Data points

When Spain went dark
When Spain’s electricity grid suddenly and unexpectedly lost 15 gigawatts of power — equivalent to 60pc of its national demand — most of the country’s electricity system went down, followed by much of neighbouring Portugal’s. The chaos lasted for hours. Traffic lights stopped working; hospitals cancelled all non-essential operations; mobile-phone networks and the internet went dark. Identifying the true cause may take weeks, says an expert. That has not stopped some from questioning the resilience of energy systems mostly powered by renewable sources. Spain and Portugal have some of the highest shares of wind, solar, and hydropower in Europe: in 2024, these provided nearly 60pc of Spain’s electricity and over 70pc of Portugal’s. As these percentages rise, there are fears the incidence of blackouts will, too, but while such pessimism may be ill-founded, there are lessons to be learned.
(Adapted from “The Great Iberian Power Cut Need Not Spell Disaster For Renewables,” published on April 30, 2025, by The Economist)
Tether’s new stablecoin
Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, is preparing to launch a U.S.-based stablecoin as soon as this year, as its CEO ramps up his presence in Washington to shape crypto regulation. In an interview with CNBC this week, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company is working on plans to issue a new dollar-pegged stablecoin in the US as soon as this year. The move comes as Tether, once accused of being a criminal’s ‘go-to cryptocurrency’ — rebrands itself as a partner to American lawmakers and law enforcement. “A domestic stablecoin would be different from the international stablecoin,” Mr Ardoino said. “It depends on the timeline of the final legislation… but we are looking at that by the end of the year, or early next year at the fastest,” he said. But the timing and tactics of that next step are raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill.
(Adapted from “Tether Eyes US Expansion With New Stablecoin As CEO Courts Washington Crypto Players,” by Dan Murphy and Natasha Turak, published on May 2, by CNBC)
K-pop to China’s rescue
Locked in a trade war with the United States and struggling with weak domestic consumption, China looks set to make a U-turn on an unlikely sector: K-pop. Latest developments could signal an easing of China’s unofficial ban on K-pop acts on the mainland after South Korea announced the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense missile defense system in 2016, with China saying the system was aimed at constraining China’s power in the region, among other reasons. The about-face on K-pop represents a “structural turning point” for the sector, according to Oh Jiwoo, research analyst at CGS International Securities Hong Kong. Oh pointed out that China is South Korea’s third-largest album export market after Japan and the US, and the second-biggest music market in Asia.
(Adapted from “China Looks Set To Turn To A Tariff-Proof Sector As US Trade War Bites: K-Pop,” by Lim Hui Jie, published on May 2, 2025, by CNBC)
US job market holds strong
Job growth was stronger than expected in April despite worries over the impact of President Donald Trump’s blanket tariffs against US trading partners. Nonfarm payrolls increased a seasonally adjusted 177,000 for the month, slightly below the downwardly revised 185,000 in March but above the Dow Jones estimate for 133,000. The unemployment rate held at 4.2pc, as expected, indicating that the labour market is holding relatively stable. The survey of households showed an even stronger gain, with an increase of 436,000 in those who reported holding jobs during the month. “Job numbers remain very strong, suggesting there was an impressive degree of resilience in the economy in play before the tariff shock,” said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
(Adapted from “US payroll growth totals 177,000 in April, defying expectations,” by Jeff Cox, published on May 2, 2025, by CNBC)
Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 5th, 2025