By Charlotte Reid 
In times of passion for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, traditional investments also have a loyal following.
One of the advantages of investing in gold is how simple it is: you just need to know the factors that drive its price, but you don’t have to analyse complicated balance sheets, as you do in the case of mining companies that extract the precious metal. For this and other reasons, their stock market value tends to lag behind the mineral they mine. But this year, like ETFs, they are appreciating twice as much as the metal itself, which has risen by an impressive 50%. Companies have improved their balance sheets and are exercising greater capital discipline.
Central bank purchases, doubts about the safe-haven value of US assets and general uncertainty are boosting an asset that is as scarce as it is tangible. Analysts recommend not forgetting other materials that tend to go hand in hand: silver, of course, but also copper and aluminium, which have not been overly affected by the metal fever. In times of passion for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the classic also has a loyal following.
The market gives its participants many things, but never comfort
Being an unlisted company brings peace of mind: you are not under so much scrutiny, you do not have to give so many explanations, and you do not suffer so many minor weekly heart attacks. But, of course, it also has its disadvantages: once you reach a certain size, the markets are a source of financing and support for growth.
Puig, the Catalan perfume group – among other products – is suffering the rollercoaster ride of the stock market since it went public in May last year. It is the worst performer on the Ibex this year, but analysts are confident that the market will recover and with it the company. ‘I used to live much better,’ some executives will say.
Takeovers are also won with attitude
With just a few days to go before the deadline for Sabadell shareholders to make their decision – and this exciting tug-of-war comes to an end – the executives on both sides of the takeover bid are putting on a show of attitude. Carlos Torres, chairman of BBVA, says that acceptance is going well, even better than expected. Josep Oliu, for his part, argues that it is impossible for the Basque-based entity to exceed the 50% threshold. Another big question is whether it is necessary to have more than 50% to control a bank, of course. In Spain, there are examples of minority shareholders controlling entities with much less. Takeover bids, the market, are also a matter of attitude, posture and confidence. Because, to be a bullfighter, the first thing you have to do is look like one.
Quote of the day
When the current cycle of investment in technology ends, there will be a lot of capital invested that will not have generated returns. This time is no different. We simply do not know how it will unfold. I am not smart enough to know if there is a bubble.
The hyperrealism of new AI and the uncanny valley hypothesis
The uncanny valley hypothesis, relating to the aesthetics of robotics and animation, states that when people are imitated in a hyperrealistic way, it produces an effect of rejection, similar to that caused by a corpse: it looks like a living human being, but it is not. With Sora 2, OpenAI’s video creation tool, or Vibes, from Meta, something similar may happen: the quality of the images may be excellent, but it may hide an artificial creation process that ends up generating a certain aversion. The amount of time people spend on social media seems to have peaked, and tech companies are struggling to gain a little more, with strategies that may prove counterproductive. Perhaps younger people will end up seeing social media as something for their parents and increasingly opt for the real world.