or the type of footwear. The algorithm also distinguishes the skin tone, although, according to the company, it does not allow to search explicitly by that criterion. With all this information, the system generates chronologies that allow following a person along different scenarios and video sources. It is not a development concept or a future promise. According to data provided by VERITONE itself, more than 400 customers are already using this technology in the United States, including state and local police forces, universities and private companies. Among them are federal prosecutors of the Department of Justice, who began using the tool in August 2024. Track is available through cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, and is part of the company’s digital forensic analysis solution ecosystem. An evolving system. Currently, Track works exclusively with recorded videos, such as those captured by body cameras, drones, public recordings on YouTube or content provided by Citizens. Veritone claims to be less than a year after enabling the analysis in live broadcasts, which would open the door to a real -time surveillance system capable of following people even when their faces are not visible. Covering your face no longer guarantees anonymity. Until now, avoid facial recognition systems It was possible with hairstylelarge glasses, disruptive makeup or garments designed to confuse algorithms. But Track works differently. It does not depend on the face, but on general visual patterns. You can follow a figure through multiple videos analyzing complexion, clothes or way of moving. Of course, he needs a starting point: someone should mark the person before starting tracking. Even so, its logic doubts many of the classic strategies to avoid being identified. And privacy? Although this technology does not use biometric data in the strict sense, such as faces or footprints, it is based on physical and aesthetic attributes that can be repeated frequently. As Mit Technology Review collectsACLU, an American civil rights defense organization, warns that tools such as track could significantly expand surveillance capabilities. On the other hand, some digital rights specialists underline that continuous tracking through different video sources could be functionally equivalent to facial recognition. An alternative that can avoid the current legal framework. As Track is not based on traditional biometric characteristics, many of the laws that regulate facial recognition in different parts of the world would not be applied directly. This does not mean that the surveillance is less, but that it operates from another technical angle, less regulated for now. The tool is thus positioned in a gray terrain. It offers advanced monitoring without formally invading the biometric space, but its practical effects are dangerously approaching those who have already generated concern with automated facial identification. Images | Xataka with XAI | Alex Knight In Xataka | The intentions of the United Kingdom with Apple are a nightmare for privacy. That of the British and that of the whole world In Xataka | Alibaba wants to be the new Deepseek: he claims to have a training method for his AI 88% cheaper

After decades of success, the restaurant day menu faces its great crisis and a dilemma: reinvent or die

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A few weeks ago the veteran articulist David Sharrock published in The Times A wide report about Madrid gastronomy. So far not surprising. That in Spain we enjoy a good kitchen, with large dishes, chefs, restaurants and ingredients is no surprise. The funny thing is that in his analysis Sharrock does not talk about that. The focus focused on another symbol of homeland cuisine, one that passes through low hours and faces the complex challenge of adapting to the 21st century: THE DAY MENU. Sharrock warns that the lifelong menu is “threatened by modern life.” And he is not the only one who thinks like that. A figure: four million. The menu of the day is an institution in the bars of Spain. And for several reasons. The first, its long tradition, which can be traced at least 60 years agowhen in the time of Fraga Iribarne as Minister of Information the Francoist Government established that a good part of the food stores offered a menu at a fixed price. The goal: to enhance tourism. The second key that demonstrates to what extent the formula of the daily menu has penetrated in Spanish gastronomy is its level of implementation. The Spain hospitality association estimates that some are dispatched every day four million throughout the country, which leads to its general secretary, Emilio Gallego, to claim your acceptance. “The menu of the day remains a spectacular success formula,” he says. A price: € 14. Hospitality in Spain has not only calculated how many menus are served daily in the country’s restaurants. At the end of last year he published A report in which goes beyond and analyzes its prices, profitability and the differences between regions. Your main conclusion? That at least in 2024 the average cost of the menu of the day in Spain was around 14 euros, although there are cities in which this figure is quite higher. In Bilbao, for example, the average was 15.5 and Barcelona in 15.1, although there are those who clarify that it results today “Almost impossible” Find a menu in the center of Barcelona for less than 16 euros. Are all strengths? No. The menu perhaps enjoy a long tradition and is rooted in the hospitality of Spain, but on its horizon they appear clouds. And one of them (and the most important) is found in its price. Although its rates increased by 19.5% between 2016 and 2024 (which in practice translates into 11.7 to 14 euros), hospitality in Spain remember that this accumulated increase remains below the general CPI (23.4%) and is much lower than that of food and beverages or the one that In your day They reached certain key products in kitchens, such as olive oil. Between 2023 and 2024 the menus did rise above the general price index, but despite that rebound, of 80 cents on average, the collective recalls that there are many hoteliers to which it is difficult for their businesses to give benefits. To be more precise, They cite a study which reveals that 42.3% of entrepreneurs claim to have experienced a “loss of profitability” during the last year, especially due to the increase in salary costs, food and supplies. At the end of 2024 almost a third of the restaurants (32.5%) admitted that their menus had not increased that year. “Totally in danger”. The hospitality data of Spain give a track of the first great challenge facing the menus for their survival: profitability. To succeed, a menu of the day must offer a range of attractive dishes and a certain variety, but it must also convince in another crucial aspect: the price. The key is how to fit that list (high quality, variety and low price) and at the same time the business gets more than cover costs. A few months ago a hotelman from Vigo I recognized to The country That, despite the fact that his bar was small and that he takes care of almost everything, so that his offer is “viable” needs to sell at least 40 daily menus at a price of 15 euros. “Below that figure, it will only serve to cover costs.” “It is totally in danger, and fortunately, because it is not a sustainable model for the hotelier,” Point to the same newspaper Paco Cruz, The Food Manager, speaking precisely about the state of health of the menus. In his opinion, the formula is profitable basically in certain businesses, with a good flow of clients and experience. The AI, to the rescue. “The customer of the menu of the day wants first five, five seconds and variety every day. But what do you do with what is left over? If everyone asks for the same, what about the dishes that are not requested? The losses are brutal and that is unsustainable from any point of view: economic, ethical and environmental,” Add Cruz. The challenge is so complex that there are those who have already sought help in AI, as Fusion was checked in Madridwhere chef Eneko Atxa and physicist Eneko Axpe presented a tool designed to design attractive menus … and above all profitable. Objective: efficiency. “Inflation is almost 40%. The diner says they are charging me more, 19.5, but the hotelier has a hard time doing 39.2 more,” recalled During the ATXA presentation before adding to that price increase the increase in rentals and energy. The objective of the delight tool is precisely to look for “an orderly efficiency” in the menu, maximize the benefit and seek maximum efficiency in the number of chefs, customers and purchase. “The menu is an immaterial good in our culture and one of the challenges and problems facing hoteliers and diners,” Axpe points out. Cost of costs (and something else). Although inflation and imbalance between the rise in prices and salaries is one of the great challenges of the menu of the day, it is not the only one. As Sharrock points out in Your chronicle of The Times The format … Read more

TSMC is being investigated by the US. It faces a possible fine of 1,000 million dollars, according to Reuters

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TSMC is at a crossroads. This manufacturer of Taiwanese semiconductors, The Major on the Planetis subject to an investigation of the US Commerce Department Since October 2024. The organization that Gina Raimondo then led suspected that this company could secretly arrived agreements with Huawei to take care of the manufacture of your semiconductors for smartphones and applications of artificial intelligence (AI). At the current situation of tension between the US and China this accusation is very serious. The US government definitely included Huawei in its blacklist in 2020, and one of the immediate consequences of this decision was that TSMC should stop producing semiconductors for this Chinese company. Two years later, in October 2022, the US administration decided to include All the Chinese semiconductor industry In his blacklist, which further cut the TSMC client portfolio. Fortunately for this company, Everything seemed to be clarified just a month ago. Finally, TSMC is likely to be unscathed from this conflict In December 2024 TSMC broke its commercial relationship with Powerair, a Singapore company that, apparently, was responsible for delivering to Huawei the chip manufactured by TSMC that appeared on the card for the Ascend 910b. Interestingly, this was the second company presumably responsible for reaching Huawei integrated circuits produced by TSMC. In 2023 this last company stopped offering its manufacturing service to the Chinese Chips Design Company Sophgo to illegally mediate with Huawei. The CSIS has accused TSMC of having made two million Ascend 910 chips indirectly for Huawei However, their problems did not end here. At the beginning of last March the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), An American organization that is dedicated to elaborating strategies that seek to guarantee the security of the US, accused TSMC of have manufactured indirectly for HuaweI For 2024, no less than two million chips of the Ascend 910. With these integrated circuits this Chinese company could have produced a huge number of units of its ascend 910c solution, which is currently its hardware for the most advanced. The most interesting thing was that the CSIS argued that Huawei had once again resorted to “ghost” companies that acted as intermediaries between her and TSMC. However, the author of the report did not exculpate the Taiwanese company: “TSMC manufactured large amounts of Ascend 910b of Huawei in the name of ghost companies and sent them to China, thus violating US export controls.” This is the reason why, According to Reutersthis integrated circuit manufacturer could receive a fine of billion dollars, or even more, from the Department of Commerce. US regulation establishes that in this context The sanction can ascend twice the value of the transactions that have violated export restrictions, which could place this fine as one of the highest in history by this type of infraction. Image | TSMC More information | Reuters In Xataka | The US tariffs are already hurting two of the companies that support Taiwan’s economy: TSMC and Foxconn

Elon Musk fired 6,000 employees two weeks ago. Now the US faces the massive entry of invasive species

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Elon Musk had several weeks ago that his efficiency department (Doge) has an advantage over the rest: they work 120 hours a week. Incredible that their words are, the facts seem to be proved, because the strenuous working days have led more than an alarming calculation error between mass dismissals and dismantling key programs. Latest: release To so many people that the country’s health controls have weakened. Administrative errors. It Wired counted in a report where he took stock since the creation of the Doge office. In just a few weeks, their actions had included the publication of classified information by accidentthe desperate dismissal and recontraction of Nuclear Safety Expertsor the erroneous inflation of governmental “savings” In 7,992 million dollars. For the medium, the failures They reflect a combination of technological arrogance and absolute ignorance of the government’s functioning, with potentially catastrophic consequences. Risks in food safety. Doge has implemented an unprecedented purge within several government agencies, but few dismissals reflect the climate of chaos such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) such an excessive scissors that has triggered a Crisis in Food Safety and trade, leaving the country vulnerable to invasive species and the increase in food. The reason? With the elimination of 6,000 jobs in Februarythe USDA lost a significant part of its highly trained personnel, including inspectors, biologists and coaches of detector dogs that protected American agriculture of pest and zoonotic diseases. In fact, Derek Copeland, former National Dog Detection Training Center coach, warned that the reduction Personnel affects the ability to detect threats such as the giant African snail or the Asian beetle of long horns, which could have devastating consequences for local crops and ecosystems. Blow to inspection and biosafety. There are more. The protection and quarantine units have been of the most affectedwith the loss of hundreds of inspectors, which has significantly reduced controls on agricultural imports. According to experts, this lack of personnel has converted inspections into A chaotic and disorganized processespecially in key ports such as Los Angeles and Miami, who have seen 35% reductions in their quarantine staff and up to 60% in their smuggling detection team. This, in turn, has generated delays in merchandise processing, which could translate into a price increase in supermarkets and a massive waste of foods that are spoiled while waiting to be inspected. Impact on economy and commerce. The damage is not limited to agricultural security. Mike Lahar, regulatory affairs manager at the Deringer customs broken National Security. It’s not A trivial theme. A single error in the detection of a plague I could tithe whole cropswhich would affect not only farmers but the entire food supply chain. In addition, the accumulation of containers without inspection is affecting other industrial sectors, as shipments are being stranded, reducing the availability of essential goods and raising costs for consumers and companies. Legal uncertainty. Trump’s government has defended cuts as An efficiency measurebut the repercussions have generated alarm. Republican senators, like Joni Ernst, previously They supported the program Of pest detection with dogs, but they have avoided ruling on the dismissals. Two federal judges have ordered reinstallation Of dismissed employees, but the White House has described these decisions as “absurd and unconstitutional,” leaving thousands of workers in uncertainty. Meanwhile, the USDA has announced a 45 -day break in the dismissals, but without guarantees of rectation for those affected. Collapse in agri -food security. If the crisis persists, experts warn about a possible scenario similar to that of pandemic, with a shortage of certain products and a Food inflation driven by lack of control in the ports. In this regard, Joe Hudicka, veteran of the supply chain industry, anticipates that large cities and supermarkets can better absorb the impact, but rural communities and small businesses will be the most affected. For his part, Kit Johnson, director of Commercial Compliance at John S. James, warns that the reduction of inspections could lead to An agricultural catastrophe If invasive species manage to establish themselves without being detected. Undecatization? Wired counted that experts slide two hypotheses to try to explain the disaster caused by Doge. The first is that the initiative never intended to make the government more efficient, but simply dismantle agencies to pave the path to privatization and obtain access to sensitive government data. Under this logic, the elimination of regulations and administrative chaos would favor the intervention of private companies in key sectors such as defense, agriculture and security. The second hypothesis is that Musk and his team really believe in their mission, but they completely lack the skills to execute it, replicating that arrogance that is presupposed to Silicon Valley by assuming that the ability to build software translates into competition to handle the government apparatus. In other words: Musk can be a genius in certain areas, but his performance as a “de facto CEO” of the government is increasingly close to a failure. Consequences. Thus, the destruction caused by Doge not only affects government efficiency, but can have economic and geopolitical implications In the long term. The purge of thousands of employees has triggered unemployment and generated instability in key sectors, which could have recessive effects on the economy. The decision to dismantle critical areas such as those of the USDA have weakened key plots such as Food security and agricultural protection of the nation at a time when the supply chain already faces challenges such as The aviar flu and the Commercial disputes with China. Meanwhile, as ports begin to feel the effects of the lack of inspections, concern grows between farmers, merchants and consumers. If the situation is not reversed, the country could face an unprecedented agricultural crisis. Image | Gage Skidmore, US Department In Xataka | In his eagerness to attack the public sector, Elon Musk has crossed a line: distorting the story of Hitler and Stalin In Xataka | Elon Musk has revealed the formula of his team’s success. The problem is that they barely have time to sleep and … Read more

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