money

Your price increases are illegal and you must return the money. There are those who will receive a 500 euro refund

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We ended last March with news: Netflix the price went up again. It is true that the measure applies exclusively to the United States, but taking into account that it is already its umpteenth time, we know its modus operandi: it is the canary in the mine of a probable global rise that will also affect Europe. And despite saying that it has been the umpteenth price increase for Netflix, it always comes as a bit of a surprise: after all, it is the second price increase in just two years. However, it is the clear trend in the sector. Paradoxically, just a few days later, a court in Rome has issued a historic ruling against Ted Sarandos’ platform: declare Netflix’s price increases between 2017 and 2024 illegal. The sentence. The Roman court has declared that the contractual clauses that allow Netflix to unilaterally modify its prices and conditions of service without indicating a justified reason are void and contrary to the Italian Consumer Code. The ruling covers price increases applied between 2017 and January 2024, that is, subscription price increases implemented in 2017, 2019, 2021 and November 2024 (unless your contractual relationship with the platform was after January 2024). As a consequence, it recognizes the right of those who have a subscription on the platform to a reduction in the current price of the subscription, to the refund of amounts unduly paid and to compensation for damages. In addition, it forces Netflix to publish the content of the ruling on its website and in the main national newspapers. within 90 daysas well as to inform its users. Why is it important. Because it establishes a relevant legal precedent in Europe: streaming platforms cannot raise prices arbitrarily and unilaterally based on generic clauses. It is not that Netflix cannot raise its prices (like any other company), but that it did so without contractual justification, which the court considers an abuse. This ruling lays the foundations to demand from digital platforms more transparency and rigor in their contracts with consumers. Context. The lawsuit comes from the Movimento Consumitori association (Italian consumers), which brought the case before the Court of Rome denouncing continued price increases from Netflix without explanation. Italian law requires that, if a company reserves the right to unilaterally modify a contract (ius variandi), you must specify from the beginning what causes could justify that change. Netflix did not do this: its contracts simply said that it could change the price whenever it wanted without giving reasons, the critical clauses are 3.5 and 6.4. The court considers that giving 30 days’ notice and allowing cancellation is not enough since when someone subscribes to the platform they do not know under what conditions the service may become more expensive. In April 2025 Netflix modified its terms of use linking possible changes to specific causes, such as service improvements, regulatory demands or technological requirements. How it affects users. Each subscribed person will have the right to a reduction in the current price, to a refund of more in that period and to compensation, which according to the Italian consumer association must be made spontaneously, although you can join the class action lawsuit in case that is not the case. The ruling requires Netflix to reduce the prices of its current subscriptions by an amount equal to the illegal increases. We see it better with an example: if you are premium and activated your subscription in 2017, today you pay 19.99 euros but you are entitled to the service for 11.99 euros. If you are a standard customer, you would go from paying 13.99 euros to 9.99 euros. And be careful, because this measure applies both to those who currently have a subscription and to former customers within that period. Up to 500 euros refund. MC lawyers explainPaolo Fiorio and Corrado Pinna, that for the premium plan, the illegal increases applied in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024 amount to 8 euros per month, for the standard plan they add up to a total of 4 euros per month and for the basic, 2 euros per month. Thus, a premium customer who has paid Netflix continuously from 2017 to today is entitled to a refund of approximately 500 euros, while a standard rate customer is entitled to a refund of approximately 250 euros. Italy is the tip of the iceberg. Although the case has been reported in Italy, in other countries on the old continent there are also lawsuits filed against the platform: Netherlands also has a demand similar budding, FACUA reported it in Spain (yes ok still no progress) and in Germany the European Audiovisual Observatory echoes that the courts of Berlin and Cologne have already ruled in the same direction. The basis is the same in all cases: the European Directive 93/13/EECwhich prohibits abusive clauses that generate a significant imbalance between the rights of the company and those of the consumer. Netflix’s reaction. Immediately after learning of the Roman ruling, the platform declared its intention to appeal: “We will appeal the decision. At Netflix, our subscribers come first. We take consumer rights very seriously and we believe that our conditions have always been in line with Italian regulations and practices,” as reported by Reuters. The appeal could modify or even reverse the ruling, so the case is not closed. However, the pressure on Netflix and the reputational damage has already been done. Netflix has always been the vanguard of the sector, so the future of this litigation could mark a before and after in the streaming sector. In Xataka | The best new movies and series to watch in April 2026 on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and streaming In Xataka | Netflix’s umpteenth price increase illustrates a reality: streaming is already as expensive as what it came to improve Cover | KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA

Spain awarded 20 million euros to Stellantis to create jobs in Galicia. Europe has prevented the money from being delivered

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20,660,434 euros. That was the aid that the Government of Spain granted in 2017 to PSA (now Stellantis after its merger with FCA) as “regional incentives for the correction of territorial economic imbalances.” Just two years later, the European Commission already doubted the appropriateness of this aid. Almost a decade after its delivery, Stellantis will have to return the money. 20.7 million euros. It was the money given by Mariano Rajoy’s Government in 2017 to the automobile conglomerate PSA. The company, then directed by Carlos Tavares, had been looking for money framed within the “Industrial Plan 2014-2020” in which funds from the European Union were available. The Spanish subsidiary of PSA, known as PCAE, requested aid of 392 million euros in 2014 to carry out the necessary actions to modernize the plant and launch a new model. The aid program was expanded, with another 100 million in subsequent years because PSA was going to produce a new vehicle platform and a new SUV car in Vigo. In 2017, shortly before Mariano Rajoy left Moncloa, the Government of Spain provided the aforementioned aid of 20.7 million euros since it corresponded to the maximum percentage allowed with respect to the investment that was planned to be used. many doubts. In 2019the European Commission was already beginning to doubt the legality or compatibility of this aid. In a document submitted thenquestioned whether the subsidies provided were meeting the criteria to create employment in the area. In said letter, PSA was already invited and the Government of Spain has explained the reason for this aid. In that document, the European Commission questioned whether the positive effects of the aid outweighed the negative ones and, therefore, that the decision to financially support the company with those more than 20 million euros was not economically doping its commitment to our country instead of taking production to the Trnava plant (Slovakia) with which Vigo competed. According to the European Commission, it believed that both plants were competing on equal terms and that the socioeconomic context of the Slovaks was no worse than that of Vigo. Furthermore, they pointed out that the defense that this aid helped preserve employment in Galicia in the face of a possible relocation to Morocco (a position defended by Spain) was not sufficient because PSA had already previously relocated other vehicles that were previously manufactured in Spain. Seven years of research. Already in 2020, Europe continued to defend that the Commission had its doubts “regarding the contribution of investment projects to the development of the region in question”, as they stated in elDiario.es. Then it was thought that the company’s true intention was to improve the factory facilities with the sole objective of improving the company’s competitiveness but that it had nothing to do with an improvement in innovation and local investments. There were even doubts about the compatibility of being able to deliver these aid to a company like PCAE (the Spanish subsidiary of PSA). One of the most compelling reasons presented by the European Commission is, as they point out in The Worldthe choice of the Vigo company to the detriment of the Slovaks. And it is considered that opting for a more economically developed region to receive aid contravenes the principles of cohesion of the European Union, which prevents the delivery of this type of subsidies. Case closed. Now, the Government of Spain has notified the European Commission that it is withdrawing the subsidy of 20.7 million euros. He has done it because he cannot prove its legality. As the money has not yet been delivered, the European Commission has closed the investigation, they explain in the Galician media. praza.gal. At this time, Spain has not been able to demonstrate that the number of jobs increased after the aid was granted nor that it represented an economic boost in the region. In fact, it was possible that the number of jobs could even be reduced, as they point out in Motorpassion. During this time, the money has not been delivered because it remained frozen with the European investigation. Now we know that Stellantis will not charge it. Photo | Stellantis In Xataka | The Stellantis factory in Figueruelas has been looking for a reconversion plan for years. You already have it: make Chinese electric cars

Paying more for a very fast NVMe SSD is wasting money if you only save PDFs, but it is the only option if you are also going to work from it

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Like me, you have probably also at some point faced the purchase of a new storage unit, internal or external, for your desktop PC or portable. Something that, until a few years ago, was quite simplified: either you chose a 5,400 rpm HDD (revolutions per minute), or you chose one of 7,200 rpm. End of story. To something else. But since SSDs came onto the scene, purchasing (and usage) possibilities have changed a lot, making opting for one type or another is not so simple. Today, taking into account the price differences between HDDs (the “old” mechanical disks) and SSDs (the “modern” solid state drives), the choice is clear: SSDs win by a landslide, offering wide capacities and much, much higher speeds. Although well, the current context of AI surcharges It changes the film a little and, whatever purchase we make now, it will entail a greater outlay. But this shouldn’t last forever and, under normal conditions, SSDs are still the best value for money purchase option for general use. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links So, well, you already have one thing clear: to expand capacity, in general terms, the ideal in 2026 is to go for an SSD. However, the choice is not so simple because different technologies and different models come into the field of SSDs, each with a series of advantages and disadvantages. All of them, valid for any use you plan to give them, be careful. But not all of them cost the same and, depending on what you need your new unit for, Smart purchasing will tip the balance on one side or the other. And your pocket, of course, will thank you for choosing carefully. In other words and to give them first and last names: in a scenario in which you need more space for your PC or portable and you have to go through the checkout to expand it using an SSD, you will have to choose between an NVMe SSD or a SATA SSD (which are the main types of SSD that are generally sold). The first, more expensive and faster. The second, cheaper and slower. AND each one, in its proper context, shines with its own light. Next we are going to see how they differ and why they are a better purchase option compared to their rival, depending on the context. And thus pay more if the situation requires it or save as much as possible if you are not going to take advantage of its full potential. SATA SSD: not as fast but cheaper When SSDs burst onto the scene, they did so in a format we know as SATA. In units of different sizes (although also ostensibly more compact than mechanical HDDs) that are still commonly marketed in 2.5-inch models. If you have a laptop or desktop PC from a couple of decades ago, probably contains one of these. These SSD units were, at the time, night and day compared to mechanical HDDs. What used to take you half an hour to wait was suddenly completed in minutes. And also, without noise. The “problem” is that today, with much more modern and faster units (spoiler: NVMe), this type of SSD have been relegated more to pure storage than as devices for daily work. That is to say: what we once stored on HDDs, we now do on these SSDs. A digital storage room that, in any case, is much faster and makes it easier (and faster) to move large amounts of data and copy and paste files. In addition, the SATA SSD is probably the only option when it comes to somewhat “old” laptops: today, practically all models come with an M.2 connector (where the NVMe are installed), but if you have a laptop that is a few years old (around 2018 or earlier) it will probably not have said connector and the 2.5-inch SATA SSD is the one you will have to use. If you are also using a mechanical HDD, the change will be spectacular. Does this mean they are a bad choice? Not at all, they’re still great in 2026… but especially for what I’m doing: storing. Because if what you need is a “hard drive” on which to install the operating system, applications and games, or on which work intensively on tasks that require constant writing and reading of data (such as video editing), then you will be limited. This leads us to the next model: NVMe SSD. NVMe SSDs: faster and more expensive While SATA SSDs are somewhat larger and slower (but cheaper), NVMe SSDs are a rocket. The quickest and most direct way to describe them is: speed, speed, speed. While the former would become a one-lane national highway, the latter become a highway with eight lanes in each direction. This means that if a sporadic car (some file, such as PDFs) is going to pass through these “roads”, SATA is enough for you; If you need several heavy trucks moving at the same time (video editing, for example, with thousands of MB of data moving at full speed) then That national highway will collapse and there is no choice but to drive on the highway.. NVMe SSDs also stand out in design: they are compact, stylish and very small. The inseparable companion of any current desktop or laptop PCbut also in video game consoles by offering better performance in all types of tasks and taking up less space (something vital, for example, in the case of consoles). In fact, this is the type of SSD that the PlayStation 5, the Steam Deck… come with in the M.2 connectors that they incorporate. Connector that, by the way, has been present on practically any desktop or laptop motherboard for a few years now. This type of SSD is more expensive than its SATA relatives, but that extra financial effort is worth it if, in addition to storing data as such, you plan to work on them. … Read more

We are stuffing ourselves with supplements because of the networks. Science points out that we are almost always wasting money

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A scene that can be quite common (or at least it has happened to me) is opening TikTok and, at some point, between cat videos and recipes that seem very simple, a person appears and explains why. Magnesium will change our lives. Sleeping poorly, having anxiety, muscle pain or even going constipated These are some of the claims that constantly bombard us so that we end up supplementing our diet with some of the products that are available (and that are not cheap). The problem is that it is getting out of hand. A great use. Get out of bed and, before drinking your first coffee, there is already a row of pills that you have to take to start the day: vitamin D, creatinethe ashwagandhamagnesium… A real ‘skincare‘but for the metabolism, which is becoming more and more aggressive. According to 2024 datain the United States 61.72% of adults take some type of dietary supplementation, and the figure has been growing for years. But the worst of all is that, of this high percentage, almost half of the people take it independently, without following the advice of a doctor who has been able to detect the deficiency of a specific vitamin. The problem of networks. A systematic review of 82 studies published in Healthcare in 2025 analyzed the impact of social networks in health behaviors between the years 2010 and 2025. Here he was able to identify health misinformation as one of the five categories that dominated the digital content ecosystem, since these platforms function as tools that dictate what to do to be healthy, even if there is no evidence behind it. What encourages all this is nothing more than a business model that is seeing as its income they don’t stop increasing. And logically here it is not interesting to point out that the vast majority of people can receive these ‘miraculous’ minerals thanks to a varied diet. And everything that is taken in excess can end up being excreted very well. What does science say? In 2022, a study focused on vitamin supplements and minerals to prevent the appearance of cardiovascular diseases or even cancer, the truth is that it was very revealing. The conclusion here was that for beta-carotene, vitamin E supplements or multivitamins there was not enough evidence to say that they were positive for health. But they weren’t very harmful either. If we go further, a published meta-analysis in it Journal of the American College of Cardiology In 2022, it reviewed 884 randomized clinical trials with 883,627 participants on 27 types of micronutrients. The picture is nuanced but clear in general terms: vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E and selenium showed no effect on cardiovascular disease. Beta-carotene, again, increased overall mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and stroke risk. But there are exceptions with omega-3 that did reduce the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular mortality. Magnesium. Without a doubt, the revolution of the moment, since it seems to be used for absolutely everything. In 2020 it already appeared a review on magnesium oral to see if it actually reduced muscle cramps, and the truth is that the conclusion was that it was unlikely to provide clinically significant relief to older adults with night cramps. This does not mean that magnesium is useless in all contexts. It means that if you are a healthy adult who takes magnesium because “a TikTok influencer recommended it to you for cramps” you are wasting your money. But if it is taken because an analysis has confirmed that magnesium levels are below normal, it can be very useful. Vitamin D. A few years ago this was the fashionable supplement for everyone, since it was sold that there was a general deficit among the population. In this case, the experts pointed out that vitamin D should not be supplemented on a general basis in healthy adults under 75 years of age to reduce the risk of disease. There is evidence in favor of supplementation in specific groups such as children and adolescents to prevent diseases such as rickets, people over 75 years of age to reduce mortality, and pregnant women to reduce the risk of preeclampsia and premature birth. In this way, supplementation is useful, but always with medical advice behind it that sees it justified to send a vitamin supplement. When to take them? The honest answer is: in specific and well-defined contexts, with clear clinical indication and as preventive life insurance to avoid all diseases. In some cases it is clear that it must be done, such as folic acid in pregnancies, vitamin B12 in vegan diets or vitamin D in groups with documented deficiencies. But what doesn’t make sense is taking a daily cocktail of eight supplements because we have been sold that it is necessary for our body to ‘start’. But it also has the logic of why we take it, since we have a constant feeling that we need to be more rested, focused and healthier. Here supplements offer us this very easy solution: with a pill. The problem is that our body works with constant balances and no matter how much we throw at it, it will not respond as we can expect. Images | Jellybee MIND FAVOR In Xataka | Magnesium has become the star supplement for sleep. Science is clear about who it really works with (and who it doesn’t)

The generational conflict with Generation Z is costing us a lot of money: $56 billion

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There is a silent war in offices around the world over the focus on AI adoption at work. It has no declared sides or visible battles, but its devastating effects already have a price: a scandalously high one. We are not talking about employees who lose their jobs because an AI does its jobwe talk about an intergenerational war that has been declared between the baby boom generation and generation Z due to the discrepancy of use of this technology. The damage it is causing that confrontation It is not nonsense: almost one working day lost per week for each employee, in addition to projects that do not progress and burnt-out workers who, instead of looking for solutions, are looking for a new job. A very very expensive war. A published study by Salesloft and the consulting firm Workplace Intelligence based on surveys of 2,000 employees, puts figures on the intergenerational battle for the implementation of AI and other technologies that is being experienced in some US companies: 56,000 million dollars a year in terms of lost productivity due to conflict between generations. These losses are not due to misuse or ignorance of technology or lack of employee performance, but because boomers and Gen Z have communication problems and have different expectations about balance between work and personal life. A day’s work wasted for not understanding each other. That conflict between employees more veterans and those who have just joined, translates into a combined loss of 5.3 hours per week of lost productivity for each employee. Steve Cox, CEO of Salesloft, explained the phenomenon in his report: “The $56 billion productivity loss is just the visible cost. When AI adoption is fragmented, the damage multiplies and leads to missed forecasts, slower execution, and higher turnover quarter after quarter. At that point, generational conflict is not a culture problem; it is a balance problem.” They prefer to talk to a bot. A relevant fact from the study indicates that 39% of Generation Z respondents say they prefer to be directed by an AI than by a boomer, while 25% of boomers prefer to work with an AI than with a fellow Gen Z. That’s how heated the mood is. The tensions do not remain only in the environment, this intergenerational friction is causing 28% of Generation Z workers to acknowledge that they are looking for another job so they don’t have to work with boomers. Similarly, 19% of boomers say they are considering early retirementpartly because he can’t stand his younger colleagues anymore. AI, gasoline or solution? Although many of them have indicated that they prefer to have a bot as a boss rather than someone from the “rival” generation, artificial intelligence is aggravating the situation instead of softening it. The problem is that 64% of employees admit that they are not even using the AI ​​tools they already have available well. The study reveals that 60% of boomers surveyed believe the way Gen Z uses technology is hurting customer relationships. Young people, on the other hand, respond in the same tone: 64% think that boomers’ resistance to adopting new tools is slowing down innovation, and 63% say that this attitude is costing them many sales. However, there is room for optimism because both generations agree in some aspects. 86% of respondents believe that AI could improve knowledge sharing between generations, 80% that it could reduce the experience gap, and 79% of participants believe that it could improve communication between teams of different ages. The clash is not just about AI: it is about values. Beyond the tools and the adoption of technology, the underlying problem is values ​​at work. 71% of Gen Z respondents believe boomers value plus the hours in the chair than the results obtained, and 56% point them out as those responsible for the toxic environment that exists in many companies. On the other hand, 64% of more veteran employees believe that Gen Z puts your personal life ahead of the job needs. The assessment of these employees is correct and confirms it a study on job preferences among generation Z prepared by the consulting firm Robert Walters. 52% of the young people interviewed stated that avoided promotions to not take on more responsibilities that were not going to translate into economic benefits or a great evolution in their work career, but rather into more stress and loss of work. time for your personal life. In Xataka | We have found the “kryptonite” of Generation Z: they are experts in apps, but they don’t know how to use a printer Image | Freepik (pch.vector)

Taking money from a family member just before their death seemed like a great idea to avoid paying taxes. It wasn’t

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Why should an additional tax be paid for receiving money in inheritance for which the deceased already paid taxes? Many people ask that question and They decide to jump into the mountains (prosecutor) trying a thousand and one tricks to avoid payment of the Donations and Inheritance Tax. The most common trick is to empty bank accounts of the family member before he or she dies. Spoiler: it goes wrong. A solved case by the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid shows that this belief can be very expensive, and that the attempt to avoid the treasury can end up exactly where one wanted to avoid arriving: paying the Treasury even more than what they would have paid in the beginning. Money, what money? A woman was listed as the owner or authorized person on several of her sister’s bank accounts. In September 2017, this died without leaving a will. When the General Directorate of Taxes of the Community of Madrid began to investigate the case, it found that the deceased’s assets were much larger than what her sister wanted to make out. As of December 31, 2016, the three bank accounts of the deceased accumulated considerable balances: one with 9,217.08 euros, another with 51,216.58 euros and a third with 132,644.53 euros, in which the sister appeared directly as joint owner. In addition to these savings, the deceased had received 45,000 euros in April 2017 for the sale of her part of a property that she shared with her sister. By December 31, 2017, all the money in the accounts was gone. The Treasury calculated that the total money and assets that should have been declared in the inheritance amounted to 122,931.67 euros, to which was added the value of 50% of a property in Hoyo de Manzanares valued at 1,812.50 euros. ​No resignation possible. The sister responded to the first requests from the Treasury by assuring that the deceased had died without assets. Some time later he provided a notarial document of renunciation of inheritance dated September 29, 2020, more than three years after death occurred. His argument was that he did not know that his sister had assets, and that the only movements he had made in the deceased’s accounts were payment procedures for the residence where he received care his sister in her last month of life. The court that reviewed the case in the first instance initially agreed with him, considering that this payment could be interpreted as timely management. However, the Community of Madrid, in charge of collecting the tax, appealed and the TSJM resolved differently. Although in theory you can renounce an inheritance at any time during the process, doing so after having acted on the deceased’s assets has tax consequences that no notarial deed can erase. What does it mean to accept an inheritance without wanting to do so?. In Spain, you do not need to sign any paper to legally become an heir. The law includes in its article 999.3 the figure of tacit acceptance, which occurs when someone acts on the assets of a deceased as if they were already theirs, even if they have never confirmed acceptance of inheritance. Withdrawing money from your accounts, selling your property or simply managing your assets are examples of actions that, in the eyes of the law, are equivalent to saying “yes, I accept”, even if no paper has been signed.​​ The problem is that many people are not aware of this rule and believe that as long as they do not sign anything before a notary, they are safe. In reality, what matters is not what is signed, but what is done. The Supreme Court takes decades establishing that any act that unequivocally reveals that someone he is behaving like an heireven if informally or even unconsciously, has the same legal and fiscal effects as an express acceptance of the inheritance.​ What the law says about disappearing money. The TSJM applied the article 11.1.a of the Inheritance and Donation Tax Lawwhich establishes that the assets that would have belonged to the deceased up to one year before his death They are considered part of the inheritanceunless proven otherwise by solid evidence. Not only did the sister not provide any explanation as to what had happened to that money, but she did not even try throughout the entire process. The court also assessed that the deceased was admitted to a nursing home and was receiving special care, which made it highly unlikely that she would have been able to manage the withdrawal of the money from her accounts on her own. Given that the sister was the owner or authorized owner of all of them, the judges concluded that moving that money was equivalent, in the eyes of the law, to having accepted the inheritance. Pay the tax, but get rid of the fine. The TSJ of Madrid confirmed that the woman had to pay 26,217.11 euros as settlement of the Inheritance Tax for her sister’s inheritance. However, the judges annulled the fine of 17,999.73 euros that the Madrid treasury demanded, because the Community of Madrid failed to prove that the woman had acted with the deliberate intention of deceiving the treasury, something that the law requires before being able to impose a financial penalty of that type. In Xataka | The “Great Transfer of Wealth” is not only a thing for the rich: demographic change will concentrate wealth among the youngest Image | Pexels (cottonbro studio)

Sam Altman has had another great idea to finally charge the user all the money he needs: a receipt at the end of the month

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We are used to pay the electricity bill or water because they have become basic and totally universal goods. Well, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is clear that artificial intelligence will be exactly that: a commoditya basic and totally universal good. This implies, of course, that there will come a time when, just as we pay the electricity or water bill, we will pay the monthly AI bill. Paying for AI will be an everyday thing. Altman recently participated in an event in Washington DC and there raised an idea that has been around for a long time but is certainly gaining more and more strength: that AI will offer like electricity or water, on demand: as soon as you need it, it will be there for you. That, of course, will mean that just as we now pay for our electricity or water use, we will also pay for the AI ​​supply that we use. And we will do it at the end of the month with the traditional method: an invoice from our supplier. In Xataka The most powerful AI agent in the world has just arrived: the first thing it does is warn you that it is dangerous From consuming kW to consuming tokens. Thus, instead of paying fixed subscriptions as we usually do now when contracting ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro, for example, what we will do is pay that monthly bill. The amount we will pay will be based on how many “tokens“(processing units) we have consumed to solve all types of tasks. We have power plants, we will have data centers. To Altman this speech fits like a glovebecause it justifies its AI data center megaprojects —and those of the rest of the industry—. If AI is to become that universal basic resource, we will have to have the infrastructure (the “AI power plants”) to sustain it. Without such infrastructure, Altman warns, the price of “intelligence” will skyrocket, turning it into an exclusive privilege for the richest or a resource rationed by governments. Compute Yottaflops. That race for infrastructure has already begun, and big technology companies are fueling it. The reason is simple: either they enter that maelstrom or they risk being left out if the AI ​​revolution actually becomes a reality. Lisa Su, CEO of AMD, explained in her opening talk at CES 2026 that the world will need more than “10 yottaflops” of computing – 10,000 times more than the existing AI capacity in 2022 – in the next five years to be able to meet the demand posed by this massive use of AI. Chips missing… and a lot of energy. The real obstacle to achieving such computing capacity not only lies in the chips – the memory crisis is a side effect of this – but also in energy. data centers they consume a lotwhich makes national electrical networks can finish not having sufficient capacity to supply said energy. OpenAI will not stop spending. Greg Brockman, president of OpenAI, explained in December that their projects, no matter how gigantic they may seem, will go further. Although the company has already committed to investing $1.4 trillion with its partners in data centers over the next eight years, OpenAI wants to “get ahead of the future, but I don’t think we can be, no matter how ambitious we want to dream of being right now.” That is to say, he believes that all his estimates and projects may end up being dwarfed by the true scale to which AI can reach. {“videoId”:”xa1wtpm”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”Perplexity, Personal Computer”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”88″} Big Tech wants to bill you at the end of the month. Turn AI into a commodity For it to reach all homes would be an absolute triumph for the companies that are investing in it. The tech industry has not managed to direct its costs to the user other than in things like our internet connection or, at most, in our spending on streaming services —similar to current AI plans—. If it achieves that bill at the end of the month that hundreds (perhaps thousands) of millions of people would also pay, AI would become an extraordinary income machine. In Xataka | OpenClaw changed the rules of the AI ​​race. Technology companies already have their answer: copy it (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news Sam Altman has had another great idea to finally charge the user all the money he needs: a receipt at the end of the month was originally published in Xataka by Javier Pastor .

In London more and more people lose money when they sell their house. The question is whether it is the canary in Europe’s mine

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Located north of the Thames, Tower Hamlets is one of the districts most emblematic from London. In fact, it covers a large part of the East End, the historic center of the capital. For years (like most of the city) it also represented something else: a juicy market for those who wanted to invest in housing and achieve high returns. Not anymore. In 2025 about 30% Of the owners who got rid of their homes in that neighborhood (mostly apartments) had to do so for less money than they paid at the time. And it’s not just something that happens in Tower Hamlets. What has happened? That in London housing is no longer an infallible business. This is suggested at least by the latest study published by Hamptons, which reveals that in 2025 Londoners were the Britons most likely to lose money from the sale of their properties. Even more than its neighbors in the northeast of the United Kingdom, who have spent years leading the ranking. “Rising London house prices are no longer the safe bet they once seemed,” concludes the report, which is supported by the Property Registry. What do the figures say? that last year 14.8% of people Those who sold their home in London did so for less money than they originally paid. It may seem like a modest percentage, but it is striking for several reasons. To begin with because it is the largest in the entire United Kingdom. The national average is 8.7% and there are British regions where this indicator is much lower, such as Wales (6.2%), East Midlands (6.7%) or West Midlands (6.9%). London has effectively ousted Nort Easth, which had dominated the sales ranking with losses for the last decade. Is Tower Hamlets a unique case? No. Tower Hamlets is the London district where the trend is best appreciated, but is not the only one in which a significant proportion of homeowners (28.2%) have lost money by getting rid of their homes. In the City, 26.2% of sellers closed transactions in “red numbers”, in Kensington & Chelsea 22.4%, in Westminster 22.1% and in Hammersmith & Fulham 20.8%. Curiously, in the cheapest district of London, Barking & Dagenham, only that indicator is much lower: 5.3%. “In some cases, even homeowners who bought a decade ago risk getting back less than they paid, something almost unthinkable in 2015. And for many the sums are small,” the study insists. “In the coming years it is likely that more sellers will have missed out on the price boom that London experienced between 2012 and 2016, as they bought at the peak of the market.” Is there more data? Yes. The Hamptons report raises some interesting ideas. For example, most of the sales with losses (close to 90%) were carried out by apartments. If we talk about houses, the photo is somewhat different. Hamptons technicians recognize that in 2025 the average seller in London pocketed 172,500 pounds more than what they originally paid when purchasing their home, but they insist on the increase in sales at a loss: if in 2019 they represented 5.9%, in 2025 “red” operations already represented 14.8%. Is it the only report? No. Over recent months, more analyzes have been published showing that the London property market is not going through its best moment. There is talk of a price drop of 5.1% at the end of 2025 (which takes the market even further away from the 2022 data) and even from a sluggish prime housing market that will not rise until at least 2028. “In London, the growth of house prices is no longer a safe bet,” he explains to Financial Times Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons manager. There is studies which show that prices are declining in half of London’s neighborhoods, leaving a “two-speed” market: that of the most expensive (and volatile) areas and the cheapest, which has demonstrated greater resilience. In December Bloomberg warned that homes worth more than two million run the risk of depreciating, losing almost 5% of their value in one year. What is the reason? The big question. When explaining the London trend the analysts they point out several factors. One of the main ones is the regulatory change, marked by the end of discounts to the purchase of housing and a greater penalty for the purchase of second homes and houses as investments. The authorities have also focused on the prime segment, rethinking the status nom-dom for large foreign fortunes and raising local taxes for the most expensive properties. Added to the above is the influence of Brexit, the exorbitant prices that London reached in 2022 or how difficult it is for families to access the market, partly because the cost of rent neutralizes the ability to save. The question that some are already made is whether London is an isolated case or should be understood as a canary in the mine for other European capitals. Image | Benjamin Davies (Unsplash) In Xataka | Housing is getting so expensive that in the United Kingdom there are already people opting for plan B: living on boats

the Spanish space startup grows with Japanese money

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PLD Space has closed a Series C round of €180 million led by Mitsubishi Electric. With this injection, the Elche company exceeds the 350 million raised in total and has a clear path to carry out the first demonstration flight of its rocket Miura 5 before the end of 2026. Why is it important. Spain has very few technology companies capable of raising this type of money on a global scale. PLD Space has not only achieved this, but has done so by attracting a top-level Japanese manufacturer that is not coming to make a financial bet but to secure access to launches for its clients in Asia. That difference between a financial investor and a strategic investor changes everything. Between the lines. Mitsubishi Electric has also signed an MOU with Lockheed Martin to collaborate on geostationary defense satellites. That the same week in which he signs that agreement he also leads this round in PLD Space is no coincidence. Japan is building a chain of access to space so as not to depend on anyone, and PLD Space fits as a provider of low orbit launches for the constellation of satellites that that ecosystem needs. For the Spanish company, this means support that goes beyond capital: it is a seal of industrial credibility. In figures: 180 million euros raised in Series C. More than 350 million in total accumulated financing. Planned capacity of 30 launches per year by the end of the decade. The Miura 5 can place up to 1,080 kg in low orbit. Target production: 4 rockets in 2026, 6 in 2027. The context. Europe has had the problem of access to space on the table for years. The delays of Ariane 6 and the dependence on American launchers have made it clear that the continent does not have a mature private alternative. He European Launcher Challengewhich calls for a test flight of a higher-capacity rocket before 2028, has acted as an accelerator for PLD’s roadmap. The company already designs the Miura Nextdesigned precisely to meet that institutional challenge. The big question. PLD Space has proven that it can raise money and that it can fly hardware. He Miura 1suborbital rocket, completed its first launch in October 2023. But the jump to orbital is different. Many launch startups have raised hundreds of millions and have not reached orbit. The real test begins when the Miura 5 takes off from Kourou, whose facilities should be ready in July. Until then, money buys time, but not guarantees. In Xataka | “We are the company that has developed an orbital rocket the fastest”: PLD Space, one step away from making history from Spain Featured image | PLD Space

Nobody wants to take up weapons, but they are making money selling them

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Europe has accelerated your spending in defense up to levels that had not been seen since the end of the Cold War, driven by conflicts on its borders and a growing strategic uncertainty. The reflection has been a global arms market that is experiencing one of its more expansive cycles in decades, with long-term contracts and industrial chains that work at full capacity. In this context of rearmament and international repositioning, some countries face to a reality that goes beyond the numbers. For example, Spain. An industry that shoots record numbers. They counted this week in Spanish that, at the end of 2024 (last year for which official data is available), the Spanish defense industry touched 7,000 million of euros in exports, 10.6% more than the previous year, consolidating a model in which almost 70% of the sector’s sales depend on the foreign market. Three large companies (Airbus, Indra and Navantia) concentrate more than 70% of international business, and if Rheinmetall Expal and ITP Aero are added, five companies account for more than 80% of exports. According to the Ministry of Defense, the bulk comes from international programs such as the A400M or the Eurofighter, with the aeronautical subsector representing almost two-thirds of the total, while conventional weapons and missiles are growing strongly. Spain maintains ninth place in the world as an exporter, with 3% of the global marketand although it has lost positions compared to competitors such as Italy or Israel, its absolute numbers continue to increase. Ukraine as a showcase and accelerator. The war in Ukraine has been a catalyst. Since 2022, Spain has authorized more than 910 million euros in sales of defense material to kyiv, with a special weight of ammunition and projectiles, including more than 130,000 155 mm. Added to this are battle tanks, armored vehicles, missiles and direct donations that include everything from Harpoon systems to medicalized armored vehicles. Only in 2023 exports to Ukraine represented more than 150 millionand in the first half of 2024 they exceeded 130 million, increasing the relative weight of kyiv within the export group. In other words, Spain not only participates politically in the European effort, but has become a relevant supplier in a high-intensity conflict that consumes ammunition at an industrial rate. The paradox of the empty uniform. It we count this week. While the factories work at full capacity and the international contracts multiply, the interest of the Spanish population in joining the Armed Forces does not live his best moment. The social distance from the military profession, demographic aging and competition in the civilian labor market contrast with the strength of the defense industrial complex. Those 7 billion of euros summarize an uncomfortable reality in Spain: because there may be a lack of hands to take up weapons, but they are making money selling them to the rest of the planet. The country participates in fighters, produces radars, large-caliber ammunition or naval systems for third parties, while the internal debate revolves around vocations, working conditions and professional attractiveness. A model with recruitment on the other hand. The analysis of Defense in Spain indicates that the strength of the sector does not rest on the size of the national army, but rather on its integration into consortia Europeans and global supply chains. Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, France, the United States and Germany are among the main destinations for Spanish material, which shows a geographic diversification that cushions any internal fluctuation. The industry acts as a technological engine and generator of qualified employment, but also as an actor fully inserted in a global market that is experiencing a rebound sustained by conflicts and geopolitical tensions. Between industrial power and social debate. Spain thus finds itself facing a strategic duality. On the one hand, it consolidates its role as a relevant actor in world trade of weapons and strengthens its position in key international programs. On the other hand, face a domestic debate about the link between society and defense that is not resolved with accounting balances. The paradox is no small thing: a country that escalates million-dollar contracts abroad while dealing with the need to make more attractive the uniform at home. And in this tension between global market and national commitment is drawn one of the quietest dilemmas of Spanish defense policy. Image | Seko Photography In Xataka | Europe has asked its military experts how to become independent from the US for the next war. The answer is déjà vu: the F-35 In Xataka | Spain’s main problem is not weapons, fighters or drones: it is the number of hands it lacks to use them

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