Joseph Belbruno Blog

  Clouds gather as Spain basks in its post-Franco boom Málaga symbolises the successes of the past 50 years, but it’s not all fun in the sun, writes Isambard Wilkinson Malaga Cathedral is being refurbished Next image  › A crane towering over Malaga Cathedral, a jewel of the Spanish Renaissance, heralds a historic fulfilment. A watertight roof is being built for the first time since construction began nearly five centuries ago. Fixing an age-old problem, the work is transforming the profile of the city’s most emblematic building. The restoration marks a crowning moment for Malaga as the southern port city basks in a boom that mirrors Spain’s economic success. The project is led by Francisco de la Torre, 82, Malaga’s mayor for 25 years, who is credited with putting the city on the world map. As the country commemorates five decades since the death of the dictator Francisco Franco,the mayor is among Spaniards celebrating the unprecedented prosperity that democracy has generated. ...

  Tackling the social media ‘monster’ John Thornhill john.thornhill@ft.com · 13 Nov 2025 Like many parents, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has strong views about the harmful effects of social media on children. “We have released a monster,” she told parliament last month. “Mobile phones and social media steal our children’s childhood.” To tackle the problem, the Danish government moved last week to ban access to social media for children under 15, although the legislation will take time to enact. According to Frederiksen, 94 per cent of children under 13 in Denmark have social media profiles — even though that is supposedly the minimum age for such services. Almost every parent worries about what their children may be exposed to online and how it will influence their behaviour. Will their child be a victim — or perpetrator — of online bullying and offline violence as so chillingly depicted in Netflix’s award-winning Adolescence? Denmark’s initiative reflects the growing...

  Traders must pay heed to squeeze on affordability Mohamed El-Erian is the Rene M Kern professor at Wharton School, chief economic adviser at Allianz and chair of Gramercy Fund Management Mohamed El-Erian · 13 Nov 2025 As suggested by recent US elections, no word may capture the American public’s anxiety more completely than “affordability”. As in other countries, the worries are amplified by media coverage of a simple and convenient antagonist — prices. It is a dynamic that market participants will need to pay attention to as the challenges of affordability are set to accelerate, especially as employees worry about workplace changes related to artificial intelligence. Political pressure will demand policy responses that will also impact markets. The focus on prices is understandable. The inflationary surge of 2021-22 was a major shock that made the cost of staples, such as groceries and utilities, a source of pain. For politicians, fighting the cost of living became a clear, conc...

  Google sues China hackers for selling text scam software ▸ Move aims to shut servers and sites ▸ Tech group says $1bn stolen globally STEPHEN MORRIS — SAN FRANCISCO ELEANOR OLCOTT — BEIJING MEHUL SRIVASTAVA —LONDON · 13 Nov 2025 Google has filed a lawsuit against a group of Chinese hackers that it claims sells software to help criminals run online scams, which the US tech giant said had ensnared 1mn people in 121 countries and stolen $1bn. The group runs a platform called “Lighthouse”, which charges a monthly fee for “phishing services” that assist criminals to execute campaigns to extract sensitive information, according to a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York yesterday. These phishing campaigns generate fake emails, text messages and websites impersonating Google’s brands such as Gmail and YouTube, as well as others including the New York City government or the US Postal Service. Google hopes to win a judgment under US racketeering and computer fraud laws to a...

  El Banco de España alerta de una corrección “abrupta” en las Bolsas El supervisor avisa del riesgo de la sobrevaloración tecnológica y descarta una burbuja inmobiliaria RICARDO SOBRINO Madrid Esta advertencia se suma a las de otros organismos internacionales La institución ve al sistema financiero español listo para afrontar tensiones El Banco de España alerta de que la fiebre por la inteligencia artificial (IA) está sobrevalorando a las grandes compañías tecnológicas en Bolsa y podría desembocar en una caída abrupta de los mercados. En su Informe de Estabilidad Financiera de Otoño 2025, el supervisor subraya que pese a la aparente calma, existe el riesgo de “correcciones abruptas e intensas de las valoraciones en los mercados financieros”. “La valoración del riesgo de los mercados contrasta con la situación de incertidumbre que estamos viendo. Los mercados ponen poco precio al riesgo. Cuando uno mira la situación bursátil, fundamentalmente en Estados Unidos, en las empresas tecn...

  Aferrados a las ruinas de Kostiantinivka Unos pocos miles de habitantes de una localidad del frente en el este de Ucrania intentan sobrevivir a las bombas rusas LUIS DE VEGA Kostiantinivka Evgeny Tkachev lleva alimentos con su furgoneta y realiza evacuaciones Vecinos alineados con Moscú prefieren quedarse a esperar a las tropas de Putin “Acudimos hace un mes a evacuar a una anciana y su marido, pero se negaron. Hace dos días, la policía encontró en la casa el cadáver de la mujer devorado por los gatos y se llevó al hombre”. La vorágine de la guerra en el este de Ucrania no le deja a Evgeny Tkachev mucho tiempo para pensar, pero experiencias como esta se le acumulan como un lastre. Cada día, este hombre de 55 años se juega la vida accediendo una o varias veces a la localidad de Kostiantinivka a bordo de un furgón blindado de la ONG Proliska junto a un conductor. Recorren a toda velocidad una carretera que en algunos tramos está cubierta de redes, como para formar un túnel que inte...