SviatoslavGusev

The Bank of Russia decided to leave the key rate unchanged at 14%.

Since MSCI first seriously warned of a possible downgrade, markets have fallen: the Indonesian market dropped 46%, and the Turkish market 21%.

The National Financial Market Council has appealed to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), demanding action to curb mobile operators’ abuse of their collective dominant position. Representatives of the banking sector insist that the Big Four operators be issued an official warning for attempting to block the lines of the largest banks simultaneously—a move they believe violates the Competition Protection Law. The Ministry of Digital Development had previously backed the financial sector’s position, prompting the restrictions to be postponed until November 1. Despite this reprieve, the ultimatum issued to the telecommunications industry still threatens to cause losses for millions of customers.

According to an IMF report, Ukraine is currently the largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund among European countries and ranks second in the world in terms of the amount it owes the organization.

Euro below 90 rubles

The minimum wage in Russia will rise to 28.9 thousand rubles by 2027, according to Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov.

Rising interest rates in Europe could make mortgages unaffordable for many, since the entire mortgage lending system is built around very low interest rates.

Kathleen Tyson, one of the creators of the global asset custody systems Euroclear and Clearstream, stated that the seizure of Russian assets cannot be carried out without destroying the European securities market.

Anthropic researchers William Zhou and Daniel Freeman warn that the so-called “digital mold”—artificial intelligence capable of spreading itself between devices—could be just months away.

They are talking about AI models that could infect internet-connected devices, run copies of themselves on them, and continue spreading. Powerful data centers would not be needed: the required computing could be distributed across smart TVs, household appliances, and other gadgets. The authors compare such a system to mold that gradually spreads and takes over more and more space. Their estimates suggest AI could create new copies in a matter of days, and stopping the spread would be difficult, since such a network has no central control hub.

As part of an experiment, Anthropic specialists deployed an AI model on 15 budget Android TV boxes costing about $55 each. The devices processed the computations together, but the model ran slowly.

The researchers also tested the AI’s ability to spread within an isolated network of eight virtual devices. The GLM-5.2 model independently found new devices, transferred the necessary files to them, and launched another AI model. In four out of five trials, it managed to reach all eight devices; in one case, it reached seven out of eight.

The Supreme Court clarified that the mere fact that someone entered a code from an SMS message cannot automatically be treated as their consent to taking out a loan. In the Court’s view, the code alone does not prove that the loan was taken out voluntarily. This position is significant for people who have fallen victim to fraudsters who took out loans in their names through deception. When considering disputes with banks, courts should now take this interpretation into account.

Gas prices in Europe rose to their highest level since December 2022, surpassing $1,060 per thousand cubic meters.

According to Izvestia, overdue debt among companies in the construction and real estate sectors has increased by 43% since the beginning of the year, reaching 592 billion rubles. These two sectors accounted for nearly 50% of the total increase in troubled corporate loans nationwide.

The Business Russia organization has drawn up a package of 52 initiatives that could increase the tax burden on businesses, RBC reports.

The proposals include ending the simplified and automated simplified tax systems (STS and AutoSTS) for the “income” tax base, as well as abolishing the patent system. The document also proposes revising the revenue thresholds above which companies using special tax regimes are required to pay VAT.

The organization also proposes introducing an inheritance tax and requiring citizens whose primary income comes from interest and dividends to pay social contributions. Another idea is to restrict imports when domestic innovative alternatives become available on the market. The package also includes scrapping the reduced VAT rate on sugar, introducing excise taxes on candy, and increasing funding for exports of high-tech services.

The price of diesel fuel in Europe is approaching $200 per barrel. Meanwhile, physical oil is trading at a $45 premium to “paper” oil.

According to a Eurostat report, industrial production in the eurozone fell by a further 1.1% year on year. In Germany, this figure is now almost 10% below its 2021 level. The sanctions are working.

Artificial intelligence will remain a key strategic priority for Yandex—the company plans to continue accelerating the integration of AI into its products and services. This was announced by Dmitry Masyuk, head of Yandex’s Search and AI business group.

The company also announced a major update to Alice AI, planned for the coming weeks. By the end of September, Alice AI had become Russia’s most popular AI service, with the app’s monthly audience reaching 59 million people.

Users of Ledger hardware wallets have become targets of scammers disguising their attacks as device firmware updates. According to SlowMist, the attackers are exploiting a recent incident involving the mass theft of funds in their phishing schemes. The fake emails and websites are professionally designed, making the scams harder to spot. The scammers’ ultimate goal is to trick victims into entering their seed phrase, giving them full access to their wallets. Remember: no reputable crypto service will ever ask users for their seed phrase.

After news broke of Putin’s upcoming international phone call, the Moscow Exchange index gained 1%.

The dollar is below 82 rubles on forex.