Before the pandemic it seemed that air traffic and tourism had no limits, and the post-covid rebound had reinvigorated that idea, despite obstacles such as the war in Ukraine, which complicated transit between Europe and Asia. But the conflict in Iran has once again reminded us of the fragility of this economic sector to any geopolitical event. Although the war does not have to cause a collapse in business (at least if the negotiations promoted by Donald Trump advance), the rise in the cost of fuel and tickets, added to the loss of purchasing power of consumers, suggests a drop in income in the short term. Companies are already reducing capacity.
Analysts see companies like IAG, which have larger margins, better prepared to absorb the shock. The tourism sector in general may have to adjust its forecasts for this year, which at the beginning of the year were very optimistic. But recent years have shown the persistence of inflationary pressures, beyond the Iran disruption.
Grifols does not give up in its efforts to strengthen the business and seduce investors
Grifols wants to recover the initiative regarding the evolution of its activity, after a period in which its agenda has been marked by its conflict with Gotham City Research, and it intends to place 20% of the business of its subsidiary Biopharma in the United States on the United States Stock Exchange, its main market. The market reacted with enthusiasm, which subsequently cooled, reflecting that the Spanish multinational continues to find it difficult to attract the interest of investors. The bet, with which it aims to raise up to $5 billion, shows that, at least, the company is not giving up.
Crypto holders are looking for what everyone else is looking for: profitability
Cryptocurrencies have opened a new front in the payment of interest on deposits of stablecoinswhich are backed by fiat currencies. Banks rightly consider it to be direct competition with their own products, and are pushing for a US law prevent companies in the crypto world like Coinbase pay returns to the holders of these currencies. In exchange, they could offer rewards, that is, substitutes for interest, but whose legal regime would be less clear, so it would be more difficult for them to attract users. It is easy to get lost in these financial structures, but one concept is clear: savers care relatively little about the formula, as long as they achieve profitability.
The phrase of the day
If the war ends and Iran remains a threat, we could have years of oil above $100, closer to $150, which would have profound implications for the economy. We will have a global recession if oil stays at 150
Larry Fink, CEO de BlackRock
Sora closes after a new failure of too ‘human’ technologies
The uncanny valley hypothesis, from robotics and 3D animation, states that anthropomorphic replicas that are too close to the appearance and behavior of a real human cause rejection. Different technologies in recent decades have demonstrated the validity of this theory: see SecondLife, that virtual world in which Gaspar Llamazares held a rally, and which continues to function, but with greatly reduced popularity. Or Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse, which will close in June, making the name of his business group obsolete. And now it’s SoraOpenAI’s video generation tool, which announces its end, just a few months after reaching a vaunted agreement with Disney, and whose mix of hyperrealism and absurdity is somewhat shocking.
