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Not so short, not so sweet.

Do you want what you want because you want it, or because the others want you to want it?

Author

Micael Balioni
September 19, 2024

THE MUSTS

World

Plan Marshall 2.0

 Europe was not in trouble like this since 1945

This is the theory of one of the continent's most respected economists. Mario Draghi, who has already pulled Europe out of a major crisis, has drawn up a report of more than 400 pages with a plan to lift the European Union.

  • In his view, if Europe is to become competitive again and recover from decades of slow growth compared to the US and China, investment must be equivalent to almost 5% of the region's GDP.

This is almost double what was practiced during the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt the economic life of Europeans after the Second World War.

“For the first time since the Cold War, we must really fear for our survival, and the need for a unified response has never been greater” said the economist.

The scenario is bad indeed: Only 4 European companies are among the 50 largest in the global technology sector. The bloc's main challenges revolve around shrinking trade, high energy prices and a population that is shrinking on a year to year basis.

The problem: Not all Europeans agree with Mr. Draghi. France and Italy, for example, support him, but the Germans and Dutch have their backs up because they think they'll be spending more than the others. If it's hard to get consensus in one country, imagine a whole bloc.

What else in on

  • Brazil: Brazil accounts for 76% of South America's wildfires. The country recorded over 5.000 fires in the past weeks. (Read)

  • China: In demographic crisis, the country raises its retirement age as older population threatens economy. (Read)

  • UK: From next year, the UK will charge a fee of £10 to basically all international tourists. (Read)

  • Russia: The country is investing millions in front media companies and personalities with large followings to manipulate US voters. (Read)

  • Venezuela: Opposition candidate Edmundo González fled to Spain and was granted political asylum. (Read)

  • Mexico: Mexico Senate passes reform to allow election of judges. The idea is for each of the three branches of government to submit a list of names. Then the candidates will campaign and contest the election. Worldwide, this proposal for a popular vote for the Supreme Court has only been implemented in Bolivia. (Read)

 

Economy & Business

next we know, we’ll need a subscription to walk

Can the Netflix model save the airlines?

It's no secret that the situation for airlines around the world is not easy, which - being completely transparent - has always puzzled me, since it's one of the only industries where dynamic pricing is fully socially accepted and ticket prices have never been so expensive.

BUT, there are many reasons for this. Between pandemic, wars and fuel prices, the costs of getting aircraft into the air are high, as are the costs of keeping them on the ground at airports.

  • In numbers: Airlines are expected to see a drop of US$ 2 billion in profits - 33% less than last year. In Q1 alone, the industry-wide loss was almost $800 million.

But Micael, what can save it, then?

A medium-sized Hungarian airline, Wizz Air (if you know, you know), has launched an “all you can fly” subscription for €500/year with unlimited flights to different destinations in Europe - including Athens, Madrid and Paris.

To draw a parallel, this is what Netflix has done in the movie market. Instead of always buying or renting the next movie, we paid a one-off fee that gave us access to all the content at once.

It seems to make sense... The average airline flight takes off with 20% of the seats empty. In practice, this means money left on the table, since the marginal cost of a passenger on the flight is very low.

In other words, even if subscribers abuse travel during the year, they theoretically occupy those empty seats, while the company has recurring revenue.

Work life balance for workers:

  • Australian Workers: “The right to disconnect” law, aims to restore boundaries between work and life after the pandemic smushed them together. While bosses can still message workers at any time, the employees can no longer be punished for failing to read or respond to the messages outside of work hours. (Read)

  • German Workers: Germans now work the fewest hours in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with shorter workweeks and a record 19.4 sick days annually. The younger generation’s focus on balance is challenging traditional productivity norms, worrying economists. (Read)

  • UK Workers: A study has shown that full-time workers in London spend an average of half the week on-site. The Land of the King lags behind the other global cities analyzed, such as Paris, NYC, Sydney and Singapore, and is tied only with Toronto. (Read)

JP Morgan: The company was also kind enough to limit the number of hours worked by junior bankers to only 80 hours a week! Almost an annual vacation.

 

Technology & Science

they are everywhere

The world's largest satellite constellation

 

SpaceX's mission since it was created in 2002 has been to make humans a multi-planetary species. Until this becomes a reality, however, the company is constantly breaking records, including the launch of its 7,000th satellite last week.

The constellation of low-orbit internet satellites:

  • Has increased +6x in the last three years;

  • Represents 62% of all operational satellites;

  • Has 10x more satellites than its closest rival, the UK's OneWeb;

  • Reached an average of 3 satellites launched per day since 2019;

  • Operates in 102 countries and has +3m paying customers.

The plan is even more audacious: To reach 42k satellites capable of providing high-speed internet and telephone connectivity to 100% of the Earth, in any corner of the globe.

Despite the positive impacts on health, education and communication during natural disasters, it's not all stars:

  • The International Astronomical Union has expressed its concerns about the interference of sky observations, the risk of collisions and the environmental impact when satellites burn up in the atmosphere;

Between Tesla, Starlink and X, Elon Musk has amassed more power and data in real time than any civilian in history.

What the data says:

not so fun fact: Elon Musk controls 2x more satellites than the rest of the world (companies and nations) combined.

What else is on:

  • OpenAI Co-Founder New AI Firm Raises $1 Billion: Founded on June 19th, the company already has an estimated valuation of $5 billion. Its sole aim/mission is to protect humanity by creating an AI that is smarter than us, but not at our expense. (Read)

  • Medical advances: Researchers at the University of California have discovered a way to fight lung tumors with “algae micro-robots”. It may sound strange, but Health Times explained the logic. (Read)

  • Tiktok is not so modern anymore: Today, almost 40% of TikTok users are in their 30s and 40s - in other words, they're from generation X and Y. Even more, people between the ages of 35 and 49 are more likely to upload videos on TikTok than people between the ages of 18 and 34. (Read)

     

     

EDITOR’S RECOMMENDATIONS

Music

guess who he learned that from

 Short n Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter: After spending her teenage years acting in the spin-off sitcom "Boy Meets World" and releasing her first four albums under the Disney umbrella, Sabrina, like many before her, eventually ditched the mouse ears to drop her first "big girl" album, 2022’s "Emails I Can’t Send"—her first album that I actually listened to. I've slept on Sabrina for a while, but when two of my best friends told me about her, I started some research and I'm happy I did.

Sabrina sets a high bar for pop with "Short n' Sweet," an album that is both light, cheeky, and effortless. I'm still unsure if it surpasses "Emails I Can’t Send"—after all, while the lyrics are more mature and clever, I wonder if the emotions are as deep as those in the previous album. Probably not, but is that really a problem? Carpenter's allure is so captivating that it melts grammar down into something deliciously dumb and maybe genius.

In a pop landscape recently plagued by self-seriousness and a tiresome obsession with authenticity, "Short n’ Sweet" is a refreshing glass of escapism. Sabrina is here for a good time. As she establishes on the opening track, “Taste”: “Singin’ ’bout it don’t mean I care.”

  • I loved the Dolly-indebted twang on tracks like "Slim Pickins" and "Sharpest Tool" and at least one throwback R&B steamer like "Good Graces", pulling multiple elements from Ariana Grande circa 2019: a trap beat, weightless vocals, bratty spoken-word verses, airy riffs, and some sass.

With this album, Carpenter delivers pop that is both fun and smart, but more than that, she establishes her persona to the public going from a blond cute singer to one of the biggest explosions of the year with a defined personal brand.

For those who like: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Ariana Grande, Dove Cameron, Gracie Adams. (Rating 8/10)

 

WHAT ABOUT ME?

Micael

com shortinho jeans e tudo

 

Today, I'm going to start with a question: How well do you know your friends?

Pause for a minute. Think about it.

I'm fond of the theory that we can spend 30 years with someone and not truly know them. We never fully grasp what people are thinking, hiding, or feeling, and as humans, we tend to reveal only parts of ourselves to the world—as we should. Yet, it can be comforting to think, "No, my best friend knows me so well… Better than I know myself." But do they?

Living abroad, I ponder this often.

  • How well can my friends here know me if they don't even understand my mother tongue? If I can't express my deepest feelings in the language through which I've learned to interpret the world and myself? How well can they know me if they weren't there for most of my life? If I could completely fabricate my past and they'd likely never realize it?

  • Conversely, how well can my friends from Brazil know me if we haven't been together for years? If their only reference points are fragments of the Micael from years ago, social media glimpses, and occasional life updates? Can we claim to know each other because of shared history, or does that become obsolete as people change?

I find myself reflecting on these questions often, feeling that people don't know me as much as they might think (perhaps one reason I started this column). And these thoughts intensified during my holidays.

We've all been there. You reunite with a friend after a long time and wonder if something's changed. Did you both grow in separate directions? Or worse, did that person remain unchanged, stuck in the same place you left them? The unsettling possibility that perhaps the only thing connecting you now is the past is both sad and inevitable.


I always feel apprehensive when returning to Brazil. But this time, It was when I traveled around Sicily with three of my closest friends from there. It wasn't the same. Things had changed. We had changed, each in our own way. But somehow, even though we took completely different paths, we changed for the better. I felt more connected than ever, and the maturity gained over the years enriched our conversations. I don't know if they notice the differences among themselves, since they often spend time together, but I did. And I loved it. I felt deeply connected, despite our distance separation. I was lucky with them.

Maybe I won’t be so lucky with some other friends in the future. It’s part of life. And maybe they don't know me on my bad days, how I am when I wake up, or the dark secrets I choose to keep hidden. But hey, I don't know that much about myself either. There’s always something to discover.

In the end, what we know about our friends is probably everything we need to know about them.

Hope that makes sense.

With love,
Micael.

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