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The owner of Volvo and partner of Renault will also sell Chinese electric cars in our country

February 27, 2026 by usatoday24

It is possible that if you are not very up to date with the automobile market, the word Geely may not be very familiar to you. Yes, it is more likely that Lotus will tell you something else. And you surely know Smart and Volvo. Any of them, any of those companies that were once European, are owned by Geely, one of the largest Chinese automotive groups in the country. Now, the company lands in Spain with its own brand. Yes, Geely in addition to owning a portfolio with up to 16 brands Under his direction, he also has his own car company. So that we understand it quickly and easily, just as the Volkswagen Group has the Volkswagen brand or as Renault owns Dacia but, of course, sells cars under the Renault brand. Geely, therefore, will arrive in our country with two electrified models. Its presence, as is evident from the first and mentioned brands, is already palpable in Spain but now it will have its own vehicles on the street, with its distribution network separate from any other company and with two SUVs that point to the present and future of the brand. Geely arrives in Spain To have a general photograph of Geely and know what is behind this new brand, the first thing you should know is that in 2024 they became the first Chinese manufacturer to establish itself as one of the 10 most important automotive companies in the world. Shortly after, the brand has been surpassed by the enormous muscle of BYD but In 2025 it managed to put 3.02 million on the market of cars counting only the companies born under its umbrella (without adding Volvo or Smart). With the latter he reached the 4.12 million units sold and was positioned as the ninth largest automotive group in the world, exceeding 2024 sales by 800,000 units. For its arrival in Spain, the company has announced two vehicles. Geely E5 He Geely E5 It is an electric SUV with 160 kW (218 HP) and a maximum range of 475 kilometers according to the WLTP cycle. It will be available with two battery sizes (60.22 kWh and 68.79 kWh) developed in-house. In the press release, Geely does not confirm the total peak power and only mentions that it will go from 30 to 80% autonomy in 20 minutes. Geely Starray EM-i On the other hand, the Geely Starray EM-i It is a plug-in hybrid with a combined power of 262 HP where the greatest weight of its dynamics falls on the electric motor that reaches 160 kW (218 HP). It also has two battery options (18.4 kWh and 29.8 kWh) that increase the total range of the set up to 943 kilometers in the mixed cycle. At the moment, Geely does not specify its autonomy in fully electric mode. It is to be hoped that, little by little, we will learn more details about these two new models, especially in their commitment to software and digital functions focused on the user. We do know that this latest plug-in hybridization system has been developed in the heart of Horse, the joint venture that Geely maintains with Renault to continue looking for solutions focused on combustion engines. Regarding its distribution, Geely says that it is developing a network of nationwide dealers “supported by partners with extensive experience and deep knowledge of the local market.” It is to be expected, therefore, that at least in the first months and years its distribution will be supported by the large groups that have been supporting brands such as BYD or the Chery Group. And the Chinese companies are making a strong investment in dealerships to give customer confidence. At the moment, the Chinese company has not set a specific date for us to see these cars on the street but it does set a deadline of “the first half of 2026”, so in the next four months we should have all the details. It must be taken into account that Geely is making clear efforts to expand its market with its own brands. We recently learned that is interested in entering the United Statesdespite the fact that the geopolitical context is complicated. It has also been rumored that it could occupy part of the Ford plant in Almussafes. Movement is key in an ultra-competitive Chinese market that is slowing down and Spain has shown interest in the firms arriving from this country, especially among entry-level vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Photo | Geely In Xataka | MG, BYD, Lynk&Co, Omoda: who’s who of Chinese car manufacturers in Spain

The owner of Mercadona believes that in a few years kitchens will disappear from homes. The consumption of precooked foods proves him right

February 19, 2026 by usatoday24

The forecast sounded so far-fetched, it clashed to such an extent with the gastronomic tradition of Spain, that it generated a considerable stir. Just a year ago, during the presentation of Mercadona’s accounts, Juan Roig surprised by predicting death (almost) imminent of domestic kitchens. “I said it and I maintain it: in the middle of the 21st century there will be no kitchens,” cried the businessman. In the future imagined by Roig we go from making our own food in the vitro at home to taking it already prepared from supermarkets, which have become an absolute reference for food. The sector data They confirm that, no matter how dystopian Roig’s prophecy sounds, it seems to be coming true. A percentage: 3.8%. Spain is a benchmark for the Mediterranean diet. But also, and increasingly, a country of families who are no longer willing to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. That’s what it suggests at least. the last balance of the Spanish Association of Prepared Meal Manufacturers (Asefapre). According to the data of the sector, in 2025, ready-made foods “reinforced their weight in the shopping basket”, with an increase in consumption of 3.8%. In total, 715,052 tons of prepared meals were sold, “a new record,” recalls Asefapre, which consolidates the trend of the last decade. Translated into hard and fast euros, sales rose to 4,309 million, with an annual increase of 5%. A figure: 18 kilos a year. To give us an idea of what this growth means, Asefapre calculates that last year each Spaniard ate on average about 18 kilos of prepared dishes. As a reference it is almost the same amount of fish products that we Spaniards consume in our homes (another thing is the restaurants) throughout 2024. The difference between precooked and fish is that the demand for the latter takes time to increase. low hours (both fresh and frozen) while the former grows at a good pace. The latest balance sheet of the employers’ association reflects an annual increase of 4.7% in the consumption of prepared foods, a growth rate that comfortably exceeds that of food as a whole (0.6%). What do we eat? Asefapre segregate your data of sales, which offers us an interesting vision of what exactly we Spaniards consume. The cake goes to “refrigerated” products, with a sales volume of 330,602 t shipped in 2025, 5% more than the previous year. In second place are “frozen products”, with sales that amounted to 297,023 t (+2.5%). The “dishes prepared at room temperature”, very common in some supermarket chains, are quite far behind, with 87,426 tons sold, but they leave an interesting fact: their demand grew by 4.1%. From pizza to potatoes and pasta. If we go down to detail we see that what we Spaniards like most (at least it is what we demand most) are pizzas, the leading producer in the sector with a sales volume that amounted to 131,600 tons. They are followed by frozen potatoes, with 98,056 t, and pasta-based dishes, which totaled 72,405 t. The three categories grew, with sales increases ranging between 2.6 and 7.2%. Beyond the Spanish market, one fifth (21.4%) of the industry’s production ends up being exported. More than just strategy. At this point the question is obvious: Why do we buy more and more pre-cooked foods? What leads us to feed ourselves with prepared dishes, whether frozen, refrigerated or food sold at room temperature ready for consumption, like what Mercadona offers in its supermarkets? The answer is complex. On the one hand there is the sector’s strategy, which has increased and perfected its range of products, adding foreign dishes that aim in part at the growing population immigrant living in Spain. Beyond the efforts of the industry, the increase in consumption of prepared dishes also responds to profound changes at a social and cultural level. They increase the single-person householdsit gets complicated conciliation between professional and family life and even change the kitchen structure in the houses. Also our way of thinking, as Asefapre herself remembers: today it no longer ‘squeaks’ at us that they serve us a pre-cooked dish on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve or that in families there are no longer people willing to lock themselves between the stoves. Of new grandmothers and homes. “Grandmas are not like they used to be and prefer to go walking with friends, do pilates or travel,” he reflected during the presentation of the balance sheet the president of Asefapre, David Aldea. It is not the only cultural change he cited. Added to this are others, such as the fact that it is increasingly easier to find “homes with fewer members” or homes in which the space dedicated to cooking has been reduced to a minimum. The trend seems to confirm Roig’s prediction, which a year ago I already confirmed the good progress of Mercadona’s business line for ready-to-eat dishes, launched in 2018. “It is profitable and continues to grow.” Images | Andalusian Government (Flickr), Mercadona and Asefapre In Xataka | Mercadona has grown so much in Spain that for the US it is no longer just a supermarket chain: it is a “cultural phenomenon”

The Spanish business that Vodafone sold as ballast is now worth three times as much. Zegona has shown that the problem was the owner

January 14, 2026 by usatoday24

according to further Populi Voicea medium with a good track record in telecom exclusives, Telefónica has started talks with Zegona to acquire Vodafone Spain. The negotiations are recent (just a few weeks) and it was Movistar who picked up the phone first. Telefónica wants to close the operation in the first half of 2026. The rumors come from months ago. The problem is that arrive late, and that has a price. A little more than two years ago, Zegona bought Vodafone Spain for about 5,000 million euros. Vodafone (the British parent) was selling a problematic asset: It was the third operator in a market of four. He was caught between the scale of Telefónica and the agility of the low-cost He inherited a network that required constant investment. And he also inherited a tarnished reputation after years of complaints. For the British group, Spain was a drain of money and effort. For Zegona, a poorly managed gold mine. And in just two years, the fund has proven that he was right: Has returned to its shareholders 1.4 billion euros in dividends (28% of what was paid by Vodafone Spain). Has reduced the number of shares in circulation by 69%. And yet its current capitalization is around 3.6 billion. For fund shareholders, the return has been spectacular: The stock went from 345p when they bought Vodafone (less than 100 when they announced their intentions) to over 1,565p now. It has multiplied by 4.5 in two years. Vodafone Spain generates around 4.5 billion annual revenues and, with more focused management than before and without the bureaucracy of a global giant, it has become a profitable operation that Zegona can continue to exploit… or sell to the highest bidder. Telefónica is now negotiating from a weak position. It needs the operation (Marc Murtra has repeated that Movistar must lead the consolidation of the Spanish market) and the market knows it. An ERE of 4,500 people has just closed. And while Telefónica prepared the house to add more furniture, its price has fallen 27% since the end of October. Zegona, however, its value has skyrocketed. The price of this indecision is between 2,000 and 7,000 million extra euros. regarding what the purchase of Vodafone Spain would have cost in 2023. Zegona is in no hurry. It can wait, it can squeeze, it can even stay as it is. Telefónica now cannot afford that luxury because buying Vodafone Spain is not an expansionist move, it is an almost defensive necessity: needs critical mass before Europe forces further consolidation where Movistar is the main course, not the diner. But when negotiating is a necessity and the other side knows it, the price stops being a variable and becomes a toll. If the operation crystallizes, it will create a giant with more than 45% of the Spanish market, great cost savings by eliminating duplications (headquarters, networks, contracts…) and intense regulatory scrutiny from Brussels. Although not as brutal as it would have been with Vestager because Ribera has another look. Telefónica knows it and so does Zegona. The difference is that one is late and the other can afford to wait. That changes everything in a negotiation. In Xataka | The great dilemma of Spanish telecos: either they become giants or China swallows them Featured image | Vodafone, Telephone

In 2010, the owner of a Ferrari missed a radar in Switzerland at 137 km/h. He took home the most expensive fine in history

December 25, 2025 by usatoday24

The fine for speeding highest ever recorded did not come from a German road or a French motorway. It arose in Switzerland, and they gave it to the driver of a Ferrari Testarossa. The most curious thing is that they did not put it in for pushing the power of this 90’s classic to the limit since it was traveling at 137 km/h. The result was a fine of more than 247,000 euros, an amount that officially appears in the Guinness World Records as the biggest fine for speeding. A record fine. The highest speeding fine officially recorded was imposed in Switzerland in January 2010. A court in the canton of St. Gallen sentenced the driver of a Ferrari Testarossa to pay about $290,000 (more than 247,000 euros at the exchange rate) after being detected by radar traveling at 137 km/h in a section limited to 80 km/h. The amount of the fine was not arbitrary. In Switzerland, judges do not set fines based on rigid tables according to the infraction, but rather based on the real impact they must have on each driver’s pocket. A system designed so that everyone hurts equally. Swiss legislation contemplates a model of fines proportional to the driver’s income, instead of establishing a table of fixed amounts as happens in Spain. This applies an equivalence factor with respect to economic capacity, making the sanctions truly have a deterrent nature. A fine of 200 euros for a person who charges a salary of 16,000 euros It can be a compelling reason for you to take your foot off the accelerator when you don’t play. But that same figure is insignificant for someone with a net worth of several million euros. Sanctions in Switzerland are at another level. In the case of the driver of the Testarossa, the sanction was triggered because the driver declared assets that exceeded 22 million dollars and accumulated a record for similar violations. For the Swiss authorities, the fine should reflect not only the risk committed, but also the economic impact it should generate. The 2010 record is not an isolated case. According to collects the local newspaper 24hourslast August a billionaire resident in Lausanne was fined 90,000 Swiss francs (about 96,500 euros) after exceeding the 50 km/h limit on the road while traveling at 77 km/h. Although the violation was not extreme, the final calculation was, and was justified by evaluating income, assets, and family circumstances. 96,000 euros for exceeding the speed limit by 27 km/h. Switzerland is not the only country that applies it. Finland shares a sanctioning philosophy similar to that applied in Switzerland. There are also fines calculated according to income, with precedents that have exceeded 120,000 euros. One of the best known cases It is that of a businessman who was traveling at 82 km/h in an area limited to 50 km/h and ended up facing a fine of 120,000 euros due to his level of income. In Austria, for example, a millionaire They took away his driving license and the Bugatti Veyron was immediately seized for traveling at 123 km/h in an area limited to 60 km/h. Spain will never come close to these figures. The Spanish traffic legislation is located at the opposite extreme. The fines depend exclusively on the margin exceeded over the speed limit, not on the financial capacity of the offender. Thus, the case of the Finnish driver fined 120,000 euros, in Spain would be resolved with a fine of 400 euros and four points less on the driving license. In fact, you would even have a 50% discount on the fine if you pay it in the first few days. In Spain, the most serious sanctions are penalized with a maximum of 600 euros and the withdrawal of six points on the license, without there being a link between the sanctions and the level of income. This implies that someone with high purchasing powermay consider the cost of the infringement to be minimal, thus losing its deterrent nature. In Xataka | The DGT allows legal circulation at 150 km/h without being an emergency vehicle. The secret: a sign Image | Unsplash (Noah Boyer)

The owner of an Audi A3 was fined three times for driving without a license. On the fourth, the court took away the car

December 21, 2025 by usatoday24

What prevents a driver from driving without a license? Obviously, the law. But going down to a purely practical field, what prevents a driver without a driving license from going to the garage at home, taking his car, turning the key and putting it in first gear to take the car to work, take a walk or go out? That’s what has happened in Vigo where Justice has only found the way out for one woman: to take away her Audi. The Provincial Court, tired of imposing sanctions on him that emphasized that he was prohibited from driving, has decided to confiscate his Audi to avoid greater harm. By then the sentences had had “no deterrent effect,” in the words of the ruling. Either you give it to me or I’ll take it from you There are not many violations for which they can keep our car. There are not many reasons why they can revoke our driving license. Surely you have already found one of them. Bingo. A positive for alcohol or drugs leaves, for the moment, the car immobilized and depending on the severity of the positive, it can leave us without a driving license. In cases that the car is immobilizeda passenger who does not test positive may well take charge. alcohol control Or a family member or friend can come pick it up, as long as the immobilized car is not hindering driving. If neither of these two cases occur, the tow truck comes and takes it to the municipal warehouse. The next day, the car can be removed. By a person who has a driver’s license, of course. But, as we said, what really prevents a person from taking their car again when they arrive at the garage at home? The limits have been found by the resident of Vigo who stars in a story collected by The Voice of Galicia. The Provincial Court has ended up confiscating his Audi to prevent him from driving again without a license and in the process has answered the question of how many times is too many times. They explain in the Galician media that on March 15, 2025, she was caught driving without a valid driving license because all her points had previously been removed. Taking charge of the case, the Criminal Court sentenced him to six months and one day in prison for a crime against traffic safety. But he applied a less common decision: seized his Audi A3. The reason is that the convicted woman was the fourth time she had faced justice for similar events. To the point that the judge in charge pointed out that his record includes three other similar convictions in just 11 months. On those three previous occasions, the driver was fined for driving without a driving license. In the third, in addition to the financial penalty, he was imposed 60 days of work for the benefit of the community. On the fourth occasion lost the Audi A3 with whom he was driving. Upon hearing the verdict, the accused appealed to the Pontevedra Court, alleging that the three previous convictions for the same reason (driving without a license) are not enough to apply the aggravating circumstance of multiple recidivism. In addition, he requested that a mitigating circumstance be applied for drug addiction and asked that the car be returned because he considered that the measure was disproportionate and unjustified. For its part, the Pontevedra Court has confirmed that the seizure of the vehicle was a correct measure because the three previous convictions had had “no deterrent effect.” In addition, he emphasizes that the car itself was a “potentially dangerous instrument” since the driver had been detected driving without lights at night or under the influence of drugs. Photo | Audi and DGT In Xataka | In 1896 a man decided to drive at the reckless speed of 13 km/h. And he received the first fine in history

In 2017, the owner of an electric car installed a charger with his neighborhood community against him. The Supreme Court has spoken

December 16, 2025 by usatoday24

A neighborhood association does not have the right to prevent a neighbor from installing a charger in their garage. This is the conclusion reached by the Supreme Court, confirming what can already be read in the Horizontal Property Law where this assumption is included. This has been the case of a neighbor from Alicante. 2017. The entire case studied by the Supreme Court has its origins in the last months of 2017. As stated in the rulingat the beginning of September of that year, the owner of an electric car contacts the administrator of his neighborhood community to inform him that he is going to install an electric car charger in his garage. There begins an exchange of communications in which the property manager maintains that he cannot carry out said installation because he is occupying common areas with the cables pulled for it and asks him to wait for the ordinary meeting to ask the neighbors if they agree with said installation since he can only carry it out if all the neighbors give their approval. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? without permission. It is then that the owner of the electric car tells the administration of the garage’s community of neighbors and its president that he does not need the approval of the neighbors since it is only necessary to inform the community of owners of his intentions. To do this, remember that in the article 17.5 of the Horizontal Property Law the following is specified: The installation of an electric vehicle charging point for private use in the building’s parking lot, provided that it is located in an individual parking space, will only require prior communication to the community. The cost of said installation and the corresponding electricity consumption will be assumed entirely by the person or parties directly interested in it. Therefore, he points out, the installation will be carried out whether the neighborhood community wants it or not. He emphasizes that he will pay the costs in full and that the electricity will be supplied with the service of his home. The complaint. Once the charging point was installed in December 2017, the ordinary meeting of the neighborhood community decided in February 2018 that the installation is illegal because it is occupying common areas and that for this the owner must receive the approval of the neighbors. They point out that if the installation is not eliminated within two months they will use the appropriate legal measures. Given this decision, the owner of the electric car denounces the community of neighbors so that the agreement in which the installation of his charging point was discussed is annulled. The defendant neighborhood association requests that it be dismissed and the court of first instance agrees with it, dismissing the lawsuit and ruling that the owner of the electric car has to pay the costs of the trial. From there, the matter escalates to the Supreme Court. First, the owner appeals the decision and the court of second instance agrees with him, admitting the complaint to be processed and declaring the agreement of the ordinary meeting null and void despite the fact that the community of owners filed an appeal that was dismissed. Then, the community of neighbors files an appeal against the decision of the court of second instance. The Supreme Court. With all this background, the Supreme Court concludes that the owner has the right to install a charging point in his parking space despite the fact that he has to occupy common areas with perforations and passage of cables, as detailed by the community of neighbors. In its ruling, the highest judicial body rejects the appeal of the community of owners. They remember that although in article 17 of the Horizontal Property Law there are several points that require the unanimity of the owners to occupy common areas for private purposes, this is not the case in the case of the fifth point in which the installation of charging points is regulated. Additionally, they explain the following: (The installation) requires an electrical supply, which can only be obtained through the appropriate conduction, it is obvious that it must necessarily flow through such elements. In other words, the legislator had to necessarily imagine that the wiring would pass through common elements. If, however, it introduced this rule without referring to said circumstance or the agreement of the Community, it is because it considered that this particular action was excluded or outside the decision-making powers of the Community, which could not oppose the practice of installation Communicate but do not ask permission. As confirmed by experts in horizontal property to Xatakaany resident of a community garage can install a charging point for their electric car even if the neighborhood community objects. Legally, it is only necessary to communicate the intention to do so and comply with the Technical Guide of application of the ITC-BT 52. Special purpose facilities. Infrastructure for recharging electric cars. When the Madrid College of Administrators was consulted, its advisors recommended complying with the following requirements to avoid problems: Prior communication by the requesting owner or neighbor. From the meter to the charging point, the line must be installed under approved pipe and along the route agreed upon with the community of owners, and common conduits and boxes cannot be used. The pipe pass from the meter room to the garage will be the responsibility of the requesting owner. The charging point will be installed on the back wall of the parking space, as centrally as possible and without occupying the flight of the adjacent spaces. The owner or neighbor must deliver the installation bulletin to the community of owners. Comply with current regulations at all times. An exception. It occurs in Catalonia and its objective is to facilitate the installation of more than one charging point for electric cars by taking advantage of the implementation of the first plug or, at least, trying to ensure that it … Read more

In 1965, a notary bought an apartment of bare ownership from a 90-year-old owner. The old woman was already living her second life

December 12, 2025 by usatoday24

In 1965, in the picturesque city of Arles, in the south of France, the notary André-François Raffray believed he had found a bargain to invest. Jeanne Calment, a 90-year-old widow and no heirs owner of a large apartment in the historic center of the town, was willing to reach an agreement to sell her housing in exchange for a life annuity and to be able to live in it until his death. With the statistical data in hand, the purchase of the apartment was going to be a bargain for the notary, so he did not hesitate to reach an agreement with the elderly owner. What the young notary did not expect is that it was going to be the worst deal of his life: the old woman had a bombproof geneticsor at least that’s what everyone thought. The deal was a bargain, but not for who it seemed The purchase agreement was simple in its approach: Raffray would pay 2,500 francs per month to Calment (an amount equivalent to about 380 euros per month). until the death of the old woman (who we remember was already 90 years old), after which the property would be fully his. This type of contract (known in France as traveler) is based on the bare property. This legal concept establishes that the buyer acquires the right to property without enjoy the usufruct until an uncertain event occurs, in this case the death of the saleswoman. That is, it is like a deferred purchase in which a certain immediate payment is established and the seller can use the property until his death. The buyer then takes possession of the property. Given this condition, the price of the investment is considerably lower than the market value, since it is not available immediately. That reduction in the initial price has shot the number of operations that have been growing at a double-digit rate since the pandemic. According to published data by Expansionin 2021, this type of operations grew by 22.6%, 23.7% in 2022 and 11.3% in 2023. For a 47-year-old buyer like Raffray, that seemed like a smart move and a very low-risk investment. In 1965 and with the life expectancy statistics much smaller than the current ones, Raffray assumed that Calment would live perhaps a few more years and that the total amount he would pay would be less than the market price of the apartment. A saleswoman with a lot of attachment to life However, what seemed like an operation with few unknowns turned into a financial nightmare for Raffray. Jeanne Calment, the elderly nonagenarian, not only lived beyond any reasonable expectation at that time, but his longevity surpassed all calculations. Officially, Calment died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days. as he collected The New York Times. That is why he entered the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest person recorded to date, It’s also bad luck for Raffay. Raffray, in turn, died in 1995 at the age of 77, 30 years after signing the contract with Calment. Until that moment, the notary had paid fees that, together, They far exceeded the value of the property. However, after his death, his widow was forced to continue with payments to Calment, because the obligation agreed in the annuity contract only disappeared with the death of Calment, not Raffray. There was no escape. The result was that Raffray’s family ended up spending much more money than it would have cost to buy the apartment through conventional methods, without ever moving in. Calment herself, with irony, even commented in an article for The New York Times that “in life, sometimes bad deals are made.” A life worth two As expected, such remarkable longevity did not go unnoticed by science and medicine, with much interest being shown in investigating the details about the life and habits de Calment to try to reveal their secret…and boy did they do it. In 2018, a research team formed by the Russian mathematician Nikolay Zak and the gerontologist Valery Novoselov proposed a radical hypothesis: Jeanne Calment could have died in 1934. The Calment who had signed the bare ownership contract with André-François Raffray could be Yvonne Marie Nicolle Calment, daughter of Jeanne Calment who, supposedly, had died of pleurisy on January 19, 1934. The hypothesis was that Yvonne would have impersonated his mother’s identity to avoid paying inheritance taxes. That artificially “extended” the longevity of his mother, who was actually living two lives under the same name. This theory was supported by discrepancies in ancient documents, such as differences in physical characteristics between historical records and by comparing photographs of Yvonne and the supposed elderly Calment. So it was not only a fraud to avoid paying taxes, Raffay was also victim of deception. However, there is no scientific consensus on this version. Subsequent research by a team of Swiss and French demographers and historians, published in it Journal of Gerontologythey discard the hypothesis of fraud and maintain that, statistically, Calment could live to be 122 years old. In Xataka | There is a ‘good’ fat that hides a secret to aging better and being in shape. All that remains is to get the pill Image | Wikimedia Commons (Emilien Barral), grg.orgUnsplash (Jakub Zerdzicki)

its owner had forgotten where he had

September 2, 2025 by usatoday24

Anyone who will constantly have happened to him once he has gone to look for his car and asked: Colega, where is my car? It can happen to anyone, and my personal trick (Although there are others) is to take a picture of the square and parking floor before moving away from the car. I have the mobile full of such photos. However, in the 70s of the last century, mobiles did not exist, so it was more normal Forget where you had parked your car. This is what happened to Ion Tiriac, a Romanian athlete who participated as an ice hockey player at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games, but who later became a laureate professional tennis player winning a Roland Garros and finalist in several editions of the Davis Cup. A passionate about luxury cars, but with little memory In the same way as the millionaires They tend to buy superyatesthe great athletes They opt by the supercar. Ion TIRIAC is no exception. His collection has approximately 400 cars, all of them exposed in a museum near Bucharest, which makes Tiriac one of the most important vehicle collectors In Europe. In a recent one interviewthe millionaire collector told the story of how he forgot that he had bought a Ferrari F40 And he had left him parked in a Munich garage for a decade. ION TIRIAC, whose estimated fortune exceeds 2.2 billion dollars, according to Forbeshe was a professional athlete In full cold war. At that time, Soviet block athletes had many TRAVEL PROBLEMSso he opted for move to Montecarlo To solve it. At present it still resides in the small principality. After putting an end to his career as a professional tennis player, he began teaching the most grenade of the Monegasca society and to train other professional tennis players. There began their First contacts with luxury cars and with the collection classics. Ferrari F40 However, as the millionaire counts in the interview, for those years he worked at all hours without rest. “I had no time for anything.” That tireless work allowed him to buy the first of his eight Ferraris. Later, I know He bought a Testarrossa. At the same time, the athlete recalled that he had tried to acquire the Ferrari F40 of the then husband of Carolina de Monaco, Stéfano Casiraghi, but finally did not reach an agreement, so he achieved Ferrari F40 by another way. According to Tiriac, that car It cost him $ 700,000considering that new cost about $ 200,000. Tiriac’s problem is that he was passionate about cars, but he still didn’t have a place in which to keep Its incipient collection of supercar. That lack of space caused him to leave his Ferrari F40 parked in a garage in Munich (Germany). Ten years later, the millionaire received a call from Mr. Becker, the owner of the garage where he had parked his Ferrari F40. The German recalled Tiriac that his Deportivo was still parked in his parking lot. “I had forgotten my Ferrari for a decade,” the retired tennis player acknowledged. Realizing that he had forgotten his Ferrari for ten years, Tiriac decided Sell it immediately For two reasons. The first, because it still did not have an adequate place to save it, and second because the car, after ten years of inactivity, needed to travel back to the Maranello factory so that its engine was disassembled and Restoreda necessary process after so many years without use, even for a Ferrari. In Xataka | I have got into a 420,000 euros car for the first time in my life. Now I know what the millionaires feel Image | Wikimedia Commons (Bobby Voicu), Ferrari, Flickr (Robert Stokes) *An earlier version of this article was published in September 2024

Chinese startups are unseatting the owner and lady of Asian technology: Baidu

August 22, 2025 by usatoday24

In the stock market there is a metric that is observed almost with reverential respect. It is about Per (Price to Earnings Ratio), which It allows us to know If an action is expensive or cheap. And when we observe the technological market in China, there is a company with a worrying per: Baidu. Fall of a giant. This Thursday Baidu has published terrible financial results: Fall of quarterly income It is the worst of the last three years and that has caused a 3% drop in the value of the shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Source: Bloomberg. Per worrying. Not only that: Baidu is now around 9.7, which is the least of all the companies that are in benefits in the Hang Seng Tech index (Hstech) than It serves as a reference When comparing Chinese technology companies. The action, speaking in silver, is too cheap. The search engine loses bellows. For decades Baidu has been considered “the Chinese Google”, but over time its relevance has been blurred. The Chinese young They do not know what is to search in Baidu or Googleand have come to other ways to find answers. Fierce competitors. Platforms such as Tiktok or Instagram have become a spectacular alternative for new generations, and in China we have seen as similar social networks –Xiaohongshu and Douyin– They are getting that. Eric Shen, analyst at the consultant Third Bridge, explained How “these rivals have created content ecosystems that seem more dynamic and attractive, which moves users of the most static and Baidu website.” A disappointing 2025. But there is also AI. And there Baidu has a problem. Baidu’s action has lost a 3% value since the year began. The figure is surprising, especially since its competers focused on AI have a 24%win. Where is Baidu AI? Baidu reacted relatively fast and presented its competitor to Chatgpt in March 2023. It was called Ernie, but from the beginning The performance of that model gave problems. Since then his trajectory has been irregular, and the rise of Deepseek and of Other Chinese models like Qwen (Alibaba) or Doubao (Bytedance) has put it in more and more problems in that market of “IAS Socialist”. An AI that tries to overcome. In February Baidu wanted not to get off the revolution caused by Depseek, so he offered a free version of Ernie last April. Your last model, Ernie 4.5, It’s Open Source – initially they had adopted a proprietary model – but even that does not seem to have encouraged things for now, and there is not too much talk about their capacity: the popularity of other models such as Deepseek or Qwen is now greater. Baidu Lance Ernie 5.0 is expected at the end of August, and it will be then when we can check if this edition does compete in a specially frantic market. Back in view? Analysts believe that Baidu’s latest strategic decisions could help her recover the good path. Among them include investments In Robotaxis And, of course, in new initiatives to boost their AI models. Image | Baidu In Xataka | Deepseek has given the starting gun in the race for a cheaper AI. And China starts with advantage

We do not know if Bill Gates is the owner of this incredible supereyate for sale. What we do know is its price: 645 million dollars

August 2, 2025 by usatoday24

During the summer it is usual to see the richest 1% on the planet enjoy the sea and the sun aboard immense floating mansions in the form of supereyates that anchor near paradisiacal destinations such as Balearic coasts or the Caribbean islands. Bill Gates is not very given to boat walks, so It is not a regular of the covers of those supereyates. In fact, the founder of Microsoft has never recognized being the owner of one, as they have done Jeff Bezos, Mark ZuckerbergLarry Ellison and Even Amancio Ortega. However, that has not been an impediment to be attributed to the property of one of the most advanced and expensive supereies in the world: the Breakthroughthe first ecological supereate driven by a pile of hydrogen that now is put on sale for 645 million dollars. Bill Gates and a superyate that has never stepped on Since the Breakthrough He left the shipyard that manufacturer Feadship has near Amsterdam in October 2024, his name It has been linked To Bill Gates. That I tend into account that neither the millionaire nor the manufacturer have at any time confirmed his property, and the millionaire has never been seen walking through his covers, so there is no evidence that Bill Gates is really the owner of the owner of the Breakthrough. That said, it is easy to imagine the reason why it is linked to this floating palace with Microsoft’s founding millmillonarium. Its sale price less than a year ago was 645 million dollars, so the ship was limited to a few fortunes that could assume such cost, and its subsequent maintenance. On the other hand, Gates’s commitment to him Clean energy development and innovative projects could intuit that this innovative yacht could be one of the Sustainable initiatives of the tycoon. However, today, it is not possible to confirm that the Breakthrough Be one of Gates’ whims. Breakthrough The first driven by hydrogen Beyond its spectacular design and dimensions, the greatest challenge for Feadship was to develop the propulsion system of the Breakthrough. Instead of conventional diesel engineswho was known as PROJECT 821 It is based on a liquid hydrogen cell system stored at cryogenic temperatures below -253 degrees Celsius. This technology requires a lot of precision management and design to guarantee safety and efficiency due to high hydrogen volatility. The machine room stands out because, to accommodate the storage, conversion and hydrogen management systems, much more space is required than in conventional propulsion systems. The entire electrical system of the yacht, from the propulsion to the lighting and air conditioning of the ship, is feed on the electricity generated by this clean fuel, leaving water as the only residue. This type of system is a pioneer In the nautical sector and represents for many experts a real advance and a reference in terms of Innovation in maritime transportation. Jamie Edmiston, Executive Director of the Yates Management Company that has it for salehe said in a statement collectedby Fortune than the Breakthrough It is “the most extraordinary yacht ever built and the one that will change everything.” A floating palace in a sea of luxuries In addition to being the first to incorporate a quieter and more sustainable technology with the environment, the Breakthrough has not neglected the luxury and exuberance demanded by the users of this type of ships. This superyte It is 118.8 meters in length and 19 meters of manga (wide). It has 15 luxury cabins with capacity for up to 30 guests, and space to house the 44 crew that guarantee personalized attention 24 hours. According The published by Forbes Australiaamong its comforts are five covers on the flotation line and two more under it, communicated with an interior elevator that facilitates access. Another peculiarity is that from their helmet 14 balconies are displayed that leave a panoramic view from the cabins. The main cover on the bridge is basically an apartment with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, dressing rooms, private gym, pantry, two offices with chimney and living room. In addition, it is equipped with a complete hospital for medical emergencies, a library with selected collections, private cinema, pool and jacuzzi and fully equipped gym. The designers of the British Redman Whiteley Dixon study used a light neutral, marble, rattan, smoked eucalyptus wood and oak details to create a luxury atmosphere and exclusivity. All for the modest price of 645 million dollars. In Xataka | We already knew that superyates were floating mansions: that of Roman Abramovich is a fortress with antimile shield Image | Feadship, EdmininstonWikimedia Commons (Jennifer Jacquemart)

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