Street

Japan has been charging a 0% tariff on foreign cars for half a century. It will be very difficult for you to find one on the street.

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Japan is a fascinating country, one of those that is difficult to understand from the point of view of a Westerner. Perhaps because we ourselves have turned our backs on Asian culture during our years of teaching or because, simply, they have historical and cultural particularities that are difficult for us to assimilate. What is certain is that the Japanese have deep roots in the consumption of local products. It must be taken into account that Japanese society is deeply nationalisticperhaps because it is surrounded by other countries where this feeling is also deeply rooted, such as China or the Koreas, which has caused continuous tensions in the area. After the Second World Warthe United States financed the recovery of Japan, with the clear objective of putting a geopolitical plug on the communism that threatened from China and Korea. A movement that could have diluted this nationalist sentiment. Little by little, the country grew and in the 70s it managed to diversify its industry and, at the same time, apply technical innovations that placed it at the global forefront in many sectors. Taking advantage of the weakness of the yen against the dollar, they decided to put all their efforts into export as much of your products as possible. Those exports flooded the world economy with products. One of the most significant were cars. In its technical innovations, the country prioritized the efficiency of its engines, key to flooding the market when the oil crisis. Compared to American and European cars, The Japanese were cheaper and consumed less. It was at that moment that the industry completely exploded and Japan decided to make a decision: it lifted tariffs on foreign cars. Come and see Japanese politicians must have thought something like this in 1978. In order to be more competitive in foreign markets, the country lifted all tariffs for those who wanted to import a car into their country. That is, any foreign brand could sell its cars in Japan without paying a single extra euro. In Japan they should not have any fear of what was going to happen. Its industry was so powerful and the cultural factors were so determining that foreign vehicles have not fully penetrated the market. For testing, In 2016 the European Union lifted the 10% tariff with which it taxed Japanese cars. The 3% that Japanese manufacturers paid for producing in Europe but using Japanese parts was also raised. In exchange, the European Union found the door open to sell other products, such as cheese or wine. So, the European Union came from buying 575,000 cars from Japan worth 9,000 million euros while we only sold them 279,000 vehicles worth 7,300 million euros, they collected in The World. From here we can get two readings. The European Union, a specialist in car exports, had only placed 279,000 cars in Japan in a market in which Almost five million units were sold in 2016. Of the 12 best-selling brands that year in the country, only one (Mercedes in tenth position) was foreign. And none of the 30 best-selling cars in the country were foreign. The cars that the European Union managed to place in Japan were high-priced vehicles. The average unit cost Japan more than 26,000 euros while those purchased by the European Union cost less than 16,000 euros. That is to say, it was difficult for Europe (and very difficult) to compete by volume. When Japan opened its doors to the world, it had to be aware of the country’s particularities. Tough emissions and space regulations have made cars disappear from the center of large cities. Since the 60s is applied in the country Shako Shomeishothe obligation to have a space where you can park your car to have the right to buy a car. In a country that is concentrated in cities, the limitation is decisive. Furthermore, the Japanese customer fully trusts their companies and finds it difficult to open up to new technologies. The reception of the hybrid car compared to any other technology (and the resistance of the Japanese firms themselves to the electric car) is a good example of this. To this we must add that, due to price, the large generalists cannot compete since local vehicles are much cheaper, taking advantage of the fact that production within the country is more competitive. The value of the yen, lower than the dollar, euro or pound, allows them to obtain large amounts of money for the development and manufacturing of a product that allows them to lower prices in their local market. On the contrary, foreign companies that have to sell there face a cut market due to emissions regulations, the barrier of space regulations and that they have the obligation to change the production of the car since when driving on the left they need to position the controls on the opposite side. An added cost that creates another obstacle. The result is that we Europeans and Americans end up offering Japan cars that are not interesting. In Japan, minivans and cars are a religion. kei carcontained on the outside and with a very large interior space. A type of car that has disappeared in Europe while in Japan the Toyota Sienta, the Nissan Note and the Honda Freed occupied the places of third, fourth and fifth best-selling car in the country. And you can continue down the list of 20 best-selling cars in Japan in 2025. You won’t find a single one that is foreign. And, by the way, 13 of them are from Toyota. Photo | toyota In Xataka | Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, on the electric: “I cannot limit myself to seeking profitability or carbon neutrality. We love cars” A version of this article was published in April 2025

Those who played in the street until nightfall gained a skill that we have lost today

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In 1971, a pioneering study from the psychologist Roger Hart He asked dozens of children to draw a map of places where they could move alone. What he discovered It was surprising: Some traveled several kilometers without adult supervision and knew their neighborhood like the back of their hand. Decades later, Hart repeated the exercise and found that this “territory of freedom” had been drastically reduced, a trend that has since been observed in numerous countries. A value that many of us considered lost. For years, playing in the street until nightfall was remembered above all as an image loaded with nostalgia. However, a number growing research is coming to a conclusion much more interesting: that everyday freedom was also an unparalleled psychological training. Yes, resolving conflicts without adults, exploring the neighborhood, taking small risks or even inventing games on the fly thanks to “boredom” helped develop skills like autonomy, trust, emotional regulation and the ability to face uncertainty, skills that many experts today consider less and less frequent among the children. It’s not the parks, it’s the size of the world. Researchers use a very graphic concept to measure this transformation: the home rangethe territory that a child can walk without supervision. I remembered the Washington Post that just a few generations ago the baby could cover several kilometers. Today, in many cases, it barely reaches the door of the house. In fact, studies carried out in different countries show that less and less minors can go to school alone, cross a main street or visit a friend in the neighborhood without permission or constant supervision of an adult, a reduced independence that reflects the extent to which childhood has changed. Playing was not a waste of time. When a group of children were discussing the rules of a game, deciding who started, or finding a solution to recover a lost ball, they were doing much more than entertainment. The researchers they count that, without realizing it, negotiation, cooperation, creativity, frustration tolerance and decision making were practiced. Precisely for that reason, a study A recent study by Aarhus University concluded that children themselves consider it essential that the game belongs to them and not to adults, to the point that one of its authors summed up the idea with a phrase as provocative as it is revealing: “Sometimes an adult should shut up and go away.” Small risks also educate. Falling off a bicycle, climbing a tree or returning home with scraped knees are part of common memories for several generations. Nowadays, these episodes are usually interpreted as situations that should be avoided, but many psychologists hold that these controlled risks teach something difficult to acquire in any other way: evaluate dangers, overcome fear and verify that problems usually have a solution. In fact, various scientific works they point Even this gradual exposure to uncertainty can strengthen self-confidence and reduce the risk of anxiety in the long term. The data that proves it right. Nostalgia may idealize the past, but scientific evidence is beginning to support some of that perception. a study of the University of Exeter with more than 4,000 children concluded that those who played outdoors more frequently between the ages of two and four were more likely to maintain a good mental health profile up to eight years. Not only that. Other research with 2,500 minors found that outside play was associated with better social and emotional skills, reinforcing the idea that these benefits go far beyond physical exercise. It’s not the screens, but what they have replaced. In what they insist experts is that the decline in outdoor play cannot be explained by technology alone. Traffic, the disappearance of safe spaces, the reduction of recreation time, parental fear and a culture that tends to supervise any children’s activity also play a role. The result is a childhood much more organizedwith more guided activities and fewer opportunities to experiment, make mistakes and learn on your own. The great paradox. Of course, no researcher proposes returning to a time with fewer security measures or letting children do anything. The debate revolves around another question: strike a balance between protecting and allowing them to develop their own autonomy. After decades trying to eliminate any risk from childhood, psychology is beginning to remember an idea that many generations learned by playing in the street until nightfall: confidence does not usually appear when everything is under control, but when someone discovers that they are capable to get ahead on your own. Image | Joe Shlabotnik, Brittany Grater In Xataka | David Sands, expert in animal psychology: “If your cat licks you, he is signaling to you that you are his property.” In Xataka | If you’re overwhelmed, go for a walk: Science confirms that movement literally ignites your creativity

Elon Musk’s two companies merge because Wall Street loves simplicity

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SpaceX is no longer SpaceX and xAI is no longer xAI. Instead, the company has decided to merge both names, and from now on it will be called SpaceXAI. That new name makes one thing very clear: the company is selling itself to Wall Street as an AI company that also launches rockets, not the other way around. A fusion that was sung. SpaceX bought xAI —and with it, both the Grok AI model and the social network X— in early February. He did so in a 100% stock move that valued SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion. The name change is above all a marketing “punchline” about that de facto merger. The strategy has as one of its probable arguments a simplification that will undoubtedly be liked on Wall Street: Musk has created many companies that seemed to operate independently, so consolidating them gives that vision of a unified purpose and objective. This is not just about image. After the merger that occurred in February there was a clear reason: the dream of orbital data centers. Musk has been talking for some time about how ground infrastructure can’t meet AI’s global electrical demand, and SpaceX has already asked the FCC for permission to deploy up to a million satellites that work like computing nodes in low orbit. Therefore, having SpaceX and xAI completely merged also by their name simplifies this entire ecosystem. Going public helps. The decision comes shortly after SpaceX debuted on the stock market in June with the largest IPO in history. It raised $75 billion and earned a valuation of $1.77 trillion. The milkmaid’s tale? Before going public, SpaceX spoke of the “Total Addressable Market” (TAM), an estimate of the total size of the business they could access if they captured 100% of the demand and the figure is colossal: 28.5 billion dollarsof which 26.5 billion would correspond to AI, 1.6 billion in connectivity (Starlink) and only 370,000 to the space segment. Part of the animation of the “fusion” between both names showed this aspect. Grok and Cursor as pieces of the future. Grok continues and will continue to operate under the SpaceXAI umbrella, and of course the infrastructure agreements already signed are also maintained. The most important, the one that Anthropic recently signed and for which will pay 1,250 million dollars monthly to SpaceXAI for access to computing in the Colossus data centers. Google will pay 920 million monthly for the same. The other piece of the future is Cursor, the AI ​​agent for programming which is key so that the company can infiltrate companies. And Tesla, what? Since the merger with SpaceX was closed, there has been speculation on Wall Street with a plausible future: that Tesla will be the next to disappear as an independent company. SpaceX’s own president, Gwynne Shotwell, recognized the day of the IPO that there is a clear “convergence” between both companies, although he avoided talking about dates. Both are already collaborating on projects such as the ambitious Terafab, and Tesla maintains an investment of $2 billion in SpaceX which, after the merger with xAI, has already generated a capital gain on paper of around 64% due to the rise in the value of SpaceX shares. A very strong option. This “merger” with Tesla seems certainly likely. Wedbush consulting analyst Dan Ives esteem that there is an 80% probability that the movement will occur, and the Kalshi betting platform handles in these moments a 51% chance of that move arriving before May 2027. Some of the groundwork is already done in practice: both companies share engineers and both face bottlenecks in the form of power supply and cooling for their AI systems. In Xataka | “The idea of ​​making a cell phone makes me want to die,” said Musk. Two years later, it is very deep with its prototype of a mobile phone with AI

An air conditioner that leaks on the street seems harmless. Until you discover that you can be fined

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Summer has just begun and we are already suffering the first extreme heat wave that has made the air conditioners are working at full capacitywhich implies that they produce more condensation water. many people let that water fall directly into the street Thinking that nothing happens, it’s just water, right? Although it may seem harmless since it is condensation water, pouring liquids onto public roads is listed as an infraction in most municipal ordinances. If you do not have the drain of your air conditioning correctly installed or if you have a bottle on the balcony or window and you let it overflow, you risk being fined. What the ordinances say It depends on each municipality, but in many of them the dumping of liquids of any type is considered an infraction, even if it is clean water. For example, in the Municipal urban cleaning ordinance of Valencia They do not explicitly mention air conditioning, but it is prohibited to “Pouring water, and in particular, watering plants placed outside buildings if as a result of this operation spills and splashes occur on public roads or on their elements.” In Madrid, the Ordinance on Cleaning Public Spaces, Waste Management and Circular Economy classifies as a minor infraction “Pouring water into public spaces from watering plants” and also “Pouring water into public spaces from cleaning terraces of buildings or similar.” There are town councils like Malaga that do explicitly mention air conditioning. In the Ordinance for the cleaning of public spaces and comprehensive waste management They say that “Air conditioning units that face public roads will not be able to discharge water into it.” There are town councils that take it further, such as the town hall of El Puig, in Valencia, which has a specific ordinance on air conditioning devices. In addition to instructions on where and how to install them, one of the rules is that “The collection of water through drainage or any other means that prevents its discharge onto public roads must be planned.” These are just a few examples, but Each town council has its own regulations. Risk of fines According to lawyer Arsenio Martínez on your Instagram profile, fines can range between 90 and 1,000 euros depending on the severity. It also warns that if water causes an accident or damage, the owner of the device will have to bear all the expenses derived from possible injuries and damage caused. The cleaning and waste disposal ordinances that we have consulted do not establish penalties for this specific violation. For example, the city council of Valencia toughened sanctions for dirtying public roads with fines from 750 to 3,000 euros, but they do not mention the discharge of water specifically. Just because there isn’t an explicitly established amount doesn’t mean they can’t fine you: it is still a violation. Of course, in most cases it appears as “mild”, so the amount should not skyrocket, but it depends on each municipality. If you want to avoid scares and your installation allows it, the best and most comfortable thing is for the condensation water pipe to be connected to a downspout. When this is not possible, we usually have a jug or bucket to collect the water. In this case, if you have it on the window or balcony, remember empty it periodically so that it does not overflow and fall onto the sidewalk. Image | Amparo Babiloni, Xataka In Xataka | Europe is discovering what Spain learned the hard way decades ago: extreme heat destroys your infrastructure

the illegal sale of street food

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If you usually travel by metro around Madrid, especially through the Plaza Elíptica or Oporto stations, it is likely that you have come across the scene: You leave the stop and suddenly you smell an intense smell of roast meat that makes you salivate and a voice that announces ’empanadas’, ‘humitas’ or ‘stuffed potatoes’. It is not a matter of any bar in the area determined to offer its merchandise to passengers, but rather the business of street vendors (normally immigrants, with and without papers) who have made the surroundings of the stations your particular market. It is not something anecdotal. Its activity has grown so much that Hospitality of Spain (HDE) already warns of its risks. Looking for life. That there are street vendors who have turned Madrid stations and their surroundings into improvised markets is nothing new. Nor that part of those merchants are dedicated to food. Long before the pandemic it was possible find people selling hot empanadas around La Elipa, just as other vendors were dedicated to offering counterfeit football shirts, handbags, belts or sunglasses. In 2024 ABC he even dedicated an extensive report to a group of Peruvians who were selling in the subway Bon Bon Bum lollipopa sweet from the Colombina brand. Despite the control of the security guards, there were 50 immigrants who made a living from this business, a task that they organized through WhatsApp and to which they dedicated up to 15 hours each day. They obtained the Chups through a “completely legal store,” argued one of them, who claimed not to understand why the authorities seized their merchandise. What has changed? That far from slowing down or stagnating, the irregular street sale of food in the area of ​​certain metro stations seems to have worsened in recent years. So revealed it a few days ago Alfredo Herrera in The Confidentialin a chronicle in which he describes the activity of several street vendors who sell their merchandise (especially empanadas, potatoes, soft drinks and ice cream) to passengers leaving the Plaza Elíptica, Entrevías, Oporto stations or even the Alcalá de Henares Renfe terminal. In hot and cold, rain or wind. These are usually Latin American immigrants. Some have papers. Others don’t and doubt they will ever be able to get them. They buy the merchandise from suppliers, relatives or prepare it themselves at home and then transport it in boxes or thermal refrigerators with which they are installed outside the stations, exposed to the sun, heat, cold, rain or wind. They strive to capture passengers leaving and entering the terminals because they know that the security provided by Metro can cause problems if they move their business inside. They charge in cash, although there are also those who accept payments via Bizum. “There are more and more”. Another of the ideas that leaves you bouncing the report of The Confidential The thing is that for many of them it is not a specific way of making a living. Some admit that they have been subsisting basically on street food sales for years. “I dedicate myself to this because I don’t have papers and it’s difficult to get them. Nothing has ever come of me in hospitality. I have to live off of something and this is a good option for those of us who don’t have documentation, which is why there are more and more people doing the same thing,” comments Juana 29-year-old Colombian who has been selling food for two years. “When I started there were very few of us, now the number of street vendors throughout Madrid has increased.” @soycolombianoeneuropa Let’s share this video to support this Comombiano who sells empanadas at the Plaza Eliptica metro station. IMPORTANT ⚠️ IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANYTHING GOOD TO SAY, IT BETTER NOT SAY ANYTHING. • • #soycolombianoeneurope #colombianosporelmundo #colombianosenespaña #colombianoeneuropa #immigrantlife #strangemytown #colombianinmadrid ♬ original sound – I am Colombian in Europe More than 1,200 euros per month. Her testimony is similar to that of Camila, Peruvian, 39 years old. Since he arrived in Spain, more or less in 2023, he has basically dedicated himself to selling food at a station on the Renfe network in the Community of Madrid. Recognize that it is removed more than 1,200 euros per month, but at the cost of working more than 10 hours a day at the door of a station and exposing themselves to the police confiscating their merchandise and suddenly losing goods worth more than 100 euros. It’s already happened to him. She assures that she registered as self-employed to regularize her business, but that only allows her to “move food, not sell it.” He is already looking for another job in bars and restaurants, although he also admits that to date “nothing has come of it.” “Absolute irregularity”. Proof that street food sales have increased in recent years is that it is already worrying Hospitality of Spainan association that brings together thousands of companies in the restaurant sector. Its general secretary, Emilio Gallego, warns that businesses like Juan’s or Camila’s represent a “absolute irregularity” and insists that “the least important thing” is that the bars and cafes in the neighborhoods where these street vendors work may lose customers. “The main problem lies in the violation of food safety,” he emphasizes after recalling that legal catering businesses must adhere to “more rigorous and strict” regulations than local ones. The big risk: poisoning. “In addition, these sales fail to comply with trade, tax and labor regulations. Not to mention that they can even constitute a crime for public health if someone suffers from poisoning,” duck. He is not the only one who emphasizes that last point. Experts remember how difficult it is to control the origin and traceability of a food that is sold outside legal channels. It may smell good, it may even be tasty, but… Where did the ingredients come from? Have they been kept at a good temperature? What about allergens? What if there is poisoning? “Serious impact”. On … Read more

There’s a reason you stop to pet any cat you pass on the street (and it says a lot more about you than you think).

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There’s something that happens to me every time I walk down the street and pass a cat. It doesn’t matter if you’re perched on a wall, looking out of a window, or just sitting on the sidewalk watching the world go by. Arrest. Greetings. I extend my hand slowly, wait to see if it comes closer, and if it does, I pet it. It is not a conscious decision: it is automatic. It also happens to me with dogs or any other animal that crosses my path. For a long time I thought it was just a personal quirk. But it turns out not. Psychology and neuroscience have been studying exactly that gesture for years—that almost uncontrollable impulse to seek contact with a cat—and what they have found says much more about who we are than what appears at first glance. The first thing to understand is that in this bond, the cat has the last word. It’s not like petting a dog, which usually comes alone and enthusiastically. Cats are selective, unpredictable and much less invasive in their displays of affection. Therefore, what science says about this exchange has a particular complexity. a study, collected by Science Alert measured the hormone levels of owners and cats during 15-minute sessions of physical contact at home. The results were eloquent: when contact was relaxed—stroking, gentle hugs, rocking—oxytocin levels rose in both people and animals. But there was an indispensable condition: the interaction could not be forced. Cats had to be able to walk away if they wanted to.. “The hormone flows when the cat feels safe and comfortable,” the study authors wrote. What would happen when that condition was not met was just as revealing. According to Vice owners who tried to hug cats that didn’t want to be hugged saw their oxytocin levels drop, not rise. And the same would happen in the animal. The forced hug does not activate love: it turns it off. There is something deeply human in that. Oxytocin, cortisol and a 150 hertz purr Oxytocin is the hormone that scientists call “love” or “bonding.” It is the same one that is triggered when we hug someone we love, when a mother sees her newborn child, when there is real trust between two people. That it also appears in contact with a cat—and that it appears in the cat as well—is not a minor fact. The connection with animals and the increase in oxytocin is not new in scientific research. A review published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2012 already documented that interaction with animals produced measurable increases in oxytocin and reductions in cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. But studies on cats in particular came later and with important nuances. Researchers in Japan published in MDPI Animals an experiment with 32 cat owners: those who freely interacted with their animals showed significant hormonal changes compared to non-contact rest periods. A 2002 study already documented that the increase in oxytocin generated by gentle contact with cats helped reduce cortisol and, consequently, blood pressure and even the perception of pain. It is one of the works collected by Laura Elin Pigott, professor of Neuroscience at London South Bank University, in his analysis published in The Conversation. But there is a third player in this equation that is often overlooked: the purr. According to a synthesis of research collected by PetShun the frequency of a cat’s purr—which ranges wildly between 25 and 150 hertz—falls within what specialists call the “biomechanical stimulation range.” It is literally the same range of frequencies used in clinical vibration therapy to promote tissue repair and bone density. Some studies suggest that Listening to that sound can reduce cortisol levels by 10% to 20% in just 15 minutes of exposure. It’s not magic or intuition new age. It is physics and biochemistry. With a dog the bond is automatic. With a cat, you have to earn it But not all animals produce this effect in the same way. And understanding that difference is key to understanding what it says about you that you are looking for cats. In a 2016 experiment, scientists measured oxytocin in pets and their owners before and after ten minutes of play. The dogs saw an average 57% increase in their oxytocin levels. Cats, just 12%. The difference, according to researchers collected by Science Alertdoes not reflect feline coldness but rather evolutionary history: dogs were domesticated for millions of years for constant visual contact and dependence on humans. Cats, no. That’s why they reserve that hormonal surge—and that confidence—for the moments when they feel truly safe. In other words: with a dog, the emotional bond is almost automatic. With a cat, you have to earn it. And that completely changes what it says about the person looking for it. What stopping on the street to greet a cat says about you A study from Nottingham Trent University, published in PLOS ONE by Lauren Finka and her team with a sample of more than 3,300 cat owners, found something that at first seems striking: certain personality traits observed in the owners also appeared in their cats. The researchers’ hypothesis is that cats could be reflecting, in part, the personalities of those who care for them. It is not a minor fact: it suggests that the relationship is not one-way and that the human-feline bond is so real that it leaves a mark on both. On the other hand, research on people who prefer the company of cats consistently points to certain shared traits. a study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications analyzed 319 young adult cat owners and found that pet attachment was positively correlated with empathy, emotional regulation, and perceived social support. In other words, Those who build a solid bond with their cat tend to also have greater empathic capacity in their human relationships. This finding connect with what Faunalyticsan organization that synthesizes research on the human-animal bond, has documented: people who live with companion animals are … Read more

There is a city that has scanned the faces of more than 3 million people on the street and it is not in China, but in Europe

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A few days ago a man was walking down the street when, without realizing it, a camera scanned his face. As he continued walking, a sophisticated system compared his face to a police database, sent the alert, and within minutes he was arrested. It happened in London. The city of cameras. London is one of the most surveilled cities in the world; according to some sourcesin its streets there are more than 600,000 cameras controlling everything that happens. For some years now, in addition, they have a real-time facial recognition system to identify dangerous criminals, and it seems that the system is being as effective as it is controversial. In numbers. London’s Metropolitan Police say that since the beginning of 2024 they have made 2,500 arrests, of which 2,100 are related to violent and sexual crimes against women and girls. The system scanned more than 3 million faces in one year and only generated ten false positives. During a pilot in the Croydon district at least 470,000 passers-by were scanned with only one false positive. According to the police, the result of this test was a 10.5% crime reduction. How it works. The facial recognition cameras they have installed are capable of scanning up to 5,000 faces per hour. What they do is send the data to a police operations room where an AI system, signed by the Japanese company NEC, is dedicated to compare them with the police databasewhere there are more than 17,000 registered suspects. When there is a match, an alert is issued to officers in the area so they can make the arrest. Opposition. Organizations like Big Brother Watch has carried out campaigns against this systemarguing that it risks normalizing mass surveillance in public spaces and calling the technology ‘Orwellian’. Furthermore, they strongly question its true operational profitability since, while the police boast of making an arrest every 35 minutes, they warn that these statistics hide the enormous number of hours of the agents and the immense logistical resources that the system requires on the streets, diverting efforts from traditional and more proportionate police work. The debate has intensified after the unprecedented use of the system in a political protest in London. Big Brother Watch took the case to the High Court, but it ruled in favor of the legality of the technology, paving the way for its expansion. In favor. Despite opposition from some organizations, according to Police Director Lindsey Chiswick, the technology is “revolutionary” and completely secure, stressing that the biometric data of those who do not match the list of suspects are immediately destroyed. There are also fears that the algorithm discriminates based on race, but the police hide behind the fact that the tests carried out concluded that the system is accurate and does not present ethnic or gender biases. According to Chiswick, citizen support is around 80% in surveys. Image | Levi Meir ClancyUnsplash In Xataka | Concern over mass video surveillance has created a new product: anti-facial recognition glasses

The banks didn’t want anything to do with oil. Wall Street has solved it with the 2008 mortgage strategy

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Oil and gas producers in the United States are turning to the financial magic of Wall Street to fuel their acquisitions in a frenetic race for growth. To achieve this, they are packaging thousands of pots into investment vehicles and selling stakes to American investors, replicating the exact same model that has long been used for mortgages, auto loans and other sources of securitized income. Away from the spotlight, the number of these operations has grown rapidly in recent years. Industry experts consulted by Financial Times They estimate that the total amount of debt issued through this format already ranges between 20,000 and 30,000 million dollars. It is a fundamentally opaque market, where most transactions are closed privately. Historically, independent oil and gas producers financed its operations through loans reserve-based (RBL) and high-yield debt. However, the situation has changed drastically. Some commercial banks have reduced their exposure to the extractive sector to meet their sustainability strategies under environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, or in response to public concern over climate change. Added to this is the fear of traditional investors of “stranded assets” and the general uncertainty about the long-term viability of the sector in the midst of the energy transition. In addition, rising interest rates have raised costs, making high-yield debt too expensive or inaccessible for many producers. To survive, companies They have found an alternative way: They transfer their mature wells, known as proven, developed and producing (PDP) reserves, to a newly created Special Purpose Entity (SPE). This entity operates independently and is structured to be “bankruptcy-remote”, ensuring that the transferred assets are completely separate from the balance sheet of the producing company and safe in the event of its bankruptcy. Attracting conservative money By isolating these high-quality assets, the bonds issued by the SPE manage to achieve an “investment grade” rating. This seal of quality attracts a new class of investors who would normally avoid oil risk: pension funds, insurance companies and large asset managers looking for structured financial products with stable returns. For the oil companies, business is great. The securitization allows them to obtain advance rates (advance rates) of between 55% and 75% of the value of the reserves, figures significantly higher than those available in traditional RBL loans. To convince credit rating agencies, the secret lies in diversification and insurance. On the one hand, thousands of assets are grouped together; for example, Raisa Energy closed an operation combining more than 3,000 wells operated by more than 50 companies in more than 20 counties. On the other hand, long-term hedges are contracted to protect investors from oil fluctuations, reaching up to 85% of the entity’s production for a period of five to seven years. The “time bomb” and the cracks in private credit But financial engineering sometimes hides structural cracks. Brandon Davis, founder of energy intelligence company AFE Leaks, describes in FT These price hedges act as a “ticking time bomb” in case other production costs increase. If the price of oil rises, the company’s income is capped because the difference goes to the hedging counterparty (usually a bank). However, if at the same time there is inflation in operating costs, such as field services or water treatment, the profit margin backing the bonds could be seriously eroded. The cracks in this engineering are not an isolated case in the energy sector, but a symptom of a greater malaise in the opaque world of private credit on Wall Street, where patience (and money) is beginning to run out. This risk is framed at a time of growing tension for the entire private credit ecosystem on Wall Street. Investors are starting to demand their money back. In Cliffwater’s $33 billion fund, clients requested to withdraw 14% of their capital in a single quarter, but the firm said it only I would pay around 50% of those requests, forcing the other half to wait. If the panic spreads, traditional banks will not escape unscathed either. Lending by US banks to non-depository financial institutions, which includes private credit, reached 1.2 trillion dollars in the middle of last year, almost tripling its share compared to a decade ago. Furthermore, as with oil wells, the securitization market as a whole is extremely sensitive to external regulatory or macroeconomic shocks. A clear example occurred recently in another sector: Mpower Financing had to postpone the sale of almost $250 million in bonds backed by loans to international students. The cause was investors’ fear of the new restrictive visa policies of the Donald Trump administration. If regulatory changes or geopolitical crises hit the energy sector unexpectedly, oil securitization could face a similar collapse in demand. The danger of forgetting the nature of the business Wall Street has packaged a high-risk industry into a tame-looking product, but geology and the global market are difficult to tame. “The trick has always been to convince the rating agencies that measures have been put in place to mitigate the risk,” warns Olivier Darmounieconomist specialized in credit markets at HEC Paris. “But that’s the inherent thing about oil and gas, it’s an inherently volatile business.” Darmouni points out the ultimate risk: “If something goes wrong, the main problem will be that oil and gas will run out of capital” if producers start defaulting on bond payments. As long as the money keeps flowing, the machine will not stop. But as Laura Parrott warnshead of private fixed income at Nuveen, the market is experiencing a lot of effervescence. In scenarios of such investment fever, he concludes, “people are going to be trapped.” Image | Photo by David Vives on Unsplash Xataka | Climate change is no longer profitable: WallStreet and large investors abandon green policies

This space company has designed the suit for astronauts that you would also want to wear on the street

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The private space company Vast has presented at the 46th Space Symposium the suits that its team will wear both in training on Earth and in missions in space. These are aesthetically appealing clothes, but above all they have been manufactured with careful consideration of the needs of astronauts. on the International Space Station. Thus, the aim is to facilitate both their movements and their ability to work. Both with and without gravity. As explained in a Vast statement former astronaut and company advisor Megan McArthur, in space the body takes on positions that it does not take on Earth. Additionally, when working in microgravity, it is necessary to always have your hands free and tools within reach. They may be necessary at any time. For this reason, spacesuits must put comfort and operability above all things. Pockets, zippers and hooks. Vast’s spacesuit consists of two pieces, which can be worn separately or as a jumpsuit, joining both parts with a zipper. It has a multitude of pockets, like cargo pants. The main difference with any garment with pockets that can be worn on Earth is that each of them is intentionally placed to squeeze out their use in microgravity. They are right where they are needed. On the other hand, astronauts may need to access tools quickly, so opening and closing the zipper of the pocket takes up too much of their time. That’s why spacesuits also have hook-and-loop closures on the pants legs. Mobility comes first. The suits are made from a lightweight, breathable and flexible material with rear vents and shoulder gussets, allowing full range of motion. In addition, it is tailored to each astronaut, so that the fit is completely personalized. Many tests ahead. Vast has just signed its first contract with NASA to take its astronauts to the International Space Station in 2027. During all that time, just as the hardware necessary for the mission is thoroughly tested, the relevant tests will be carried out on the spacesuit. Above all, it must be confirmed that the materials are safe, durable and compatible with the space station environment. There is no washing machine in space. Both the Vast suit and the rest of the uniforms used by astronauts on the International Space Station, They must be dirt resistant and quick drying. Thus, crew members can wear the same clothes for several days without problem. Clothes that get dirty faster, such as underwear, are changed more often. They are placed in airtight bags and, when enough accumulates, they are added along with other waste in a cargo vehicle that is sent to Earth, so that all of these waste products are burned as they pass through the atmosphere. Not to be confused with the extravehicular suit. What Vast has just presented is the uniform of its astronauts. This should not be confused with the extravehicular suit, which is used on flights and spacewalks to protect astronauts from radiation, fire, or extreme temperatures. The uniforms They are something much simplerwhich can even be worn on Earth to attend events. Still, these are not random garments. There is also a lot of technology behind it. Vast Seasons. Vast’s goal is to support continued human presence in space in the future, with an eye toward space research, industry and tourism. To this end, this company has several space station projects, both single module and multimodular. They also plan to build a station with artificial gravity in the future, something that has not yet been achieved. But first they must gain experience and hours in space. Therefore, the first step will be to take its astronauts to the International Space Station. Now, thanks to NASAhave their first private mission in these facilities on the horizon. If all goes well, the launch window will open in summer 2027. Images | Vast In Xataka | This woman has been accused for years of committing the only crime that has taken place in space. It was all a lie

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro wants to be different in the mid-range. We have tried it on the street and not everything is so simple

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If you are thinking of buying a mid-range mobile phone and are looking for something different, with personality and that design point that sets it apart from the rest, the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro It may have easily slipped onto your list. It is no coincidence: its proposal plays precisely in that field, that of offering something recognizable in an increasingly homogeneous segment. The question, as always, is whether this difference is accompanied by a good day-to-day experience. This is where our usual approach comes in. While Ivan Linares has been in charge of analyze the device in depth, Ana Boria has taken it one step further: it has been taken out of the controlled environment for a real test. The result is the latest video from Xataka’s YouTube channelwhere he tests the terminal in everyday situations and draws conclusions with context. Let’s get to it. When the cell phone takes to the streets: a real test in Lisbon The chosen scenario is not coincidental. Lisbon serves as a perfect test bed for evaluate a mobile phone in real conditions: outdoor photos, intensive use during the day, navigation, content consumption… This is where a device stops being a technical sheet and starts to show what it is made of. And in this case, as usually happens in the mid-range, there are lights and shadows. In the performance section, the approach is clear from the beginning. We are not looking at the latest Qualcomm processor, but that does not imply a bad experience. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 complies with solvency in daily use, something that Ana sums up bluntly: “I have not noticed any type of problem or performance, fluidity or anything.” A statement that points directly to what matters most in this range: stability and consistency. The software is another point that makes the difference. Nothing OS 4.1 is committed to a clean experience, without unnecessary additions, and that is noticeable from the first power on. “You don’t know how much pleasure it gave me to turn on the phone for the first time and not see anything at all. no bloodwarenot a single social media advertising app that I wouldn’t be interested in being there.” In a market where bloated software is still common, this approach carries weight. When we move to the camera, the analysis becomes more nuanced. The main sensor offers solid results, especially in favorable conditions, with “photos with adequate sharpness” and where “in general the white balance is correct.” It is not a revolution, but it is a reliable foundation. Of course, there is also room for improvement in certain scenarios, something that Ana hints at during the video. Beyond the camera, there are two elements that define the experience: battery and screen. They are the ones that accompany the user throughout the day and those that, ultimately, determine whether the mobile phone convinces or not. In the video they are put to real use that allows us to better understand how far the device goes in this area. And, of course, there is the most recognizable element of the phone. The rear with Glyph Matrix is ​​not only an aesthetic issue, it also introduces a customization component that is unusual in this segment. “There are different types of light designs to assign to different applications, but you can even upload images to create custom designs.” It is, in a way, the materialization of that initial idea: to offer something different. The complete analysis of the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro It is now available on the Xataka YouTube channel. If you want to understand how it behaves beyond the technical sheet and keep Ana’s final assessment, it is worth watching it calmly. Remember that you can also leave us your comments both on this article and on the video. Images | Xataka In Xataka | Poco X8 Pro Max, analysis: one of the largest batteries on the market arrives with a SoC that also has a lot to say

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