This Week in Review☕️ : Ibiza in the spotlight | Why everything costs more | “We don’t have enough money” | Elon sues Apple,OpenAI | Starbucks goes 5 days a week to cut costs | Indian tariff setback 

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Quick Bites:

Culture 💰: Spain’s economy is growing the fastest this year.

Spain’s GDP grew 0.7% in Q2 surpassing expectations.

Turns out 80 million people flew in to sip sangria, stuff themselves with paella, take selfies in Ibiza, and butcher “gracias” this year.. doing absolute f**king wonders for GDP 💰💰

ALSO, 0.7% might not seem huge on paper, but in economics, that’s like asking for a “tapas portion” and the waiter bringing you the entire seafood platter 🦐 

Speaking of.. we need more Spanish speaking people in our life porque me gusta cambiar de english a Spanish whenever

What’s driving this boom?

-Consumption: Spaniards aren’t just window-shopping Zara, they’re actually swiping their cards. Businesses are also investing with confidence.

-Tourism: Spain remains one of the hottest global destinations in the summer

Resilient Growth: In a Europe full of sluggish economies, Spain’s being called “the great outlier”.

The Official Flex:

Finance Minister Carlos Cuerpo told CNBC: “Spain is a great outlier now in terms of growth. It’s also a great place to invest.”

Translation: We’ve got beaches, tapas, and GDP growth- what more do you want?

Europe: “We’re slowing down.”
Spain: “Hold my sangria.”
Forecast: 0.6%
Spain: 0.7%, b*tches

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Work: People are thinking of delayed retirement.

Millennials are living longer than ever- which sounds great until you remember that the cost of everything from avocado toast to insulin has skyrocketed.

With that in mind, a growing number of workers are reconsidering working longer,CNBC reports.

According to a survey by insurance company F&G, a whopping 70% of workers over 50 are now considering delaying retirement.

The main reason? Money. 

Around half of respondents said “They don’t have enough money” which is pushing them to stay in the workforce longer.

💸 Boomers planned on sipping piña coladas in Europe, but now they’re just calculating whether their 401(k) can cover Netflix AND their blood pressure meds 💊 

The Catch? Retirement Doesn’t Always Go As Planned

Before you start assuming “I’ll just work forever, duh,” reality check: a 2024 study found that 58% of retirees actually left the workforce earlier than they expected.

And here’s the kicker: only 21% of them retired early because they were financially comfortable.

The rest? Life happened. Health issues, layoffs, or just plain burnout forced many to exit the workforce earlier than they imagined.

Why This Matters

-Life expectancy is up: People are living longer, which means stretching retirement savings further than previous generations.

-Inflation & cost of living are brutal: Even workers with savings worry it won’t be enough.

-Workforce unpredictability: Many people don’t actually choose their retirement date- circumstances do.

👵 Imagine working until 70 only to be forced out at 62. That’s like training for a marathon and being told at mile 10: “Surprise, the finish line is here.”

Our Thoughts💡:

We’re too young for this guys but we just have to lay it out:

Delaying retirement can sound like a solid plan in theory, but the data shows it’s far from foolproof. While many of us might be workaholics who might even want to work longer, health and economic realities often have other plans.

So maybe the lesson isn’t just “work longer,” but also “plan smarter”, right guys???
Diversify savings, keep an emergency stash, and most importantly know that life has a way of totally WRECKING even the best-laid spreadsheets 🤯🤯

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Coffee ☕️ : Starbucks attempts to cut costs.

The coffee giant will spend less time roasting and packaging coffee, trimming back operations to cut costs after six consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines, Bloomberg reports.

That’s right, another quarter of fewer people buying $9 lattes to emotionally recover from their ex’s messages.

Key Highlights, reported by Bloomberg: 

-Starbucks is cutting roasting/packaging operations to five days a week from seven; cost savings measure

-Starbucks made this production cut after determining that the facilities “no longer need to operate seven days a week to meet current demand”

-The company is facing 6 straight quarters of sales declines.

-Employees get a 2% raise across the board starting next year.

-Unlike prior years, where salary bumps were decided by managers, this time it’s an across-the-board caffeine boost for staff wallets.

Imagine telling your barista you got a raise because of Starbucks and not just because you “accidentally” charged someone $14 for a latte with 7 pumps of oat-milk foam 🤯

Our Thoughts💡:

Umm you mean people are cutting down their spending on overpriced non-essential goods in an inflationary market with a customer base who are having to downsize is actually a cause for concern.. Who could’ve f***ing guessed??? 🤔

Personally, we are NOT surprised that people are ditching their coffee when its WAY, wayyyy cheaper to do it at home

Like $10 bucks for a basic almond milk Cappuccino?! Stay strong millennials 🙏🏻 

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Big Tech 🎵 : Spotify to hike prices as it introduces new features, The Financial Times reports.

The streaming giant is preparing to raise prices again as it doubles down on new services and chases an ambitious goal: 1 billion users worldwide.

-New Features in the Pipeline: These increases won’t come alone. Spotify plans to roll out fresh services and features, giving users (hopefully) more than just algorithmically cursed “Discover Weekly” recommendations.

-Profitability Milestone: For years, critics said Spotify was the Uber of music: great service, but could it ever actually make money? 

Well, in 2023, after years of cost-cutting and higher subscription rates, Spotify finally reported its first annual profit.

Why It Matters:

Spotify has long been in a tricky spot. On one side, it needs to keep music labels and artists happy. On the other, it’s trying not to scare off users with rising subscription costs. 

The strategy now is clear: 

Charge a bit more, but sweeten the deal with extra features- from audiobooks to AI-driven recommendations, and maybe even health/wellness expansions.

The Bigger Picture:

The global streaming market is fiercely competitive. Apple Music, Amazon Music, and even TikTok’s new music platforms are circling. 

But Spotify, with its massive 600+ million user base, has the advantage of scale. If it can execute this new playbook- higher prices + better features + broader services- it could push closer to its dream of 1 billion global users.

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Quicker Bites:

• Scientists report a dramatic slowdown in Arctic sea-ice melting over the past 20 years.
• Canada unveils a $2 billion aid package for Ukraine, including drones, arms and $31 million for reconstruction.
• Asian markets rally in response to signals that the US Federal Reserve may soon resume cutting interest rates.
• The 2025 International Streaming Festival wraps up in Busan, South Korea, honoring top digital content creatives from across Asia. 
• The NATO Summit concluded with an ambitious new defense spending commitment.
• The 2025 World Games, held for the first time in China in Chengdu, came to a close after featuring athletes from 118 nations across 34 regions.
• In space science, astronomers have announced the discovery of a new moon orbiting Uranus, identified using the James Webb Space Telescope.

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