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Voltage problems have returned to the Spanish electrical system and the big question is what have we been doing these last six months

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The ghost of big blackout has returned to the fray: the Spanish electrical system has voltage problems. Serious problems, indeed. So serious that Red Eléctrica has had to ask for permission to take action on the matter. It goes without saying, but uncertainty spread like wildfire. Six months after the great blackout, Spain is living a little déjà vu. Are there reasons to be alert? What has happened? Electrical Network just notified to the CNMC which, for a couple of weeks, has observed sudden variations in voltage in the peninsular system. As he explained, this could compromise the security of supply and urgent measures would need to be taken to solve it. That includes temporarily modifying various operating procedures to stabilize the system while underlying problems are found. What do these modifications consist of? The proposals go from allowing technical adjustments to be applied directly during daily programming to giving the operator more room to act quickly if it detects a risk of instability, even before the operating day begins. In addition, it adopts stricter control of the automatic instantaneous balance mechanism and tightens the reactive voltage control. In summary, what has been notified is an express adjustment of the country’s electrical operations to contain the ups and downs in voltage that have been recorded. And all of this, to be implemented in five days. The big question is “now?” Because as Javier Blas pointed out“for months, the Spanish electricity grid operator (and the government) have been putting off the country’s electrical problems” and now, suddenly, a whole series of urgent measures are required. Red Eléctrica’s response. Given the concern generated by the request, the operator had to leave in passing, clarifying that there has been “no talk of a risk of imminent or widespread blackout”, that the voltage variations “have not posed a supply risk because they have been within the admissible limits”. However, the truth is that no one is too calm. As Blas said“The urgent request adds up to an additional $1 billion cost for Spanish customers as the grid operator is operating the system in what it calls a “boosted mode” since April 29 (in effect, operating gas-fired power plants more intensely and reducing solar and wind power).” If under these conditions the entire series of measures that have been requested are needed, there is some underlying problem. Or, at least, that’s what it seems: that the symptoms of stress in the system are clear and it is not at all clear that a handful of temporary measures are the solution we need. Image | Anton Dmitriev In Xataka | Harvest wheat or kilowatts? The new account that many farmers in Spain make

Using the WiFi on the train in Spain is the worst. The question is why there is so much difference compared to the rest of Europe

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If you have to work from the train and need WiFi, good luck. In some areas, even mobile data is useless, making the experience a real torture. It is no wonder, and Spain has one of the worst railway WiFi network infrastructures in all of Europe. According to an Ookla studiothe median download speed on Spanish trains reaches just 1.45 Mbps, compared to 64.58 Mbps in Sweden, which tops the list. At least we are above the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. A multi-layered problem. It’s not just a bad WiFi connection inside the carriage. The main failure, according to the study from Ookla, is in the “backhaul”, that is, in how the train connects to public mobile networks from the roof. Most European countries, including Spain, depend on “incidental” mobile coverage: the antennas installed by operators are designed to serve population centers, not specifically trains. The result is dead zones, constant signal drops and insufficient bandwidth when the train runs between cities. Average unloading speed on European trains. Image: Ookla Outdated technology on board. Inside the car, the panorama doesn’t help either. Although the study does not detail specific data for Spain, countries with similar performance such as the United Kingdom still maintain more than 50% of their connections on WiFi 4, a 2009 standard, and 38% use the 2.4 GHz bandmore prone to interference and congestion. This combination of outdated technology limits the experience even when the outside connection is decent. Sweden solves the puzzle with politics. In Sweden, the case is interesting because it dismantles the complicated terrain argument. Until the beginning of 2024, its trains offered speeds of just 2 Mbps. In the second quarter of that year there was a structural leap: the PTS regulator allocated public funds for neutral infrastructure in tunnels, imposed rail coverage obligations in the 2023 spectrum auctions and identified 45 tunnels and 630 kilometers of track with poor coverage. In just one year the speeds multiplied by more than 30. Average upload speed on European trains. Image: Ookla In Switzerland the model is different, but effective. This country, which is positioned in second place according to the Ookla ranking, has a different structure. And instead of universal WiFi on board, its operator SBB offers “FreeSurf”, a system that allows passengers with a Swiss SIM to use mobile data without consuming their rate while traveling. Bluetooth beacons in the carriages detect the device and the railway operator assumes the cost with the telcos. This avoids the bottleneck of shared WiFi and allows investment to be concentrated on improving the mobile network layer in the corridors. The problem is that it only works for residents with a local SIM. France invests in dedicated network. France built a specific network for railways on routes such as Paris-Lyon, with base stations every 2-3 kilometers, antennas facing the track and special systems in tunnels for trains that travel at 300 km/h and change cells every 15 seconds. Although the study places France In an intermediate position (19.12 Mbps), it continues to be well above Spain. Median latency of European countries compared to Taiwan. Image: Ookla Modern trains are Faraday cages. Part of the problem is structural. And how mention study, current railcars incorporate low-E glass with metallized coatings that block mobile signals more than a layer of concrete, according to tests carried out by the British Department of Transport. Germany has invested 50 million euros in laser treating 70,000 windows of 3,300 carriages to make them permeable to radio frequencies. Belgium abandoned a 173 million euro on-board WiFi plan and preferred to invest 40 million in modifying the windows of its trains. Asia prioritizes mobile over WiFi. In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the approach is different, as they invest in dedicated mobile data coverage on roads and tunnels, and treat WiFi as a secondary service. According to the study, Taiwan leads in latency (13 ms) and already deploys WiFi 6 on 20% of its rail connections. Its download speeds (8.1 Mbps) far exceed those of Spain, although they are far from the European leaders. The Japanese government, for example, has subsidized since 2020 the installation of cellular systems in all tunnels in the Shinkansen. satellite internet. Just like mention the study, operators such as ScotRail, SNCF, Trenitalia or PKP Intercity are testing terminals starlink and OneWeb on rural or coastal routes where ground coverage is insufficient. The strategy is not to replace mobile coverage, but to join both connections through onboard SD-WAN gateways. There are still limitations, as certified rail terminals are still in short supply, they do not operate in tunnels and the operational cost remains high if data is used intensively. In Xataka | How to share the data connection of your Android mobile or iPhone with an Internet access point

Someone has answered the question “how would Mario Kart be in real life.” And the result is hilarious, of course

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A frantic race with futuristic vehicles in natural environments, while ‘Firestarter’ of Prodigy sounds. The cars turn in the most closed curves, pass over demolished drivers, fall into a vacuum, everything is meticulously recorded in the dozens of cameras that accompany the players. It looks like a new version of ‘The death race of the year 2000’, but no: it is a circuit of Karts without engine built in Vietnam and whose savagery are viralizing in networks the devotees of the tube and the moraton. The southern paradisiac of Vietnam. This attraction, located in the amusement park Cao Nguyen Hoais in Da Lat, capital of the province of Lam Dong, south of Vietnam, which is also one of the main destinations of the country due to its fresh climate and its abundance of tourist attractions. The Truc Lam monastery, the palace of King Bao Dai, Lake Xuan Huong or the Prenn Cascade are some of them, but none like this Demential Motor Karts Circuit: They move through the natural inclination of the journey, and drivers only have a rudimentary flying (in one of the videos you can see how it is triggered from the car frame) and brakes that do not seem to work too well. Supercamorristas. The comparison with ‘Mario Kart‘It is obvious: although we do not see emphasis on the shape of a giant mushroom, the color of the vehicles and the Strangely paradisiac environment Remember the carefree barulos from the Nintendo franchise. It is an environment that remains drama to frantic races. The speed, yes, depends a lot on the risk that is sought: there are more rest races, and others that, with an important initial impulse, can provide all the sensation of being assisted by the popular nitro. More than karts. It is not the only attraction we can enjoy in Cao Nguyen Hoa. Among other possibilities to spend the day in the park we also have a giant swing of those who leave the user suspended to the edge of a cliff, gardens and an infinite pool. Admission costs about 100,000 Vnd, just less than four euros. Enjoy with the misfortunes of others. The comic power of the tube videos is clear since the silent cinema categorized the tartazos, the slippers and the mass persecutions as canonical within the international humor. Phenomena like ‘Jackass‘Or, in Spain,’ First Videos’, were analog predecessors of one of the categories of most consumed videos on the Internet: the FAILSto the point that their definition went to common language. The brain likes. There is multiple theories They explain why we like to see a career that, instead of running placidly, is full of blows and accidents, especially if they develop in a comedy environment and where no one is injured, which provides a Innection of cathartic effect. And of course, we must not forget the traditional Schadenfreudewhat the Germans say, enjoy the misfortunes of small -scale. The awkwardness of others, which best way to take oxygen in day to day mediocrity. In Xataka | We have just attended the first F1 race of autonomous cars. We cannot explain the result: you have to see it

The only question is when we are going to take it seriously

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Spain, 2025. Not only do we have just lived the warmer summer registered, but It has been the worst year of floods In more than a decade. And the last example we are seeing Live and live in Ibiza. There, while the military emergency unit is deployed, firefighters are already exceeded looking for people trapped in houses, garages and vehicles. Not a year ago of the last great flood that affected our country. The big question. Although many areas of Aragon, the Valencian Community, southern Catalonia and even the Cartagena Campo have had very serious problems during these days, the Peninsula seems to have drawn the ex-gabrielle bullet. Nevertheless, While Baleares suffers its impactthe question is whether all this is a coincidence or, on the other hand, the floods we are seeing and their destructive strength are aggravated by climate change. Moreover, the big question is whether we must expect more things in the future, if this is already “normal.” The question is whether all this is aggravated by climate change and, above all, what can we expect. Or, in other words, is this the new “normality”? And the answer is yes. Being schematic, There is more than solid evidence that global warming intensifies torrential rains. Above all, because more heat is more water vapor in the atmosphere (approximately 7% more for each grade). That means nothing concrete and, of course, it does not mean that every year is extreme on each site. Simply, probability and intensity increase. So this is “normal”? Thus, “Normal” in this context It is “a higher base risk.” That is, as the temperature rises, extreme events become more likely. And as time passes, that translates into more episodes of extreme rain and compound events. Statistics are already showing it: the European Environmental Agency estimates that damage Those of the previous one will fold from this decade. However, the central issue is that not everything is the weather. Bad decisions in urbanization, soil sealing, occupation of flood areas and infrastructure are the key piece of associated risks. And it is not something theoretical: there are many cases documented right here in Spain that They show that we have gotten In a mousetrap ourselves. And, as we have checked again and again, it is not easy to solve. We should be prepared, “what happens is that people have a very short meteorological memory,” Emilio Rey explained. We have spoken it on other occasions, we get used to the new normality very quickly and then, citizens and administrations “think that it will not happen to them again until there is no turning back.” Taking into account that Cold drop is nothing new“Of course, all infrastructure should be prepared.” “It cannot be built in channels. In addition you have to have them clean and this is an effort that may have to do in July or August, or every three months.” Long -term plans are needed and are usually complicated expenses to defend before public opinion. But it seems clear that There is no other way If we want to be prepared. Image | Wes Warren In Xataka | The question is not when it will stop raining, the question is how much water this fall will fall

The question is not when it will stop raining, the question is how much water this fall will fall

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The Mediterranean slope has once again been in the center of an important rainfall episode. From Zaragoza to Murcia, rainfall has flooded streets and squares. Fortunately, the situation has not achieved the magnitude of what we saw last fall, but the situation led yesterday to the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet) to issue several notices, including red notices due to extreme risk. Final in sight. The situation has not yet been reversed, although the focus of the rains has been moving. If yesterday the most affected areas were in the center and north of the Levantine coast, today the risks are concentrated in the provinces of Valencia, Alicante, as well as in Murcia and in the Balearic Islands: in the early hours of today, Eivissa has seen fall More than 115 mm of water. Yesterday the accumulated rainfall They touch the 240 mm in barxValencia, and exceeded 100 mm at the province airport. In some areas of Castellón and Tarragona, rainfall also exceeded 57 mm. Experts expect the transition to October to bring a radical change in the atmospheric. Aemet does not include in its forecast the arrival of significant phenomena and indicates that it is expected “it provides stable time in much of the country”, except in the eastern zone that will still see rethinking instability due to the influence of the cold trough. Radical change. The Aemet monthly forecasts They seem to secondary this idea: the agency provides that a driest month of October than usual in almost the entire peninsula and, especially, in the northwestern zone. It is also expected that the temperatures of the next few days will be higher than what would correspond to these autumn dates. The thing could change during the second half of the month. Although temperatures could continue to be high, the agency begins to glimpse anomalously high rainfall on the Levantine coast during the week that begins on the 13th. Some somewhat more abundant rainfall is also expected than usual in the southwest quadrant during the final stretch of the month. Two slopes, two stories. But if we want to know (or at least intuit) what we have autumn, we have to go to the longer term forecasts. What do these forecasts suggest? Well, the tonic will last, with two different trends in peninsular Spain. Regarding rainfall, Aemet foresees a dry autumn in much of the territory. Probabilistically, the agency talks about 45% probabilities of a dry autumn compared to 20% probabilities of a humid fall. However, the thing changes in the east zone, where uncertainty prevails with respect to whether autumn will be wetter, drier or if on the contrary it will remain within the parameters of normality. Echoes of a different autumn. The forecasts give rise to a complicated scenario: the lack of rainfall in much of the country implies the return of the ghost of the drought. As if this were not enough, the predictions on the Mediterranean coast are compatible with the arrival of intense rainfall episodes. These do not have to reach the magnitude of those that occurred last year, but the rains of these days show us that they do not have to reach such dimension to cause important problems. In Xataka | After months of indecision, meteorologists already see the girl in Pacific waters Image | ECMWF

Jeff Bezos asked his parents for savings from his life to found Amazon. They only asked him one question: “What is the Internet?

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In 1995, Jeff Bezos decided give up your stable job and well paid as an analyst on Wall Street to set up a book sales business online. At that time, Jeff Bezos was not the millionaire who is today, so he went to see his parents and asked them for help to invest in Amazon. His father’s first question was clear and direct: “What is the Internet?” Miguel and Jacklyn Bezos did not know much about that new technology, but they knew that their son was determined to squeeze it to the maximum. According to the writer Brad Stone in the book “The dream store. Jeff Bezos and the Amazon era“Bezos warned his parents:” There is a 70 % chance that you will lose everything. I just want to make sure I can return home for thanksgiving if this doesn’t work. “ Without hesitation, the Bezos invested a good part of the savings of their entire life in their son’s project. Today, that initial investment has grown 15,500% And it is worth more than the GDP of Iceland and Maldives together, making their father so rich (his mother died a few weeks ago) that, as he counted The Wall Street JournalMiguel Bezos is hiring a CEO to administer the assets of his Family Office. The origin of a historical fortune In the middle of the nineties, Mike Bezos, of Cuban origin and with family ties in a Small Valladolid municipalityhe decided to trust family savings to his son Jeff and, incidentally, becoming the first investors after the Amazon Foundation. According to documents Of the US Stock and Stock Exchange Commission (SEC), the initial investment of the Bezos was through the purchase of 582,528 Amazon shares to, only a few months later, expand your investment by buying 847,716 more shares. In total, 1,430,244 shares at a purchase price of 17 cents per share. That leaves a total investment of 243,141.48. Such and as it revealed Bloombergit is a fortune for a couple formed by a single mother who had to raise her son alone with a poor salary while studying A race, and a Cuban immigrant who arrived in the US with 16 years. After thirty years, if the initial investment had remained intact, it would amount to about 72.6 billion dollars. However, after different sales and donations of shares, the family heritage of Jeff Bezos’s parents exceeds 40,000 million dollars. CEO is sought for fortune According to The Estimates of The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, Aurora Borealisthe company that is responsible for managing the heritage of Miguel Bezos, was founded in 2020 and, if it were a person, would take 48 position among the greatest fortunes of the List of Millionaires of Forbes. Aurora Borealis, is currently one of the Family officers most relevant in the world for its heritage volume. The company manages assets of very diverse kinds, from those foundational actions of Amazon to investments in funds and projects of philanthropy through the Bezos Family Foundation. The growing heritage of the father of Jeff Bezos has reached levels that have become necessary to professionalize the team that manages it from Aurora Borealis, Speaking as CEO To Valeria Alberola, an executive with experience in the management of great heritage. As a reference, the new Amazon Fortuna Fortuna manager managed the Family Office of the Walton familyfounders and owners of the Wallmart supermarket chain. His goal, get Miguel “Mike” Bezos even richer. The history of Miguel Bezos’ fortune is not only relevant for facilitating the foundation of one of the world’s largest companies, it is also a unique phenomenon since it is not usual for a family loan of just under $ 244,000, ends up making millionaires to the founder’s parents, and not to external investors. Was A risky bet That he went well, but he could also have left Jeff Bezos banished from thanksgiving dinners and his parents with a serious economic problem. In Xataka | Technological millionaires presume ecological awareness. Their superyates and private jets tell another story Image | Flickr (George W. Bush Presidential Center)

A ghost fleet has mapped the entire submarine structure of the EU. The question is what Moscow will do with that information

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In January 2025 United Kingdom He raised his voice At the international level. The British Secretary of Defense, John Healy, explained that a nuclear submarine and two ships from Royal Navy had sighted a spy ship in the waters of the nation, and that it was the second time in just three months. The message did not stay there. The United Kingdom gave a name and a nation behind the incursion: Yantar and Russia. Now it has been discovered that the ship has been doing much more than that. The resurgence of a war. In recent months, NATO’s attention has moved to a less visible but increasingly critical front: the European seabed. The protagonist of this new concern is, again, The Yantara Russian spy ship that, disguised as a civil ship, toured during almost 100 days The waters of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean with an accurate objective: map and monitor the submarine cables on Europe and North America for their digital communications, their financial transactions, their energy and even their most sensitive military systems. We know all this Thanks to the Financial Timesthat after an investigation based on interviews with NATO naval officers and former members of the Russian north fleet, as well as in radar images of the European Space Agency, he has confirmed that the Yantar came to be located on critical cables in the sea of ​​Ireland and in front of Norway, on the strategic route to Svalbard. The role of Gugi. The Yantar operates under the orbit of the GLAVNOYE UPRAVLENIE GLUBOKOVODNIKH ISSLEDOVII (GUGI), the director of Deep Water Research created in the Cold War and known in the West as Military Unit 40056. Based on Olenya Guba, in the Kola Peninsula, this force is located on the border between the Russian Navy and military intelligence (Gru), dedicated less to science than to espionage. Gugi has about 50 platforms (From minisubmarines capable of reaching 6,000 meters deep to nodriza ships such as Yantar), designed to place sensors, manipulate or sabotage cables and, if necessary, destroy strategic infrastructure in a conflict scenario. Despite the blows suffered (such as the submarine fire Losharik in 2019 or the death of its historic boss by Covid), the organization has continued to receive resources Even in full war of Ukraine, which has allowed to commission new spy units. The Yantar The threat in the gray zone. The reactivation of Yantar’s missions Since the end of 2023 Indicates that Moscow has abandoned the initial caution he showed after invading Ukraine. Analysts like Sidharth Kaoushal (Rusi) They point that Russia has measured NATO’s red lines and is now more willing to take risks. The plans detected in the sea of ​​Ireland, where several cables converge that connect the United Kingdom and Ireland, fit into the Russian logic to act in The so -called “Gray Zone”: Operations of covert sabotage that do not equals an open military attack but can destabilize entire societies. In fact, Western Officers They warn That Moscow could, the case, cut energy or communications to force governments to the negotiation, or even alter the temporal signals that travel through the cables, with devastating effects in sectors such as high frequency financial trade. European vulnerability. The United Kingdom obtains the 99% of its communications Digital of submarine cables and three quarters of its gas through underwater pipelines. Ireland, which does not belong to NATO, is a particularly exposed point: cutting its connections would be to isolate it from the continent without directly attacking an allied member. He parliamentary report British of September 19 warned that the country “could not guarantee an attack or recover in an acceptable period,” also criticizing the fragmentation of responsibilities between ministries. In Denmark, the case of explosions of Nord Stream in 2022 evidenced the same bureaucratic dispersion. Although London has assigned the Royal Navy the mission of Protect these infrastructureexperts point out that the lack of anti -submarine frigates and patrol dependence limit the real response capacity. The Atlantic Bastion project. To close that gap, NATO and especially the United Kingdom they consider the creation of “Atlantic Bastion”: A defensive ring of sensors, submarine drones and acoustic stations in the seabed that reinforces the control of the Greenland-Islandia-Rio-Reinian corridor. Although the plan still lacks concrete financing, its need is increasingly evident. In parallel, surveillance ships such as The British proteus They rehearse with autonomous vehicles capable of documenting the activities of the Yantar and other GGI units, with the idea of ​​exhibiting public evidence and generating deterrence. Admiral Gwyn Jenkins, head of the Royal Navy, He warned This month that Gugi, after a period of relative stillness, “is returning.” Silent war. The activity From Yantar It is not an isolated case: between autumn of 2023 and November 2024, eleven Russian ships (military and supposedly civil) held a almost constant presence in British and Irish waters. Allied intelligence services suspect that Moscow already prepares sabotage scenarios against cables as a pressure measure on the countries that arm Ukraine. While until now these operations have been maintained under the threshold of the open confrontation, the possibility of Russia “turning off” the United Kingdom or Aisle Ireland is not a crazy hypothesis. As summarized Excapitan David Fields, former British naval aggregate in Moscow: “Russian military doctrine consists of hitting first, strong and where it hurts most, to prevent the enemy from even getting rid of war.” On that silent board, the Yantar has become the key piece of a underwater chess that threatens to redefine the limits of European security. Image | Defense ImageryAndrey Luzik In Xataka | A British nuclear submarine has discovered a Russian ship in front of its submarine cables. The second time in three months In Xataka | Research on submarine cables cut in the Baltic has taken a turn: it was not Russia, it was inexperience

The reactive the great debate on universal basic income. And the question is whether it is feasible to create it: Crossover 1×23

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One hears about Universal basic rent and inevitably thinks that It’s money that gives you free. The idea goes far beyond that, but one thing is true: with the rise of AI and the potential revolution of robotics, the debate about this option is more rising than ever. And precisely this 1×23 crossover is dedicated to talking about universal basic income, its origins and what it means. And to do so are Jaume Lahoz and Carlos Santa Engracia, presenters of Crossover, and a server, Javier Pastor, to dissect the theme. The truth is that we are increasingly facing a future in which AI and automation can help Create ultraproductive companies. In that scenario it is likely that the impact for employment and society will be enormous, and that is where a Universal basic rent You can raise a solution to that “mass and forced unemployment.” In the episode we talk in addition to the Pilot experiments That there has been in various countries, and also how Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is especially interested in this area through its controversial Worldcoin project. Like everything, in the idea that projects universal basic income there are clear advantages and of course also risks. Will we become a society Like the one painted ‘wall-e’? ¿We will all gorditos And without moving from a chair that levita and takes us everywhere? Phew. On YouTube | Crossover

If the question is how much salary you would be willing to give up for keeping teleworking, Europeans are clear: zero

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Teleworking has been one of the Great changes in the organization of the labor market in Europe, although its objective has changed as normality was restored and companies returned to its offices. It was no longer an obligation imposed by COVID-19, but a benefit that It contributed time flexibility For conciliation and, above all, an effective weapon to attract and retain talent. In this context of “labor benefit”, the question of whether workers would be willing to sacrifice part of their salary to maintain the option of working from home has gained relevance between companies. The European Central Bank (ECB) has asked European employees to what percentage of salary would be willing to give up in exchange for maintaining teleworking. Their answers leave no doubt. Nor for all the money in the world. According to data extracted from the Consumer expectations survey (CES) From the European Central Bank, 70% of European workers are not willing to give up any part of their salary in exchange for Teleworking. On the other hand, 13% of the respondents would accept a reduction that would range between 1% and 5%, while only 8% would consent to a more significant salary reduction between 6% and 10%. This data is especially precious to companies since it allows quantifying the value that employees give to the possibility of teleworking, especially when this flexibility is offered as part of an emotional salary for the worker. Percentage of workers who would accept a salary cut and cutting percentage More and more teleworking … but hybrid. So much The data of Eurostat, like those of the Active Population Survey From the first quarter of 2025, they point out that teleworking levels They are maintainedboth European and nationally, well above the prepazed levels recorded in 2019. That means that there is more and more active population working from home. The greatest change that has occurred is that, while before 2019 the most common option was 100% remote work, now the most imposed modality is hybrid work in which work days and teleworking days are combined. That condition of hybrid day too Condition the salary percentage to which employees are willing to give up to keep teleworking. More teleworking, greater sacrifice. The data of the European Central Bank indicate that the most widespread option is to work two or three days a week from home and the rest from the office. For this formula, European workers would be willing to reduce their salary by an average of 2.6% to maintain that regime. The more teleworking days are offered, the greater the salary proportion than some would be willing to sacrifice. An employee who works his entire work week would accept a reduction of 4.6% of his salary, while those who only telework one day a week would barely contemplate 1.6% of cuts. The return to the office increases its pressure. In Europe, companies are not pressing their employees so much To return to your offices as the US companies are doing. This lower pressure is also reflected in the salary cuts that employees are willing to accept. In it Teleworking Study Study That researchers from Stanford and Chicago University have been doing for more than five years, it is noted that the average salary reduction accepted by remote work in the US is around 7%. This difference suggests that in Europe teleworking is no longer considered An exceptional privilegebut part of the basic working conditions in numerous sectors. The problem of eliminating teleworking. Given these data, some companies could be tempted to eliminate teleworking, or take advantage of the attachment of employees for this day model to reduce salaries. However, that plan that seems attractive in the short term, becomes a bad idea in the medium and long term. Telework has become a tool of the Human Resources Department for attract and retain a qualified personnel increasingly scarce. Just observe the waves of resignations and internal conflicts that have generated return policies to the office of Amazon Or, at a closer level, the Holaluz energy. However, offering some teleworking modality makes vacancies take less to cover themselves Because there are more candidates calling companies that maintain these models, and employees who already work on them have better levels of satisfaction. In Xataka | Australia reveals something that had not been taken into account: teleworking is only productive if you wish, not if they impose it Image | Unspash (Coworking macherzentrum toggenburg)

If the question is why the US wants to rescue Argentina with a fortune, the answer has two ingredients: China and Lithium

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Argentina entered again in Turbulence zone Despite the drastic fiscal and monetary adjustment of Javier Milei. A bulky defeat in provincial elections, the erosion of support in Congress and a corruption scandal that splashes their surroundings fired the doubts of the investors, forced sales of reservations by More than 1 billion of dollars in three days to defend the exchange band and approached the weight to the lower limit of the corridor. And then he The United States appeared With a briefcase under your arm. American help. Yes, the reaction was a political-financial turn of Washington: the Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent, defined Argentina As “systemically important ally in Latin America” ​​and announced that “all options” were on the table to stabilize the markets, an explicit wink to the “whatver it Takes” of Mario Draghi in 2012. The message, a priori, had immediate effect on prices and expectations, but opened a greater debate about the scope, incentives and the risks of such support. What has been promised and how. The United States Treasury discusses a swap line with Buenos Aires of 20,000 million of dollars with the Central Bank and the possibility of buying sovereign debt in dollars from Argentina, in addition to making direct currency purchases if the conditions justify it. The operational tool would be the so -called Exchange Stabilization Fundwith wide discretionary margin to intervene in foreign exchange and assets, used in 1995 To help Mexico. Besent added that the treasure “is prepared” to acquire bonds and offer backup credit. Trump himself, after meeting with Milei, affirmed that will help, although he said “I don’t think they need a rescue,” framing assistance as access to “good debt” and market liquidity. In parallel, Milei sought internal oxygen suspending temporarily Grain export taxes to accelerate the flow of commercial dollars, while keeping operational, although partially activated, The swap line With the Popular Bank of China (18,000 million, of which about 5,000 are active). The small print. The announcement acted as a short circuit: The peso bounced, the 2029 and 2035 bonds recovered between 6 and 7 cents and the yield of 10 years in dollars fell from 17% to ~ 15%. Great managers They celebrated the signalunderlining that it provides a “critical window” to the legislative. However, investors requested details: effective volume, deadlines, conditions and intervention triggers. The Treasury He has suggested Absence of “conditionality” added to that of the IMF, but the practice usually imposes safeguards. In “House”, the package faces resistance: Criticism in Congress American questions to allocate emergency funds to sustain the currency and assets of a third party, with the political risk of being perceived as a lifeguard to Trump’s personal ally. Strategic reasons: why. The Analysts coincide With a clearly geopolitical reason: reduce dependence Argentina from China in financing, swaps and access to critical minerals Like lithiumand strengthen an openly government Pro-Mercado and aligned With Washington. The second It is financial: Prevent an episode of regional systemic instability due about 35% of the living support of the background on a global scale. The third may be of global signal: reaffirm the capacity of the United States to stabilize emerging markets with sovereign instruments, projecting financial power in a context of strategic competence. And the fourth, more tactical, purely electoral: Prevent short -term stress Extra ball: Meme politics. An added, less economical and more symbolic factor is politics turned into “Meme”. Just like Bukele He built prisons In El Salvador for ICE deportees as a gesture to Trump, Milei has earned a place within the magician imaginary in the United States for Your incendiary stylehis rejection of the establishment and His libertarian rhetoric. Under that prism, the current White House is willing to hold it because it embodies a political-cultural ally More than institutional, if you want to also, a kind of entry between “politically incorrect countries” that lend mutual support. If instead of Milei will govern A classic Peronista rescue of this size would have hardly been articulated, although, paradoxically, Trump shares with Peronism more related features than with the libertarian ideology that Milei proclaims. Lithium site A NAFTA as a counterpart. It We have counted before. Another angle to consider is the possibility that the financial rescue serves as prelude to an eventual Free Trade Agreement Between the United States and Argentina, a play that would fit with the interests of both parties. For Washington, it would be a way to shield access to strategic raw materials under a stable institutional framework and without the threat that Beijing capitalizes them through state investments. For Milei, a NAFTA with the world’s first economy would be political and economic support Of enormous value, with the ability to attract private capital, reduce financing and consolidate its image of “reliable partner” within the western block. The scenario, which is known, is not formally at the table, but the background of the rescue makes it a plausible possibility: the United States does not usually move chips of this magnitude without also binding long -term commercial commitments. The Argentine structural problem. The Financial Times counted This week that “shock therapy” stopped hyperinflationary drift, but the economy is still caught in A monetary duality that makes the system dependent and vulnerable to twists of feeling: each capital output realizes distrust in the peso and forces expensive defenses with few reserves. In this framework, the discussion about dollarization returns to the center: Milei champied her In campaign, then postponed it for its costs (loss of monetary policy, impossibility of adjusting by exchange rate and binding external cycles), but broad support from the United States could reopen it. Regional experience (Ecuador) and The European They teach to enter is easy and get almost impossible. Without tax reforms, productivity, exchange regime and institutional credibility, assistance can become a expensive and ephemeral patch. China and Treasures. As we said, the “nuclear” aims to remove Buenos Aires from the Chinese orbit in the dispute for strategic resources. The lithium of the “triangle” that integrates Argentina, … Read more

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