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Could investing in the video games sector be a recession-resistant play that reaps rewards?

It’s no secret that the video games sector has been growing quickly in value for a number of years now. There are a number of factors behind the growth….

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It’s no secret that the video games sector has been growing quickly in value for a number of years now. There are a number of factors behind the growth. The statistics company Statista forecasts the international value of the video games sector to grow from an estimated $208.52 billion this year to $304.64 billion by 2027. That’s total growth of 46% and represents a forecast average CAGR of over 9% over the next five years.

revenue growth chart

Source: Statista

The various business models in the video gaming sector

There are different ways to take on investment exposure to the video gaming sector as not all companies in the space make their money the same way.

The most obvious is an investment in the biggest games publishers such as:

  • Activision Blizzard (currently in the process of being acquired by Microsoft subject to regulatory approval).
  • Bandai Namco (the Japanese games publisher behind titles including Super Smash Bros).
  • Electron Arts (titles include the popular FIFA franchise, Battlefield, The Sims and Star Wars franchise)
  • Take-Two Interactive (titles include Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands).
  • Tencent (Chinese gaming and technology giant, titles include PUBG Mobile, Honor of Kings, League of Legends).

There are also hundreds of smaller games publishers, including Team17, the AIM-listed publisher behind Worms. However, while the spate of acquisitions in the industry could see an investment in a smaller publisher pay off if it’s bought up by one of the bigger fish, the chances are it would be a hit-or-miss approach. The lion’s share of the money in video games publishing is also gobbled up by larger publishers.

Research conducted by Joost van Dreunen of the New York University Stern School of Business found that the top ten titles in each video gaming genre (eg. Battle Royale shoot-em-ups, strategy games, sports simulators etc.) accounted for around 90% of revenues generated. FIFA 18, for example, made $723 million, which represented 28% of consumer spending on sports games. The $190 million generated by Super Smash Bros was 57% of the income made by the top-ten titles in the fighting genre.

As an investor with a mid to low risk profile, that means the bigger games publishers with a history of generating steady, growing revenues year-on-year is probably the pool you want to fish in. Developing video games is a capital-intensive process and there is a gap between putting the money in and realising a return on investment.

That means smaller games developers and publishers with fewer titles can often have revenue boom and bust cycles that coincide with the release and tapering off in popularity of successful games. These cashflow cycles are smoother for larger companies that own several successful titles or franchises due to more regular releases and the spread of capital risk between them.

There are other companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo that make money from the video gaming sector in a more diverse and diluted way but on a bigger scale. These 3 companies also produce the gaming console hardware, the Xbox, PlayStation and Switch respectively, that games are played on.

They sell the actual consoles, specialist computers designed specifically for gaming, at a loss and make their profits by taking a cut from all the games that run on them sold. They are also all publishers themselves with Microsoft owning titles and franchises including Minecraft, Halo and Gears of War among others. Sony’s stable of titles includes the Spiderman games franchise, the Grand Turismo franchise and The Last of Us and Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros, Pokemon, DonkeyKong and The Legend of Zelda.

Microsoft has publically stated it sees the future as console-free with games streamed to any device and the computing capacity needed taking place in the cloud and a subscription business model comparable to Netflix. That belief is behind the tech giant’s move to buy Activision Blizzard and also why it is having a hard time convincing regulators to allow it to.

Other companies provide products and services to the gaming industry such as game engines that developers use to create the 3D worlds their games are set in. The Unreal Engine developed and owned by Epic Games, which is in turn owned by Tencent, is one of the most popular, as is the Unity engine owned by NYSE-listed Unity Software.

Dublin-based and AIM-listed Keywords Studios provides services such as localisation, QA testing and marketing to 23 of the top 25 games publishers by revenue and all of the top-ten mobile games publishers.

How recession-resistant is the video games sector?

How resistant a sector is expected to prove to an inflationary environment and now expected global recession is a factor investors should consider when diversifying a portfolio in any new direction.

Of course, there is an argument that investors with a long term investment horizon do not have to concern themselves too deeply with short term economic conditions if convinced about the overall value proposition of an asset. However, there is also a convincing case to hold off on taking positions in assets that could have a challenging year or two ahead while consumer spending is constrained.

Studies have shown that returns have historically been better when a stock is acquired within 6 months of a new bull market starting compared to buying it during a bear market. That means there needn’t be any rush for investors to “buy the dip”.

This also means that there is a case to focus investments made during a bear market on assets that will perform well amid the storm. Do video game stocks fall into that category? Opinions are mixed despite the fact the sector faired very well during the last recession in 2008. While banks were being rescued by huge government bailouts or collapsing alongside the housing market, computer games and consoles were going strong.

However, there are a number of new factors at the onset of the recession that is expected to grip most developed economies in the coming months that lead some analysts to believe the videogaming sector will not get off as lightly this time.

Consumers typically cut back their discretionary spending during a recession and video games are not immune to that. However, the hours of entertainment that a video game can provide over many months often means the £40 to £70 a popular game for a PC or console typically costs means they tend to be seen as very good value. That’s a strong selling point when consumers are carefully monitoring their discretionary spending.

But the video games sector far from relies on the sale of games alone for its revenues and profits. Microtransactions now form a big part of revenues, or all of them in the case of free-to-play games like the hugely popular Fortnite and are likely to take a hit during a recession. The most expensive games have also risen in cost over the past few years and their price elasticity will be put to the test.

Some kinds of hardware, like VR headsets, have also risen in price as components have, which may put off buyers sticking to a tight budget. In August, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, raised the price of its Quest 2 VR headset, from $299 to $399.

Another factor is that after a couple of boom years during the pandemic, video game sales showed their first contraction during the last quarter. The end of two years of pandemic restrictions has heightened the appetite for outdoors and social forms of entertainment to the detriment of time spent at home playing video games.

We also have unusually high levels of employment as we head into the forecast recession. That could mean more consumers still be able to afford forms of entertainment that involve leaving their homes and be inclined to take advantage after the pandemic, even as belts are tightened.

There are signs video games companies are tightening their belts too in preparation for a potentially more fallow period. Pokemon Go creator Niantic has laid off some staff, as has the games engine Unity while Ubisoft confirmed the cancellation of 4 new games during its July earnings call citing a “changing financial environment”.

Chris Kramer, Tencent Games’ head of North American communications recently commented for the Washington Post:

“Budgets are going to become tighter with every company across the board, which means it will be tougher to get new projects approved unless they have a rock-solid chance of being successful. Publishing efforts will be scaled back as budgets shrink, so game companies will have to do more with less and really examine where the best return on investment is on dollars spent.”

Serkan Toto, chief executive officer of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games Inc., is “in the camp that the industry is recession-proof indeed, at least to some extent.”

Commenting for Bloomberg in late July, he says he can’t remember a recession in the last four decades that had a significant impact on the games industry. In fact, he points out, during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, Activision merged with Vivendi Games as part of a $18.9 billion deal–and picked up World of Warcraft publisher Blizzard in the process.

What’s the secret to the gaming industry’s history of riding out recessions healthily? Toto believes it’s because playing games is a relatively inexpensive hobby compared to other entertainment options and that the evidence shows that people who lose their jobs still consume plenty of entertainment products.

Where to invest for video gaming exposure?

If you are confident the video gaming sector will weather the expected recession well, which companies look like the best investments? Unless you are willing to take on a significant amount of risk, the industry’s bigger players would look the safest bets.

Analysts for CFRE Research, pick out these 7 video gaming stocks as ones for investors to consider:

Nvidia: the chipmaker produces the high-end graphics cards required for the most advanced video games and also operates a data centre business considered to hold great growth potential. The analysts have a price target of $350 for the stock and it currently trades at just $137.14.

Advanced Micro Devices: Advanced Micro Devices is a semiconductor producer and one of the world’s largest suppliers of PC microprocessors and GPUs. The CFRE analysts have a price target of $120 for a stock trading at $79.61.

NetEase: NetEase is a Chinese tech stock that specializes in PC and mobile gaming, which accounts for more than 70% of its revenue. It’s valuation has been hit by the crackdown on mobile gaming by the Chinese authorities by CFRE rates it as a buy with a $110 price target against a current trading price of $87.22.

Electronic Arts: Electronic Arts is one of the world’s largest independent video game publishers and owner of key franchises such as Madden, FIFA and Battlefield. The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter numbers were particularly impressive given the recent “spending lull” for video games. The analysts have a price target of $184 and the stock currently trades at $125.55.

Sea Ltd: a Singapore-based consumer internet company, Sea’s subsidiaries include its Shopee e-commerce platform, its Garena digital entertainment business and its SeaMoney financial technology operations. There was impressive revenue growth in the first quarter, including 45% growth for Garena, 64% growth for Shopee and 360% growth for SeaMoney. The company’s game Free Fire was the most downloaded mobile game in the world in the first quarter and 43% revenue growth has been predicted by analysts for 2022. CFRA has a buy rating and $160 price target for SE stock, which is currently valued at $58.83.

Roblox Corp: Roblox is an online entertainment platform that allows creators to develop games. It is also a video game that has 54.1 million daily active users, its own digital currency and a range of unique virtual experiences. CFRA analysts are convinced daily active user growth, improving demographic trends, 5G network upgrades and growing interest in coding will help Roblox maintain at least 20% annual revenue growth in the long term. Digital training, education and fitness are seen as potential new growth areas.

CFRA rates the stock a “strong buy” and has a $56 price target against a current trading price of $39.94.

Take-Two Interactive: Take-Two Interactive Software is the publisher and owner of popular video game franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and Borderlands. The company also has what looks like a strong pipeline of new content, and its stock has an attractive valuation. Currently trading at $120.58 and CFRA has a price target for it of $171.

The post Could investing in the video games sector be a recession-resistant play that reaps rewards? first appeared on Trading and Investment News.

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‘Excess Mortality Skyrocketed’: Tucker Carlson and Dr. Pierre Kory Unpack ‘Criminal’ COVID Response

‘Excess Mortality Skyrocketed’: Tucker Carlson and Dr. Pierre Kory Unpack ‘Criminal’ COVID Response

As the global pandemic unfolded, government-funded…

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March 14, 2024

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'Excess Mortality Skyrocketed': Tucker Carlson and Dr. Pierre Kory Unpack 'Criminal' COVID Response

As the global pandemic unfolded, government-funded experimental vaccines were hastily developed for a virus which primarily killed the old and fat (and those with other obvious comorbidities), and an aggressive, global campaign to coerce billions into injecting them ensued.

Then there were the lockdowns - with some countries (New Zealand, for example) building internment camps for those who tested positive for Covid-19, and others such as China welding entire apartment buildings shut to trap people inside.

It was an egregious and unnecessary response to a virus that, while highly virulent, was survivable by the vast majority of the general population.

Oh, and the vaccines, which governments are still pushing, didn't work as advertised to the point where health officials changed the definition of "vaccine" multiple times.

Tucker Carlson recently sat down with Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care specialist and vocal critic of vaccines. The two had a wide-ranging discussion, which included vaccine safety and efficacy, excess mortality, demographic impacts of the virus, big pharma, and the professional price Kory has paid for speaking out.

Keep reading below, or if you have roughly 50 minutes, watch it in its entirety for free on X:

"Do we have any real sense of what the cost, the physical cost to the country and world has been of those vaccines?" Carlson asked, kicking off the interview.

"I do think we have some understanding of the cost. I mean, I think, you know, you're aware of the work of of Ed Dowd, who's put together a team and looked, analytically at a lot of the epidemiologic data," Kory replied. "I mean, time with that vaccination rollout is when all of the numbers started going sideways, the excess mortality started to skyrocket."

When asked "what kind of death toll are we looking at?", Kory responded "...in 2023 alone, in the first nine months, we had what's called an excess mortality of 158,000 Americans," adding "But this is in 2023. I mean, we've  had Omicron now for two years, which is a mild variant. Not that many go to the hospital."

'Safe and Effective'

Tucker also asked Kory why the people who claimed the vaccine were "safe and effective" aren't being held criminally liable for abetting the "killing of all these Americans," to which Kory replied: "It’s my kind of belief, looking back, that [safe and effective] was a predetermined conclusion. There was no data to support that, but it was agreed upon that it would be presented as safe and effective."

Carlson and Kory then discussed the different segments of the population that experienced vaccine side effects, with Kory noting an "explosion in dying in the youngest and healthiest sectors of society," adding "And why did the employed fare far worse than those that weren't? And this particularly white collar, white collar, more than gray collar, more than blue collar."

Kory also said that Big Pharma is 'terrified' of Vitamin D because it "threatens the disease model." As journalist The Vigilant Fox notes on X, "Vitamin D showed about a 60% effectiveness against the incidence of COVID-19 in randomized control trials," and "showed about 40-50% effectiveness in reducing the incidence of COVID-19 in observational studies."

Professional costs

Kory - while risking professional suicide by speaking out, has undoubtedly helped save countless lives by advocating for alternate treatments such as Ivermectin.

Kory shared his own experiences of job loss and censorship, highlighting the challenges of advocating for a more nuanced understanding of vaccine safety in an environment often resistant to dissenting voices.

"I wrote a book called The War on Ivermectin and the the genesis of that book," he said, adding "Not only is my expertise on Ivermectin and my vast clinical experience, but and I tell the story before, but I got an email, during this journey from a guy named William B Grant, who's a professor out in California, and he wrote to me this email just one day, my life was going totally sideways because our protocols focused on Ivermectin. I was using a lot in my practice, as were tens of thousands of doctors around the world, to really good benefits. And I was getting attacked, hit jobs in the media, and he wrote me this email on and he said, Dear Dr. Kory, what they're doing to Ivermectin, they've been doing to vitamin D for decades..."

"And it's got five tactics. And these are the five tactics that all industries employ when science emerges, that's inconvenient to their interests. And so I'm just going to give you an example. Ivermectin science was extremely inconvenient to the interests of the pharmaceutical industrial complex. I mean, it threatened the vaccine campaign. It threatened vaccine hesitancy, which was public enemy number one. We know that, that everything, all the propaganda censorship was literally going after something called vaccine hesitancy."

Money makes the world go 'round

Carlson then hit on perhaps the most devious aspect of the relationship between drug companies and the medical establishment, and how special interests completely taint science to the point where public distrust of institutions has spiked in recent years.

"I think all of it starts at the level the medical journals," said Kory. "Because once you have something established in the medical journals as a, let's say, a proven fact or a generally accepted consensus, consensus comes out of the journals."

"I have dozens of rejection letters from investigators around the world who did good trials on ivermectin, tried to publish it. No thank you, no thank you, no thank you. And then the ones that do get in all purportedly prove that ivermectin didn't work," Kory continued.

"So and then when you look at the ones that actually got in and this is where like probably my biggest estrangement and why I don't recognize science and don't trust it anymore, is the trials that flew to publication in the top journals in the world were so brazenly manipulated and corrupted in the design and conduct in, many of us wrote about it. But they flew to publication, and then every time they were published, you saw these huge PR campaigns in the media. New York Times, Boston Globe, L.A. times, ivermectin doesn't work. Latest high quality, rigorous study says. I'm sitting here in my office watching these lies just ripple throughout the media sphere based on fraudulent studies published in the top journals. And that's that's that has changed. Now that's why I say I'm estranged and I don't know what to trust anymore."

Vaccine Injuries

Carlson asked Kory about his clinical experience with vaccine injuries.

"So how this is how I divide, this is just kind of my perception of vaccine injury is that when I use the term vaccine injury, I'm usually referring to what I call a single organ problem, like pericarditis, myocarditis, stroke, something like that. An autoimmune disease," he replied.

"What I specialize in my practice, is I treat patients with what we call a long Covid long vaxx. It's the same disease, just different triggers, right? One is triggered by Covid, the other one is triggered by the spike protein from the vaccine. Much more common is long vax. The only real differences between the two conditions is that the vaccinated are, on average, sicker and more disabled than the long Covids, with some pretty prominent exceptions to that."

Watch the entire interview above, and you can support Tucker Carlson's endeavors by joining the Tucker Carlson Network here...

Tyler Durden Thu, 03/14/2024 - 16:20

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Shakira’s net worth

After 12 albums, a tax evasion case, and now a towering bronze idol sculpted in her image, how much is Shakira worth more than 4 decades into her care…

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March 14, 2024

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Shakira’s considerable net worth is no surprise, given her massive popularity in Latin America, the U.S., and elsewhere. 

In fact, the belly-dancing contralto queen is the second-wealthiest Latin-America-born pop singer of all time after Gloria Estefan. (Interestingly, Estefan actually helped a young Shakira translate her breakout album “Laundry Service” into English, hugely propelling her stateside success.)

Since releasing her first record at age 13, Shakira has spent decades recording albums in both Spanish and English and performing all over the world. Over the course of her 40+ year career, she helped thrust Latin pop music into the American mainstream, paving the way for the subsequent success of massively popular modern acts like Karol G and Bad Bunny.

In late 2023, a 21-foot-tall bronze sculpture of Shakira, the barefoot belly dancer of Barranquilla, was unveiled at the city's waterfront. The statue was commissioned by the city's former mayor and other leadership.

Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images

In December 2023, a 21-foot-tall beachside bronze statue of the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer was unveiled in her Colombian hometown of Barranquilla, making her a permanent fixture in the city’s skyline and cementing her legacy as one of Latin America’s most influential entertainers.

After 12 albums, a plethora of film and television appearances, a highly publicized tax evasion case, and now a towering bronze idol sculpted in her image, how much is Shakira worth? What does her income look like? And how does she spend her money?

Related: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's net worth: How the new TKO Board Member built his wealth from $7

How much is Shakira worth?

In late 2023, Spanish sports and lifestyle publication Marca reported Shakira’s net worth at $400 million, citing Forbes as the figure’s source (although Forbes’ profile page for Shakira does not list a net worth — and didn’t when that article was published).

Most other sources list the singer’s wealth at an estimated $300 million, and almost all of these point to Celebrity Net Worth — a popular but dubious celebrity wealth estimation site — as the source for the figure.

A $300 million net worth would make Shakira the third-richest Latina pop star after Gloria Estefan ($500 million) and Jennifer Lopez ($400 million), and the second-richest Latin-America-born pop singer after Estefan (JLo is Puerto Rican but was born in New York).

Shakira’s income: How much does she make annually?

Entertainers like Shakira don’t have predictable paychecks like ordinary salaried professionals. Instead, annual take-home earnings vary quite a bit depending on each year’s album sales, royalties, film and television appearances, streaming revenue, and other sources of income. As one might expect, Shakira’s earnings have fluctuated quite a bit over the years.

From June 2018 to June 2019, for instance, Shakira was the 10th highest-earning female musician, grossing $35 million, according to Forbes. This wasn’t her first time gracing the top 10, though — back in 2012, she also landed the #10 spot, bringing in $20 million, according to Billboard.

In 2023, Billboard listed Shakira as the 16th-highest-grossing Latin artist of all time.

Shakira performed alongside producer Bizarrap during the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards Gala in Seville.

Photo By Maria Jose Lopez/Europa Press via Getty Images

How much does Shakira make from her concerts and tours?

A large part of Shakira’s wealth comes from her world tours, during which she sometimes sells out massive stadiums and arenas full of passionate fans eager to see her dance and sing live.

According to a 2020 report by Pollstar, she sold over 2.7 million tickets across 190 shows that grossed over $189 million between 2000 and 2020. This landed her the 19th spot on a list of female musicians ranked by touring revenue during that period. In 2023, Billboard reported a more modest touring revenue figure of $108.1 million across 120 shows.

In 2003, Shakira reportedly generated over $4 million from a single show on Valentine’s Day at Foro Sol in Mexico City. 15 years later, in 2018, Shakira grossed around $76.5 million from her El Dorado World Tour, according to Touring Data.

Related: RuPaul's net worth: Everything to know about the cultural icon and force behind 'Drag Race'

How much has Shakira made from her album sales?

According to a 2023 profile in Variety, Shakira has sold over 100 million records throughout her career. “Laundry Service,” the pop icon’s fifth studio album, was her most successful, selling over 13 million copies worldwide, according to TheRichest.

Exactly how much money Shakira has taken home from her album sales is unclear, but in 2008, it was widely reported that she signed a 10-year contract with LiveNation to the tune of between $70 and $100 million to release her subsequent albums and manage her tours.

Shakira and JLo co-headlined the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show in Florida.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

How much did Shakira make from her Super Bowl and World Cup performances?

Shakira co-wrote one of her biggest hits, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” after FIFA selected her to create the official anthem for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. She performed the song, along with several of her existing fan-favorite tracks, during the event’s opening ceremonies. TheThings reported in 2023 that the song generated $1.4 million in revenue, citing Popnable for the figure.

A decade later, 2020’s Superbowl halftime show featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez as co-headliners with guest performances by Bad Bunny and J Balvin. The 14-minute performance was widely praised as a high-energy celebration of Latin music and dance, but as is typical for Super Bowl shows, neither Shakira nor JLo was compensated beyond expenses and production costs.

The exposure value that comes with performing in the Super Bowl Halftime Show, though, is significant. It is typically the most-watched television event in the U.S. each year, and in 2020, a 30-second Super Bowl ad spot cost between $5 and $6 million.

How much did Shakira make as a coach on “The Voice?”

Shakira served as a team coach on the popular singing competition program “The Voice” during the show’s fourth and sixth seasons. On the show, celebrity musicians coach up-and-coming amateurs in a team-based competition that eventually results in a single winner. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Shakira’s salary as a coach on “The Voice” was $12 million.

Related: John Cena's net worth: The wrestler-turned-actor's investments, businesses, and more

How does Shakira spend her money?

Shakira doesn’t just make a lot of money — she spends it, too. Like many wealthy entertainers, she’s purchased her share of luxuries, but Barranquilla’s barefoot belly dancer is also a prolific philanthropist, having donated tens of millions to charitable causes throughout her career.

Private island

Back in 2006, she teamed up with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame and Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz to purchase Bonds Cay, a 550-acre island in the Bahamas, which was listed for $16 million at the time.

Along with her two partners in the purchase, Shakira planned to develop the island to feature housing, hotels, and an artists’ retreat designed to host a revolving cast of artists-in-residence. This plan didn’t come to fruition, though, and as of this article’s last update, the island was once again for sale on Vladi Private Islands.

Real estate and vehicles

Like most wealthy celebs, Shakira’s portfolio of high-end playthings also features an array of luxury properties and vehicles, including a home in Barcelona, a villa in Cyprus, a Miami mansion, and a rotating cast of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Philanthropy and charity

Shakira doesn’t just spend her massive wealth on herself; the “Queen of Latin Music” is also a dedicated philanthropist and regularly donates portions of her earnings to the Fundación Pies Descalzos, or “Barefoot Foundation,” a charity she founded in 1997 to “improve the education and social development of children in Colombia, which has suffered decades of conflict.” The foundation focuses on providing meals for children and building and improving educational infrastructure in Shakira’s hometown of Barranquilla as well as four other Colombian communities.

In addition to her efforts with the Fundación Pies Descalzos, Shakira has made a number of other notable donations over the years. In 2007, she diverted a whopping $40 million of her wealth to help rebuild community infrastructure in Peru and Nicaragua in the wake of a devastating 8.0 magnitude earthquake. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Shakira donated a large supply of N95 masks for healthcare workers and ventilators for hospital patients to her hometown of Barranquilla.

Back in 2010, the UN honored Shakira with a medal to recognize her dedication to social justice, at which time the Director General of the International Labour Organization described her as a “true ambassador for children and young people.”

On November 20, 2023 (which was supposed to be her first day of trial), Shakira reached a deal with the prosecution that resulted in a three-year suspended sentence and around $8 million in fines.

Photo by Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty Images

Shakira’s tax fraud scandal: How much did she pay?

In 2018, prosecutors in Spain initiated a tax evasion case against Shakira, alleging she lived primarily in Spain from 2012 to 2014 and therefore failed to pay around $14.4 million in taxes to the Spanish government. Spanish law requires anyone who is “domiciled” (i.e., living primarily) in Spain for more than half of the year to pay income taxes.

During the period in question, Shakira listed the Bahamas as her primary residence but did spend some time in Spain, as she was dating Gerard Piqué, a professional footballer and Spanish citizen. The couple’s first son, Milan, was also born in Barcelona during this period. 

Shakira maintained that she spent far fewer than 183 days per year in Spain during each of the years in question. In an interview with Elle Magazine, the pop star opined that “Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It's clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what."

Prosecutors in the case sought a fine of almost $26 million and a possible eight-year prison stint, but in November of 2023, Shakira took a deal to close the case, accepting a fine of around $8 million and a three-year suspended sentence to avoid going to trial. In reference to her decision to take the deal, Shakira stated, "While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favour [had the trial proceeded], I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight."

How much did the Shakira statue in Barranquilla cost?

In late 2023, a 21-foot-tall bronze likeness of Shakira was unveiled on a waterfront promenade in Barranquilla. The city’s then-mayor, Jaime Pumarejo, commissioned Colombian sculptor Yino Márquez to create the statue of the city’s treasured pop icon, along with a sculpture of the city’s coat of arms.

According to the New York Times, the two sculptures cost the city the equivalent of around $180,000. A plaque at the statue’s base reads, “A heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, an unmatched talent, a voice that moves the masses and bare feet that march for the good of children and humanity.” 

Related: Taylor Swift net worth: The most successful entertainer joins the billionaire's club

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Delta Air Lines adds a new route travelers have been asking for

The new Delta seasonal flight to the popular destination will run daily on a Boeing 767-300.

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7 hours ago

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March 14, 2024

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Those who have tried to book a flight from North America to Europe in the summer of 2023 know just how high travel demand to the continent has spiked.

At 2.93 billion, visitors to the countries making up the European Union had finally reached pre-pandemic levels last year while North Americans in particular were booking trips to both large metropolises such as Paris and Milan as well as smaller cities growing increasingly popular among tourists.

Related: A popular European city is introducing the highest 'tourist tax' yet

As a result, U.S.-based airlines have been re-evaluating their networks to add more direct routes to smaller European destinations that most travelers would have previously needed to reach by train or transfer flight with a local airline.

The new flight will take place on a Boeing 767-300.

Shutterstock

Delta Air Lines: ‘Glad to offer customers increased choice…’

By the end of March, Delta Air Lines  (DAL)  will be restarting its route between New York’s JFK and Marco Polo International Airport in Venice as well as launching two new flights to Venice from Atlanta. One will start running this month while the other will be added during peak demand in the summer.

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“As one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Venice is hugely popular with U.S. travelers, and our flights bring valuable tourism and trade opportunities to the city and the region as well as unrivalled opportunities for Venetians looking to explore destinations across the Americas,” Delta’s SVP for Europe Matteo Curcio said in a statement. “We’re glad to offer customers increased choice this summer with flights from New York and additional service from Atlanta.”

The JFK-Venice flight will run on a Boeing 767-300  (BA)  and have 216 seats including higher classes such as Delta One, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort Plus.

Delta offers these features on the new flight

Both the New York and Atlanta flights are seasonal routes that will be pulled out of service in October. Both will run daily while the first route will depart New York at 8:55 p.m. and arrive in Venice at 10:15 a.m. local time on the way there, while leaving Venice at 12:15 p.m. to arrive at JFK at 5:05 p.m. on the way back.

According to Delta, this will bring its service to 17 flights from different U.S. cities to Venice during the peak summer period. As with most Delta flights at this point, passengers in all fare classes will have access to free Wi-Fi during the flight.

Those flying in Delta’s highest class or with access through airline status or a credit card will also be able to use the new Delta lounge that is part of the airline’s $12 billion terminal renovation and is slated to open to travelers in the coming months. The space will take up more than 40,000 square feet and have an outdoor terrace.

“Delta One customers can stretch out in a lie-flat seat and enjoy premium amenities like plush bedding made from recycled plastic bottles, more beverage options, and a seasonal chef-curated four-course meal,” Delta said of the new route. “[…] All customers can enjoy a wide selection of in-flight entertainment options and stay connected with Wi-Fi and enjoy free mobile messaging.”

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